Cardamom: The Queen of Spices

Known as "the queen of spices", man's enchantment with these black aromatic seeds with the distinctive sweet flavor dates back several thousand years. Cardamom has long been a favorite among the Arabs, the Scandinavians, the Germans and the Japanese.

Cardamom is the seed of a plant belonging to the Zingiberaceae, or ginger family. 'Elettaria Cardomomum', as it is botanically known, is a perennial crop native to the shady rain forests of India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. The Ancient Egyptians chewed cardamom seeds to whiten their teeth and the Greeks used it as a perfume. Vikings came upon cardamom about one thousand years ago, in Constantinople, and introduced it into Scandinavia, where it remains popular to this day.

Grown since 3000 BC, Indian cardamom is said to be the best and most expensive of spices, commanding a price next only to that of saffron. The best of Indian cardamom comes from the southern state of Kerala, the most ideal location for cardamom cultivation.


Cardamom Mythology


There are two main types of Cardamom:

Green cardamom

The fat green pods grown in South India are considered to be the best in the world. Green cardamom is available in the pod form or as powder. The whole pod stores better and retains the aroma of the seeds. Many Indian savory dishes and sweets are flavored with cardamom. This fragrant spice is used in rich curries and milk-based preparations. In India, tea and coffee are sometimes spiked with cardamom. Around the world, green cardamom is used in spiced cakes and breads.

Brown cardamom

Brown cardamom pods are larger in size and are hairy. In fact, they look like tiny fibrous coconuts. Brown cardamom is medicinal in flavor. In India, it is used only in savory cooking, especially to flavor rice dishes like biryani. Along with green cardamom, it is an essential ingredient in garam masalas [a blend of mixed spices].

Medicinal Uses 

A stimulant and carminative (flatulence reliever), cardamom is not used in Western medicine for its own properties, but forms a base for medicinal preparations for indigestion and flatulence using other substances. The Arabs attributed aphrodisiac qualities to it (it features regularly in The Arabian Nights) and commonly use its fragrant aroma to flavor coffee. It has been used as a digestive since ancient times. A medicinal cordial can be made by infusing seeds in hot water.

Though it is more popularly added to dishes to provide a strong aroma and flavor, in Ayurveda it is considered to be a very useful and effective medicine. In Ayurvedic texts cardamom is referred to as "ela". 

According to traditional wisdom of Ayurveda, cardamom is effective in improving digestion. It helps those suffering from stomach cramps and is a good stimulant and beneficial for those suffering from flatulence and gas. Cardamom also helps in cleansing the body, as it has detoxifying properties. It improves blood circulation to the lungs and can be helpful in prevention of spasms or convulsions. Hence, in small quantities, it is beneficial for those suffering from asthma or bronchitis. 

Cardamom also enhances appetite and provides relief from acidity in the stomach. It is used in the cure of halitosis and is beneficial for those suffering from various kinds of respiratory allergies. 

Those suffering from nausea or mouth ulcers may also find cardamom to be helpful. It is known to be a good cure for weakness in general. Some practitioners of Ayurevda also advise its use for treating infection of the urinary tract.

Cardamom is said to assist in balancing all three 'doshas' in the human body (vata, pitta and kapha). For this reason,  it is termed as a "tridoshic”. A small quantity of cardamom is especially beneficial in balancing "kapha”, which governs the structure of the body and protects it.

Add some fragrance to your kitchen and try these aromatic recipes:

Cardamom Mango Lassi (smoothie)

Cardamom Chicken (masala murgh)

Cardamom Coffee Cake

Easy Cardamom Coffee

Ginger: A Wealth of Health

A Short History of Ginger

The word ginger comes from an ancient Sanskrit word, singabera, meaning "horn-shaped". This fragrant rhizome (Zingiber officinale) was widely used by the ancient Romans and it was a very expensive spice; one pound of ginger was equivalent to the price of a whole sheep. Ginger almost became lost in history after the fall of the Roman empire, but became popular again when Europe re-discovered it. Ginger has influenced the history of man since ancient China. Wars were waged and entire dynasties rose and fell with the objective of seizing it. The trade of such spices were the root of the world's economy for centuries.

