It is a spice obtained by making shavings (also known as quills) of the inner bark of the cinnamon plant. The fruits are picked or clipped from the stems just before maturity, cleansed, and dried in the sun or in a heated curing chamber. Apart from disturbing biodiversity, cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum), plantations affect water and soil quality in tropical forests, the studies said. Cardamom is one of the most important export products and plays significant role in income and employment of cardamom producers. There are two main types of Cardamom, namely, Black Cardamom (Amomum subulatum) and Green Cardamom or true cardamom (Elettaria … It prefers a very hot and humid climate, if you live in the US Department of Agriculture hardiness zone 10 to 13, you can grow cardamom plants. Elettaria spp. Researchers from Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom… The low-country wet zone and mountainous areas in Southwest harbour 90 percent of endemic species. The ancient Egyptians chewed cardamom seeds as a tooth cleaner; the Greeks and Romans used it as a perfume. Green cardamom ( Elettaria cardamomum ) Image – Wikimedia / Afifa Afrin. It is the third on the list of the world’s most expensive spices, right behind vanilla and saffron. Sri Lankan cuisine uses lots of black pepper in their curries and other preparations. Company : George Steuarts teas City / Country : Colombo Sri Lanka Phone No. Cardamom. We’ll wait while you go read it… Propagation From Seed. The timing of the harvest is crucial to make sure that the spice develops its full flavor once it has been dried. Sometimes rice is even flavored with a couple of unground black pepper seeds. Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton is commonly known as small cardamom, green cardamom, or true cardamom and is grown in India, Guatemala, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Indonesia, Costa Rica, Mexico and Tanzania (Garg et al., 2016). In Sri Lanka cardamom is found in the agro ecological regions of the wet and intermediate zones of up country. The unique taste of cardamom is often described as being very aromatic with resinous fragrance with some mint like flavor. It has rigid and erect aromatic leaves, which forms the aerial part of the plant’s stems. Today it also grows in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Guatemala, Mexico, Thailand, Central America, Indo China and Tanzania. It originated in the eastern Mediterranean, possibly Egypt, and spread up to India from the Near East. Fruits grow in pods, about 12 per pod. Over at our sister site, Foodal, you’ll find a detailed guide describing the culinary and medical uses for cardamom. [COLOMBO] Cultivation of cardamom, a high value spice crop, can take a toll on evergreen forests in tropical countries, independent studies in Sri Lanka and India have shown. The flora contains by about 830 endemic species. The cardamom is a perennial plant that belongs to the ginger family, what we use are the mature pods which is eventually harvest and dried. The plant is native to India and Sri Lanka, it is grown in the south-west mountains of India. Flowering plants constituted about 3 360 species, belonged to 1 350 genera and 200 families. Cardamom has a fresh, spicy, and sweet aroma and is comforting, stimulating, warming effect is known as a key ingredient in it. The spice is popular in many cultures, and is one of the more expensive spices. Start WhatsApp Chat Contact Form. The term cardamom is used for the pods of the plants that belong to two genres; Elettaria and Amomum in the family Zingiberaceae. Besides India, cardamom is grown as a commercial crop in Guatemala and on small scale in Tanzania, Sri Lanka, El Salvador, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Honduras, and Papua & New Guinea. Cardamom can reach a height of 5 m (16.4 ft) and has an economic lifespan of 10-15 years. 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