There's a new spice shop that just opened in my Oakland neighborhood, and from the moment I walked in I was intrigued. I'd never encountered so many different varieties of one single spice or herb. When it came time to choose cardamom, I was stumped: which color pod was the most fragrant or flavorful?
Cardamom pods come in three colors: black, green and white. It turns out that each color has a distinct personality, flavor-wise. Green cardamom is the one you'll generally see in grocery stores and many spice shops and it turns out that white cardamom is simply a bleached version of that. Apparently the thought behind this is that you can still impart the subtle cardamom flavor into baked goods or cream-based desserts without adding any color. And according to Cook's Illustrated, black cardamom isn't cardamom at all but a close relative.
When it comes down to it, flavor is the important consideration, so the team at Cook's Illustrated did a taste test using the spice in a simple sugar cookie and in the cooking water for chicken biryani. The result? Green cardamom ground from the pod was the "most vibrant and balanced" whereas the white cardamom was a significant disappointment. The black cardamom tasted more smoky, so it'd be nice in more savory dishes but in the cookies it came across as a bit schizophrenic. The verdict from Cook's Illustrated? Go green.
Related: From the Spice Cupboard: Cardamom
(Images: Fotopedia and Flickr member Vegan Baking licensed for use under Creative Commons)
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I have seen Indian cookbooks and websites that recommend using black cardamom only for curries and savory dishes, and green for desserts. Makes sense!
Black cardamom is in no way a substitute for green cardamom. Black cardamom is used only for savory dishes, and even then only for particular ones, like north Indian curries.
Green cardamom is also often used in curries and savory dishes, and also used to make garam masala - but when it is specified for those dishes it cannot just be substituted with black cardamom - they are totally different.
Kspies got it right. That's what we do in India. Black cardamom is part of garam masalas everywhere and is generally considered a strong 'heat-creating' spice. It is essential in things like biryani and dum aloo.
Green cardamom seeds impart a warm, haunting sweetness to all desserts. In a pinch, green could be used instead of black (not the same, but it will do) but never the other way around.
I throw a black cardamom pod (or two) into a pot of bean soup to get a nice, smoky flavor if I don't have any ham (or sometimes with the ham, too).
Agree to Sharmila Completely!
Heh, you must be in Lake Merrit. I'm just down from Grand from Oaktown Spice and popped in the other day to get green cardamom pods to make chai! Small small world.
You're so lucky to be able to even talk about a "new spice shop in town".
Great article, except, what? "Schizophrenic"? I take issue with that not only being a somewhat disrespectful use of the term for those with the disease, but also completely the wrong concept intended. I think the one you were looking for is "dissociative identity disorder," which is really nothing like schizophrenia.
Anyway, chewing on cardamom is a great breath freshener!
Bantamsparrow, you and I and the author must all be Lake Merritt neighbors! I haven't been in the shop yet but it looks amazing....