Because ginger is not found in the wild, its exact origins are uncertain. It is likely to have originated from India, as ginger plants there show the most biological variability. Potted ginger plants were carried on local vessels travelling the maritime trade routes of the Indian Ocean and South China Sea in the 5th century AD and probably before. The plants would have rapidly spread to many other countries along the way.

In the 16th century ginger was introduced to Africa and the Caribbean. It is now cultivated throughout the humid tropics.

A Wealth of Health Benefits

For over two thousand years Chinese medicine has recommended the use of ginger to help cure and prevent several health problems. It is known to promote energy circulation in the body while positively increasing the body's metabolic rate.

Here is a list of medicinal properties ginger is known to have:

• anti-emetic/anti-nausea
• anti-clotting agent
• anti-spasmodic
• anti-fungal
• anti-inflammatory
• antiseptic
• antibacterial
• antiviral
• analgesic
• circulatory stimulant
• expectorant
• hypotensive
• increases blood flow
• promotes sweating
• relaxes peripheral blood vessels                                                                                 

Some Home Remedies

Ginger has many uses in the home remedies department and can be used to help arthritis, diarrhea, flu, headache, heart and menstrual problems, diabetes, stomach upset and motion sickness.

Muscle Strains - Apply warm ginger paste with turmeric to the affected area twice a day.

For a persistent cough - Take a half teaspoonful of ginger powder, a pinch of clove with a pinch of cinnamon powder and honey in a cup of boiled water and drink it as tea.

Headaches - Dilute a paste of ginger powder, about 1/2 a teaspoon, with water and apply to you forehead.

Colds - Boil a teaspoonful of ginger powder in one quart of water and inhale the steam - helps alleviate colds.

Ginger Compress - This method stimulates blood and body fluid circulation, helps loosen and dissolve toxic matter eg. cysts, tumors. Place about a handful of coarsely grated ginger in a cloth and squeeze out the ginger juice into a pot containing 4 liters of hot water (do not boil the water). Dip a towel into the ginger water and wring it out. Apply very hot to the affected area.

Diabetes - Some doctors recommend some drinking ginger in water first thing in the morning to help regulate your glucose level.

Ginger Tea - Make with fresh ginger root. Grate a small piece of ginger, about the size of a quarter, into a mug. Add the juice of a half a lemon. Fill the mug with boiling water. Stir in a tablespoon of organic honey.

For relief of nausea - Ginger is generally taken in doses of 200 mg every 4 hours.

For relief of flatulence - Ginger is generally taken in doses of 250 to 500 mg 2 to 3 times a day.

Try these tasty ginger recipes to warm your belly and invigorate your soul:

Candied Ginger and Simple Syrup

Ginger Juice

Homebrew Ginger Beer

Ginger Cookies

Triple Ginger Cookies  (for the true ginger fiend)

Cacao: Gift of the Feathered Serpent

When Cortés descended on the Aztecs in 1519, Montezuma put on a feast offering a drink like nothing the Spanish had ever tasted; cacanautal, chocolate, the sacred drink used in the worship of Xochiquetzal. Known as Precious Flower Feather, she reigned as fertility goddess, associated with plants and flowers, sexual love and beauty. The chocolate that Cortés consumed on that historic occasion had been prepared with loving care. The seeds of the cacao tree had been fermented, roasted, crushed into a paste, and flavored with flowers, chilies, black pepper and vanilla. Diluted with cold water, the drink was splashed between lacquered gourds until the liquid frothed. The foamy chocolate was served in golden goblets, passed by women as slowly and reverently as sacraments.

Montezuma was known to consume a vast amount of chocolate, sometimes up to fifty cups a night, perhaps because among other virtues chocolate was considered to be an aphrodisiac. Cacao beans were so valued that they was also used as a currency; one turkey cost one hundred beans; one ripe avocado, three beans; one mushy avocado, one bean.


The delicious gift, the Aztecs believed, derived as a gift of Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent - quetzal,  native bird and coatl, a snake. One of the major deities of an ancient Mexican pantheon, in his earliest aspect Quetzalcoatl was a vegetation god. As the theology evolved, the Aztecs believed that Quetzalcoatl invented the calendar and book. Powerful as he was, Quetzalcoatl was defeated in a clash with a rival deity and sailed off to the east on a raft formed by writhing snakes.

