CARDAMOM
About Cardamom
Cardamom is one of the world’s very ancient spices. It is native to the East originating in the forests of the western ghats in southern India, where it grows wild. Today it also grows in Sri Lanka, Guatemala, Indo China and Tanzania. The ancient Egyptians chewed cardamom seeds as a tooth cleaner; the Greeks and Romans 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.Cardamom is an expensive spice, second only to saffron. It is often adulterated and there are many inferior substitutes from cardamom-related plants, such as Siam cardamom, Nepal cardamom, winged Java cardamom, and bastard cardamom. However, it is only Elettaria cardamomum which is the true cardamom. Indian cardamom is known in two main varieties: Malabar cardamom and Mysore cardamom. The Mysore variety contains higher levels of cineol and limonene and hence is more aromatic
Spice Description
Cardamom comes from the seeds of a ginger-like plant. The small, brown-black sticky seeds are contained in a pod in three double rows with about six seeds in each row. The pods are between 5-20 mm (1/4”-3/4”) long, the larger variety known as ‘black’, being brown and the smaller being green. White-bleached pods are also available. The pods are roughly triangular in cross section and oval or oblate. Their dried surface is rough and furrowed, the large ‘blacks’ having deep wrinkles. The texture of the pod is that of tough paper. Pods are available whole or split and the seeds are sold loose or ground. It is best to buy the whole pods as ground cardamom quickly loses flavour.
USES OF CARDAMOM:
Cardamom ‘the queen of spices’ has been in use in perfumery, confectionery and as a wholly consumed spice for centuries together. It was a pricedspice, traded from India since time immemorial and was an extremely popular in Europe and Arab countries. It is used mostly in confectionery in Europe and in ARAB countries it is used as a spice and as a blend with ‘gahwa’ coffee, a regular drink among the Arabs. It is also used in Asia as a major spice in a number of food preparations, in masalas and in curry mixtures.It is used in preparation of AYURVEDIC MEDICINES and is also widely used as a FLAVORING AGENT
In traditional medicine
In India, green cardamom (A. subulatum) is broadly used to treat infections in teeth and gums, to prevent and treat throat troubles, congestion of the lungs and pulmonary tuberculosis, inflammation of eyelids and also digestive disorders. It is also reportedly used as an antidote for both snake and scorpion venom.Species in the genus Amomum are also used in traditional Indian medicine. Among other species, varieties and cultivars, Amomum villosum is used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat stomach-aches, constipation, dysentery, and other digestion problems. "Tsaoko" cardamom is cultivated in Yunnan, China, both for medicinal purposes and as a spice.
Cultivation
Cardamom grows abundantly in altitudes ranging from 900 to 1370 m above sea level, with a warm humid atmosphere, evenly distributed rainfall and humus-rich loamy soil. It thrives best under moderate shade. Cardamom is propagated both vegetatively and by seeds. Seeds from well ripened fruits are sown in raised beds and when the seedlings attain a height of 25-30 cm they are transplanted into field or secondary nursery beds. Vegetativepropagation is by means of clones, a portion of the rhizome with one or two new tillers. Micropropagation is also widely employed for the propagationof cardamom. Planting is normally done in June-July with the receipt of south-west monsoon rains in pits or trenches at a spacing varying from 0.9 to 3.0 m depending on the type of cardamom.
The maiden crop in cardamom is obtained in the third year of planting. Flowering commences in April-May and continues till July-August. Harvesting is done at an interval of 30-40 days and only fruits which are just nearing ripeness are harvested. Harvested fruits are dried by exposing them to sun light or by heating or by flue curing. The dried capsules are cleaned, sorted and graded based on bulk density, colour and size. Capsules which lack
uniform green colour are bleached by using bleaching powder, sulphur dioxide or hydrogen peroxide.
The chemical composition of cardamom varies considerably with variety, region and age of the product. The principal quality of determinant is thecontent and compositon of the volatile oil. Cardamom contains between 2% and 10% essential oil, out of which the major portion is in seeds. Thevolatile oil contains about 25-40% cineole, 30-40% a-terpinyl acetate and about 1-2% limonene.
Harvesting & Curing
Cardamom starts yielding from the second year after planting. The ideal stage for harvesting is just before ripening. Capsules are to be harvested at an interval of 15 days between August and December. The post harvest operation consists of washing, pre-treatment with chemicals, curing,cleaning, grading and packing. Wash the capsules in water, immediately after harvest to remove the adhering soil and treat them with 2% washing soda for 10 minutes to retain green colour. Dry them either in sun or in drying houses by heat radiation, under controlled temperature (50 o C is optimum) to retain the delicate flavour and green colour. After drying, rub the capsules with coir mat / gunny cloth / steel mesh, sieve and grade.Cured cardamom has to be protected against light, air and temperature by packing in polythene lined gunny or cloth bags
Cardamom is one of the world’s very ancient spices. It is native to the East originating in the forests of the western ghats in southern India, where it grows wild. Today it also grows in Sri Lanka, Guatemala, Indo China and Tanzania. The ancient Egyptians chewed cardamom seeds as a tooth cleaner; the Greeks and Romans 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.Cardamom is an expensive spice, second only to saffron. It is often adulterated and there are many inferior substitutes from cardamom-related plants, such as Siam cardamom, Nepal cardamom, winged Java cardamom, and bastard cardamom. However, it is only Elettaria cardamomum which is the true cardamom. Indian cardamom is known in two main varieties: Malabar cardamom and Mysore cardamom. The Mysore variety contains higher levels of cineol and limonene and hence is more aromatic
Spice Description
Cardamom comes from the seeds of a ginger-like plant. The small, brown-black sticky seeds are contained in a pod in three double rows with about six seeds in each row. The pods are between 5-20 mm (1/4”-3/4”) long, the larger variety known as ‘black’, being brown and the smaller being green. White-bleached pods are also available. The pods are roughly triangular in cross section and oval or oblate. Their dried surface is rough and furrowed, the large ‘blacks’ having deep wrinkles. The texture of the pod is that of tough paper. Pods are available whole or split and the seeds are sold loose or ground. It is best to buy the whole pods as ground cardamom quickly loses flavour.
