BuyingWhether 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.
