Cardamom is a wonderful spice with a Middle-Eastern culinary history used to flavor many foods and drinks. It has a strong unique taste and an intense aromatic fragrance.

Cardamom Pods vs. Ground Cardamom

For recipes requiring whole cardamom pods, generally 10 pods equals 1.5 teaspoons of ground cardamom.

Green cardamom is the most common form of cardamom. To retain its green color and ensure the pods stay closed, the green cardamom is harvested prematurely, locking in a warm aroma and exotic flavor that is then released during cooking. The whole pods can be used in recipes, or the seeds can be removed and added to dishes in ground or whole form. To grind the seeds, we recommend first opening the pods by crushing them with a mortar and pestle, and then grinding the seeds without the pods. If roasting or toasting the cardamom, it is better to use whole pods because ground spices will burn too easily. It’s best to buy cardamom pods if you don’t cook with the spice often since the pods have a longer shelf life than the powder.