Did you even know there is a black cardamom? And white and red ones, too? And that some are good for sweet recipes and others for curries? Our top cooks have all the spicy smarts
What’s the difference between green and black cardamom, and when should I use pods or ground?
“Cardamom is my favourite spice,” says Cynthia Shanmugalingam, chef/proprietor of Rambutan in London. “It smells like childhood puddings and sweets.” That’s not to say the papery pods filled with black seeds aren’t versatile, mind. Yes, cardamom can bring a “piney, eucalyptus-like fragrance and warmth” to desserts, Shanmugalingam adds, but it also “adds depth” to savoury dishes, meaning you can take it in multiple directions.
With its origins in southern India and a relative of ginger, cardamom pods commonly come in green and black (also known as brown) form, as well as red (used mainly in Chinese and Asian cuisines) and white, which are bleached green pods. While Roopa Gulati, author of Indian Kitchens: Treasured Family Recipes from Across the Land, often uses both black/brown and green in the same dish, she says you “have to be aware that they are totally different in flavour. You’re not going to make a lovely, aromatic rice pudding and stick some brown cardamom in it, because that will override all the other flavours.”
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