The Spice
Journal.

How to tell good cardamom from bad in thirty seconds

Whether you are buying a 100-gram pack or a tonne, the same four checks will tell you most of what you need to know. Do them in this order.

1. Look at the colour

Good green cardamom is a clear, even green. Pale, yellowish or patchy pods were usually dried at too high a temperature or have been sitting in a warehouse for too long. A few pale pods in a sample are normal; a lot of them is a warning.

2. Squeeze a pod

It should feel firm and spring back slightly. If it crushes easily or feels papery, it may be hollow or over-dried. If it feels soft or bendy, it still holds moisture — and you are paying for water by the kilo.

3. Smell it

Crack one pod open with your thumbnail and smell it straight away. Fresh cardamom smells strong, sweet and slightly cooling, almost like eucalyptus. A weak or dusty smell means the aroma has faded.

4. Look inside

The seeds inside should be dark brown to black, slightly sticky and packed tightly together. Light brown, loose or few seeds mean an immature or old pod.

If a sample passes all four, it is worth buying. If it fails two or more, keep looking.

Cardamom grades explained

Green cardamom is graded mainly by the diameter of the pod, measured in millimetres. After drying, pods are passed through sieves with round holes; the size of the hole a pod will not pass through gives it its grade.

Bigger is pricier — but not always better for you

Large 8 mm and 8.5 mm pods look impressive and command the highest prices. They are the right choice when appearance matters: gift boxes, premium retail packs, whole-spice dishes where the pod is seen on the plate.

If the cardamom will be ground into a powder, brewed into tea or blended into masala, nobody will see the pod. A 6–7 mm or 7–8 mm grade gives you the same seeds and aroma for considerably less.

What "rejection" grades are

Pods with small marks, splits or uneven colour are separated into rejection grades. The flavour is still there, which makes them a smart buy for grinding and for spice processors.

Keeping cardamom fresh for months

Cardamom's aroma lives in oils inside the seeds. Heat, light, air and moisture all pull those oils out. Keep them away and your pods will stay fresh for a long time.

• Buy whole pods, not powder. The husk is natural packaging. Ground cardamom loses its aroma within weeks.
• Use an airtight container. A glass jar with a good lid is ideal. Open plastic bags let the smell escape.
• Keep it dark and cool. A cupboard away from the stove is better than a shelf in the sun.
• Keep it dry. Use a dry spoon and never store cardamom in the fridge, where condensation can form.
• Grind only what you need. Crush the seeds just before cooking for the strongest flavour.

Five ways to cook with green cardamom

1. Elaichi chai

Lightly crush two pods per cup and simmer them with the tea leaves and water before you add milk. Crushing opens the husk so the seeds can release their flavour.

2. Biryani and pulao

Add whole pods to hot ghee or oil at the start, with the other whole spices. The fat carries the aroma through every grain of rice.

3. Sweets and payasam

For kheer, halwa and ladoo, use the ground seeds only — discard the husks — and add them near the end so the aroma stays bright.

4. Coffee

A pinch of ground cardamom with your coffee grounds is a Gulf tradition. It softens bitterness and adds a gentle sweetness.

5. Baking

Swap some of the cinnamon in a cake, bun or cookie recipe for freshly ground cardamom. A little goes a long way.