USES OF CARDAMOM:
Cardamom ‘the queen of spices’ has been in use in perfumery, confectionery and as a wholly consumed spice for centuries together. It was a pricedspice, traded from India since time immemorial and was an extremely popular in Europe and Arab countries. It is used mostly in confectionery in Europe and in ARAB countries it is used as a spice and as a blend with ‘gahwa’ coffee, a regular drink among the Arabs. It is also used in Asia as a major spice in a number of food preparations, in masalas and in curry mixtures.It is used in preparation of AYURVEDIC MEDICINES and is also widely used as a FLAVORING AGENT
In traditional medicine
In India, green cardamom (A. subulatum) is broadly used to treat infections in teeth and gums, to prevent and treat throat troubles, congestion of the lungs and pulmonary tuberculosis, inflammation of eyelids and also digestive disorders. It is also reportedly used as an antidote for both snake and scorpion venom.Species in the genus Amomum are also used in traditional Indian medicine. Among other species, varieties and cultivars, Amomum villosum is used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat stomach-aches, constipation, dysentery, and other digestion problems. "Tsaoko" cardamom is cultivated in Yunnan, China, both for medicinal purposes and as a spice.
Cultivation
Cardamom grows abundantly in altitudes ranging from 900 to 1370 m above sea level, with a warm humid atmosphere, evenly distributed rainfall and humus-rich loamy soil. It thrives best under moderate shade. Cardamom is propagated both vegetatively and by seeds. Seeds from well ripened fruits are sown in raised beds and when the seedlings attain a height of 25-30 cm they are transplanted into field or secondary nursery beds. Vegetativepropagation is by means of clones, a portion of the rhizome with one or two new tillers. Micropropagation is also widely employed for the propagationof cardamom. Planting is normally done in June-July with the receipt of south-west monsoon rains in pits or trenches at a spacing varying from 0.9 to 3.0 m depending on the type of cardamom.
The maiden crop in cardamom is obtained in the third year of planting. Flowering commences in April-May and continues till July-August. Harvesting is done at an interval of 30-40 days and only fruits which are just nearing ripeness are harvested. Harvested fruits are dried by exposing them to sun light or by heating or by flue curing. The dried capsules are cleaned, sorted and graded based on bulk density, colour and size. Capsules which lack
uniform green colour are bleached by using bleaching powder, sulphur dioxide or hydrogen peroxide.
The chemical composition of cardamom varies considerably with variety, region and age of the product. The principal quality of determinant is thecontent and compositon of the volatile oil. Cardamom contains between 2% and 10% essential oil, out of which the major portion is in seeds. Thevolatile oil contains about 25-40% cineole, 30-40% a-terpinyl acetate and about 1-2% limonene.
Harvesting & Curing
Cardamom starts yielding from the second year after planting. The ideal stage for harvesting is just before ripening. Capsules are to be harvested at an interval of 15 days between August and December. The post harvest operation consists of washing, pre-treatment with chemicals, curing,cleaning, grading and packing. Wash the capsules in water, immediately after harvest to remove the adhering soil and treat them with 2% washing soda for 10 minutes to retain green colour. Dry them either in sun or in drying houses by heat radiation, under controlled temperature (50 o C is optimum) to retain the delicate flavour and green colour. After drying, rub the capsules with coir mat / gunny cloth / steel mesh, sieve and grade.Cured cardamom has to be protected against light, air and temperature by packing in polythene lined gunny or cloth bags
Climate
Cardamom thrives well in areas having warm humid climate and fairly well distributed annual rainfall (1500 - 4000 mm). A temperature range of 18-280 C and an altitude of 600-1200 m above MSL is ideal. The crop requires 40-60% shade for proper growth and flowering. Being a surface feeder,availability of moisture during dry period is essential
Soil
Cardamom thrives well in areas having warm humid climate and fairly well distributed annual rainfall (1500 - 4000 mm). A temperature range of 18-280 C and an altitude of 600-1200 m above MSL is ideal. The crop requires 40-60% shade for proper growth and flowering. Being a surface feeder, availability of moisture during dry period is essential
Cardamom thrives well in areas having warm humid climate and fairly well distributed annual rainfall (1500 - 4000 mm). A temperature range of 18-280 C and an altitude of 600-1200 m above MSL is ideal. The crop requires 40-60% shade for proper growth and flowering. Being a surface feeder,availability of moisture during dry period is essential
Soil
Cardamom thrives well in areas having warm humid climate and fairly well distributed annual rainfall (1500 - 4000 mm). A temperature range of 18-280 C and an altitude of 600-1200 m above MSL is ideal. The crop requires 40-60% shade for proper growth and flowering. Being a surface feeder, availability of moisture during dry period is essential
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home