Cardamom is one of the oldest spices used by people in different cultures around the world. As a spice, it is found in a wide variety of foods. It is used, for example, to flavor pasta, rice, and tea. Medicinally, cardamom helps with digestion problems, bloating, and stomach cramps.
General information:
From Wikipedia: “Cardamom (/ˈkɑːrdəməm/), sometimes Cardamon or Cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera Elettaria and Amomum in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to India (the largest producer until the late 20th century), Bhutan, Indonesia and Nepal. They are recognized by their small seed pods: triangular in cross-section and spindle-shaped, with a thin papery outer shell and small black seeds; Elettaria pods are light green and smaller, while Amomum pods are larger and dark brown.”
Distribution:
“The first references to trade in cardamom from Sri Lanka, where it is grown on small scale in montane forests in the central mountain ranges, are from the 12th century CE. Nowadays, it is also cultivated in some other countries, such as Guatemala, Malaysia and Tanzania. The German coffee planter Oscar Majus Kloeffer introduced Indian cardamom (kerala) to cultivation in Guatemala before World War I; by 2000 that country had become the biggest producer and exporter of cardamom in the world, followed by India.
Cardamom is the world's third-most expensive spice, surpassed in price per weight only by vanilla and saffron.”
Composition:
“The content of essential oil in the seeds is strongly dependent on storage conditions, but may be as high as 8%. In the oil were found α-terpineol 45%, myrcene 27%, limonene 8%, menthone 6%, β-phellandrene 3%, 1,8-cineol 2%, sabinene 2% and heptane 2%. Other sources report 1,8-cineol (20 to 50%), α-terpenylacetate (30%), sabinene, limonene (2 to 14%), and borneol.
In the seeds of round cardamom from Java (A. kepulaga), the content of essential oil is lower (2 to 4%), and the oil contains mainly 1,8 cineol (up to 70%) plus β-pinene (16%); furthermore, α-pinene, α-terpineol and humulene were found.”
Types of cardamom:
“There are two main types of cardamom:
- True or green cardamom (or, when bleached, white cardamom) comes from the species Elettaria cardamomum and is distributed from India to Malaysia. What is often referred to as white cardamon is actually Siam cardamom, Amomum krervanh.
- Black cardamom, also known as brown, greater, large, longer, or Nepal cardamom, comes from species Amomum subulatum and is native to the eastern Himalayas and mostly cultivated in Eastern Nepal, Sikkim and parts of Darjeeling district in West Bengal of India, and Southern Bhutan.”
Uses:
“Both forms of cardamom are used as flavorings and cooking spices in both food and drink, and as a medicine. E. cardamomum (green cardamom) is used as a spice, a masticatory, and in medicine; it is also smoked.”
Food and beverage:
“Cardamom has a strong, unique taste, with an intensely aromatic, resinous fragrance. Black cardamom has a distinctly more smokey, though not bitter, aroma, with a coolness some consider similar to mint.
Green cardamom is one of the more expensive spices by weight, but little is needed to impart flavor. It is best stored in the pod as exposed or ground seeds quickly lose their flavor. Grinding the pods and seeds together lowers both the quality and the price. For recipes requiring whole cardamom pods, a generally accepted equivalent is 10 pods equals 1 1⁄2 teaspoons of ground cardamom.
It is a common ingredient in Indian cooking. It is also often used in baking in the Nordic countries, in particular in Sweden and Finland, where it is used in traditional treats such as the Scandinavian Jule bread Julekake, the Swedish kardemummabullar sweet bun, and Finnish sweet bread pulla. In the Middle East, green cardamom powder is used as a spice for sweet dishes, as well as traditional flavouring in coffee and tea. Cardamom is used to a wide extent in savoury dishes. In some Middle Eastern countries, coffee and cardamom are often ground in a wooden mortar, a mihbaj, and cooked together in a skillet, a mehmas, over wood or gas, to produce mixtures as much as 40% cardamom.
In Asia both types of cardamom are widely used in both sweet and savory dishes, particularly in the south. Both are frequent components in spice mixes, such as Indian and Nepali masalas and Thai curry pastes. Green cardamom is often used in traditional Indian sweets and in masala chai (spiced tea). Both are also often used as a garnish in basmati rice and other dishes. Individual seeds are sometimes chewed and used in much the same way as chewing gum. It is used by confectionery giant Wrigley; its Eclipse Breeze Exotic Mint packaging indicates the product contains "cardamom to neutralize the toughest breath odors". It is also included in aromatic bitters, gin and herbal teas.
In Korea, medicinal cardamom (Amomum villosum var. xanthioides) and black cardamom (Amomum tsao-ko) is used in traditional tea called jeho-tang.”