Before his spectacular celestial debut, Quetzalcoatl warned that he would return on his name day to reclaim his kingdom, which would mean the end of Aztec rule. Montezuma believed that the omen referred to the calendar year One Reed, which happened to be 1519. The omen also predicted that one of the many forms of the god would be a white-skinned man with a beard. Cortés just happened to arrive at precisely at the right time and right place.

The Chocolate Sensation

Chocolate contains a variety of substances which affect the body's chemistry, including alkaloids and amino acids, offering mild mood-elevating effect, as it provokes the release of seratonin. According to a study produced by the BBC, the sensation of chocolate melting in one's mouth produces an increase in brain activity and heart rate more intense than passionate kissing - and the effects last four times as long for chocolate! It's no doubt these pleasure elements often act as a catalyst for romance.

Tempt your taste buds (and your partner's) with these mouthwatering chocolate recipes:

Organic Peanut Butter Cups

Mexican Hot Chocolate

The Infographic History of Spices

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No Innocent Spice: The Secret Story of Nutmeg

Ah, nutmeg! Whether it's sprinkled on eggnog, baked into spice cake or blended into a latte, this pungent spice can evoke memories of holidays past. We tend to link it to celebratory times. But a lot of blood has been shed over this little brown seed. "Nutmeg has been one of the saddest stories of history," explains culinary historian Michael Krondl. If you listen to my story you'll hear the gruesome, grisly tale of how the Dutch tortured and massacred the people of the nutmeg-producing Banda Islands in Indonesia in an attempt to monopolize the nutmeg trade. So, why was nutmeg so valuable? Well, Krondl likens it to the iPhone of the 1600s. It was fashionable among the wealthy. It was exotic and potent enough to induce hallucinations — or at least a nutmeg bender.

And for foodies, nutmeg is an ideal spice for layering flavor."Nutmeg really does have chemical constituents that make you feel good," explains culinary historian Kathleen Wall of the Plimoth Plantation. And traditionally, we turn to nutmeg (along with cloves and cinnamon) this time of year because these spices — as the settlers to the colonies believed — can help warm us up and even help us fight off head colds and stomachaches.I can't finish this post without mentioning a bit of nutmeg history that makes good dinner-party conversation — and this is the question of whether the Dutch actually traded Manhattan (yes, New York) for nutmeg.

by ALLISON AUBREY 

November 26, 2012

Click below to hear the NPR podcast for this story:
The Salt: No Innocent Spice

Pepper's history spiced with dark moments

By William Hageman,
Tribune Newspapers, April 17, 2013


The next time you grind a little black pepper on your steak, think about this: The pepper trade was responsible for the deaths of thousands of people, the enslavement of countless others, the establishment of the opium trade in India and the extinction of the dodo. Now, enjoy your dinner...

 Marjorie Shaffer, a science writer and editor at the New York University School of Medicine, thoroughly examines our culinary friend in "Pepper: A History of the World's Most Influential Spice" (St. Martin's Press). In her preface, she calls pepper "the Zelig of the culinary world." It's an apt description. Pepper was used by the Greeks, Romans and Chinese for medicinal purposes. In medieval times it was used as currency, at times worth more than gold or silver. And the pepper trade, with its substantial import duties, contributed mightily to the treasury of a fledgling United States in the early 19th century.

 Pepper, a dried berry from a vine indigenous to India, is a tropical plant and won't grow just anywhere. Columbus didn't sail from Spain looking for Ohio; he was seeking the Far East and its spices, i.e., pepper. (Shaffer tells us that Columbus carried peppercorns with him to show natives he encountered what exactly he was looking for.) European explorers and traders in the 17th and 18th centuries had much the same goal, though the primary traders, the Dutch and English, were much more aggressive. Such commerce didn't come without a price. Ships could lose a third or more of their crew on the long journeys. Those who survived left a lasting mark on the native people they dealt with — conquest, imperialism, slavery and genocide, as Shaffer details — and the islands they visited, wiping out entire populations of birds, tortoises and other creatures.

 Today, pepper is more than a kitchen staple. Researchers are studying its medicinal properties, and it has shown promise in the treatment of a variety of problems. So the Greeks, Romans and Chinese were on to something.

Add some spice to your kitchen with the following peppery delights:

Thai Black Pepper and Garlic Tofu

Chinese Black Pepper Beef

Strawberry Black Pepper Tart