Black cardamom

Black cardamom
Black cardamom fruit as used as spice
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Monocots
(unranked): Commelinids
Order: Zingiberales
Family: Zingiberaceae
Genus: Amomum
Species: A. subulatum, A. costatum
Binomial name
Amomum subulatum
Amomum costatum
Benth. & Hook.f.

Black cardamom, also known as hill cardamom,[1] Bengal cardamom,[1] greater cardamom,[1] Indian cardamom,[1] Nepal cardamom,[1] winged cardamom,[1] or brown cardamom, comes from either of two species in the family Zingiberaceae. Its seed pods have a strong, camphor-like flavor, with a smoky character derived from the method of drying. In Hindi it is called बड़ी इलाइची (bdei ilaaichi).

Characteristics

The pods are used as a spice, in a similar manner to the green Indian cardamom pods, but with a different flavor. Unlike green cardamom, this spice is rarely used in sweet dishes. Its smoky flavor and aroma derive from traditional methods of drying over open flames.

Species

At least two distinct species of black cardamom occur: Amomum subulatum (also known as Nepal cardamom) and Amomum tsao-ko. The pods of A. subulatum, used primarily in the cuisines of India and certain regional cuisines of Pakistan, are the smaller of the two, while the larger pods of A. tsao-ko (Chinese: wiktionary:草果; pinyin: cǎoguǒ; Vietnamese: thảo quả) are used in Chinese cuisine, particularly that of Sichuan, and Vietnamese cuisine.

Culinary uses

Black cardamom is used for hearty meat stews and similar dishes. Although the flavor differs from the smaller green cardamom, black cardamom is sometimes used by large-scale commercial bakers because of its low cost.

Black cardamom is often erroneously[2] described as an inferior substitute for green cardamom by those unfamiliar with the spice. It is just not as well suited for the sweet/hot dishes that typically include cardamom and that are more commonly prepared outside the plant's native range.

The spice adds very intense aroma when used in Black Tea or Green Tea.

In China, the pods are used for jin-jin braised meat dishes, particularly in the cuisine of the central-western province of Sichuan. The pods are often used in Vietnam, where they are called thảo quả and used as an ingredient in the broth for the noodle soup called phở.

The largest producer of the black cardamom is Nepal, followed by India and Bhutan. In traditional Chinese medicine, black cardamom is used for stomach disorders and malaria. In the traditional medicine of India, decoction of Amomum subulatum rhizomes is used in the therapy of jaundice.[3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Amomum subulatum". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  2. ↑ Spice Pages: Black Cardamom (Amomum subulatum)
  3. ↑ Tewari D, Mocan A, Parvanov ED, Sah AN, Nabavi SM, Huminiecki L, Ma ZF, Lee YY, Horbańczuk JO, Atanasov AG. Ethnopharmacological Approaches for Therapy of Jaundice: Part I. Front Pharmacol. 2017 Aug 15;8:518. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2017.00518.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.