What Is Cardamom—and How Do You Cook With It?

Chai-flavored beverages, gingerbread cookies, and Indian curries are all popular dishes that contain a lesser-known spice called cardamom. Even if you’re not familiar with it, you may have enjoyed this warming spice in food, drinks, or desserts. 

Cardamom is currently experiencing a surge in popularity, which means the spice is finally getting some of the recognition it deserves for its uniqueness and versatility. It’s popping up in both sweet and savory recipes, and some stores have even spotlighted the spice. Cardamom is the star of several Trader Joe’s products, including the Vanilla Cardamom Cold Brew Coffee, Brown Sugar Cardamom Buns, and Apricot Cardamom Spread. 

If you want to hop on the cardamom bandwagon, here’s what you need to know about this flavorful spice.

What Is Cardamom? 

Cardamom is a unique, aromatic spice that’s made from the pods and seeds of multiple plants in the ginger family (Zingiberaceae). Cardamom plants are native to tropical regions, with India, Indonesia, and Guatemala being the leading producers of the spice.

Cardamom has a complex flavor profile. It’s warming, so it has a bit of spice, but it’s sweet, too. It has notes of pepper and mint, and it’s slightly bitter and earthy. The sweet side provides floral, citrus, and herbal notes. Cardamom is so unique that it can be difficult to describe to others or replicate with other spices.

Though cardamom isn’t as common in the United States, it’s been around for thousands of years. In fact, it’s considered one of the oldest spices, and was used in ancient medicine. 

It’s also sometimes referred to as the “Queen of Spices” because it doesn’t come cheap. Cardamom is labor intensive to produce, making it pricier and therefore less common compared to other spices. 

Types of Cardamom

There are three main varieties of cardamom, which are based on color—black, green, and white. They differ in appearance, flavor, where and how they’re produced, and how they’re used.

Here’s what each type tastes like and how it’s used:

• Green cardamom is the most common and versatile variety. It has sweet, floral, and citrusy notes, so it’s best in sweet recipes for drinks and desserts. However, green cardamom still provides plenty of warmth, so it can be used for savory recipes too. If you’re not sure what type of cardamom to use, green cardamom is a safe bet.
• Black cardamom lacks the sweetness of green cardamom and packs a stronger punch, so it’s reserved for savory dishes. With a pungent flavor similar to menthol, it’s the most intense of the three types of cardamom. Black cardamom pods are dried over large fires, so they’re known for having a strong smoky flavor.
• White cardamom is made from green cardamom pods that have been bleached. This gives the spice a lighter color and the mildest flavor of the three. It’s used to add cardamom flavors to recipes like baked goods, without imparting any of the color.

What Is Cardamom Used For?

Though it has a unique and complex flavor, cardamom is a versatile spice. It’s used in a variety of recipes, including sweet and savory dishes, and spans multiple cultures and cuisines. 

Cardamom originated in India, and India is one of the spice’s largest producers, so it’s no surprise that it’s a staple in Indian cuisine. In Indian cooking, cardamom is used in curries, biryanis, masalas, kheer (rice pudding), and more. You’ll also find cardamom in chai, an Indian spiced tea served hot or cold.

In Middle Eastern cuisine, cardamom is used to add flavor to coffee, meat, and desserts. You can use a coffee grinder to grind up whole cardamom pods, making it easy to grind cardamom with coffee beans for a caffeinated drink that’s uniquely infused with the spice. In this cuisine, it’s a key spice in baharat, a common Middle Eastern spice blend used to season meat. Some Middle Eastern desserts, such as baklava and milk pudding, also call for cardamom.

On the sweet side, cardamom is commonly used in Scandinavian baked goods and desserts. It’s found in cardamom buns, Norwegian julekake (Christmas bread), cookies, and more. It’s also a prominent ingredient in glögg, a Scandinavian mulled wine.

How to Cook With Cardamom

When cooking with cardamom, you’ll need pre-ground cardamom or cardamom pods and seeds you will grind yourself. Ground cardamom is sold at most supermarkets for easy access to the spice. It’s also a spice used in some spice blends, such as gingerbread spice, garam masala, baharat, and some curry powders. 

Like coffee beans, cardamom pods and seeds lose flavor quickly. While you can buy ground cardamom to save time, some people prefer the fresh flavor of grinding their own cardamom pods and seeds as needed. For this, you’ll need a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. 

In some cases, whole cardamom pods are used, so you won’t need to grind them at all. You can lightly toast cardamom pods and add them to your dish to impart flavor. Similar to bay leaves, you’ll remove the cardamom pods when you’re done cooking.

Thanks to its versatility, there’s a lot you can make with cardamom. On the savory side, you can use cardamom in dry rubs for meat, curries, saffron rice, soups, stews, and more. It’s commonly used to season meat, but vegetarians and vegans can enjoy the spice in these shawarma-seasoned pitas, for example. 

It also has a ton of uses for baked goods and desserts, such as breads, cakes, and cookies. These snowball cookies are spiced with cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger, giving them a cool wintery flavor. It also pairs well with apple-flavored treats in the fall, such as this apple crisp.

With its subtle sweetness, cardamom is even used in some beverages. A simple chai is an easy way to introduce yourself to the spice. If you’re a coffee drinker, you can try cardamom coffee—brew coffee and cardamom together or stir freshly ground cardamom into your coffee cup.

Cardamom Substitutes

With its complex flavor profile, it’s difficult to find a perfect substitute for cardamom. Since it’s part of the ginger family, ginger is one of the best substitutes for cardamom. You can also consider cloves or allspice for sweet recipes, and coriander for savory dishes. Spice blends that contain cardamom, such as garam masala or baharat may also work for savory Indian and Middle Eastern dishes, respectively.

One thing to note, however, is that the different varieties of cardamom—green, black, and white—aren’t always interchangeable due to their strengths. Green cardamom offers a happy medium between black and white, so you can usually use it in place of the others. With its strong, smoky flavor, black cardamom is too intense to use instead of white or green cardamom.