Holiday Cooking – Cardamom

This month I’m continuing my research into the plants that flavor my holiday baking. Today I’m learning about cardamom, which is used to flavor Scandinavian baked goods; sausages and ground meats; and Indian curry dishes. My burning question – how did a main ingredient in Indian curries end up in Swedish cookies and breads?

Botanical illustration of Elettaria cardamomum from Koehler's Medicinal Plants.
Published before 1923 and public domain in the United States.

Elettaria cardamomum is in the Zingiberaceae family (ginger plants), and is native to India, Ceylon, Malay Peninsula, and Sumatra. Cardamom grows wild in shady forests, and loves wet feet. It thrives at an altitude of 2600 – 5000 feet (800 – 1500 meters), and at a uniform temperature of 72 F. (22 C.). According to Jan-Öjvind Swahn, ancient Vedic texts mention cardamom as medicine 1000 years before Christ; Greeks and Romans used it for cooking and medicine; Vikings encountered it in Constantinople in the eleventh century and introduced it to Scandinavia. Cardamom was recorded north of the Alps in the thirteenth century, and in botanical literature during the Renaissance. It was blended with coffee beans by the Arabs, and chewed with betel leaves in Southeast Asia.

The cardamom plants is a deciduous perennial that grow to 10 feet high, with leaves to 2 ½ feet long and 3 ½ inches wide. The inflorescence grows up to 2 feet long; and bears many greenish-white blossoms, each with a wide lip in the middle. The fruit is an oval capsule, containing three chambers, each bearing up to 20 aromatic seeds. Propagation is by division of rhizomes, and by seeds; plants succeed in moist, shady places in warm climates. In cultivation, the plants require quite a bit of care, but are productive over a 10-15 year period. They are susceptible to weather conditions, insect damage, and plant diseases, such as the mosaic viruses. The cardamom capsules are harvested, dried, and distributed as whole seeds or ground.