Nutrient tables
The complete nutritional information, coverage of the daily requirement and comparison values with other ingredients can be found in the following nutrient tables.
Nutritional Information
|
per 100g |
2000 kcal The numbers show the percent of the recommended daily value for a person who consumes 2000 cal per day. This number is for one serving of the recipe. A person normally eats multiple times a day and consumes additional nutrients. You can get all of the nutrients you need over a longer period of time and in this way ensure a healthy balance. |
|
---|---|---|---|
Energy | 311 kcal 1'301 kJ | 15.6% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 2000kcal | |
Fat/Lipids | 6.7 g | 9.6% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 70g | |
Saturated Fats | 0.68 g | 3.4% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 20g | |
Carbohydrates (inc.dietary fiber) | 68 g | 25.4% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 270g | |
Sugars | n/a | ||
Fiber | 28 g | 112.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 25g | |
Protein/Albumin | 11 g | 21.5% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 50g | |
Cooking Salt (Na:18.0 mg) | 46 mg | 1.9% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 2.4g |
Essential micronutrients with the highest proportions | per 100g | 2000 kcal | |
---|---|---|---|
Min | Manganese, Mn | 28 mg | 1'400.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 2.0 mg |
Min | Iron, Fe | 14 mg | 100.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 14 mg |
Min | Zinc, Zn | 7.5 mg | 75.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 10 mg |
Elem | Magnesium, Mg | 229 mg | 61.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 375 mg |
Elem | Potassium, K | 1'119 mg | 56.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 2'000 mg |
Elem | Calcium, Ca | 383 mg | 48.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 800 mg |
Min | Copper, Cu | 0.38 mg | 38.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 1.0 mg |
Vit | Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) | 21 mg | 26.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 80 mg |
Elem | Phosphorus, P | 178 mg | 25.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 700 mg |
Vit | Thiamine (vitamin B1) | 0.20 mg | 18.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 1.1 mg |
Detailed micronutrients and daily requirement coverage per 100g
Explanations of nutrient tables in general
The majority of the nutritional information comes from the USDA (US Department of Agriculture). This means that the information for natural products is often incomplete or only given within broader categories, whereas in most cases products made from these have more complete information displayed.
If we take flaxseed, for example, the important essential amino acid ALA (omega-3) is only included in an overarching category whereas for flaxseed oil ALA is listed specifically. In time, we will be able to change this, but it will require a lot of work. An “i” appears behind ingredients that have been adjusted and an explanation appears when you hover over this symbol.
For Erb Muesli, the original calculations resulted in 48 % of the daily requirement of ALA — but with the correction, we see that the muesli actually covers >100 % of the necessary recommendation for the omega-3 fatty acid ALA. Our goal is to eventually be able to compare the nutritional value of our recipes with those that are used in conventional western lifestyles.
Essential fatty acids | per 100g |
2000 kcal The numbers show the percent of the recommended daily value for a person who consumes 2000 cal per day. This number is for one serving of the recipe. A person normally eats multiple times a day and consumes additional nutrients. You can get all of the nutrients you need over a longer period of time and in this way ensure a healthy balance. |
---|---|---|
Alpha-Linolenic acid; ALA; 18:3 omega-3 | 0.12 g | 6.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the CH-EDI-Verordnung: 2.0 g |
Linoleic acid; LA; 18:2 omega-6 | 0.31 g | 3.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the CH-EDI-Verordnung: 10 g |
Vitamins | per 100g |
2000 kcal The numbers show the percent of the recommended daily value for a person who consumes 2000 cal per day. This number is for one serving of the recipe. A person normally eats multiple times a day and consumes additional nutrients. You can get all of the nutrients you need over a longer period of time and in this way ensure a healthy balance. |
---|---|---|
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) | 21 mg | 26.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 80 mg |
Thiamine (vitamin B1) | 0.20 mg | 18.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 1.1 mg |
Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) | 0.23 mg | 16.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 1.4 mg |
Riboflavin (vitamin B2) | 0.18 mg | 13.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 1.4 mg |
Niacin (née vitamin B3) | 1.1 mg | 7.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 16 mg |
Vitamin A, as RAE | 0 µg | < 0.1% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 800 µg |
Vitamin D | 0 µg | < 0.1% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 5.0 µg |
Essential macroelements (macronutrients) | per 100g |
2000 kcal The numbers show the percent of the recommended daily value for a person who consumes 2000 cal per day. This number is for one serving of the recipe. A person normally eats multiple times a day and consumes additional nutrients. You can get all of the nutrients you need over a longer period of time and in this way ensure a healthy balance. |
---|---|---|
Magnesium, Mg | 229 mg | 61.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 375 mg |
Potassium, K | 1'119 mg | 56.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 2'000 mg |
Calcium, Ca | 383 mg | 48.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 800 mg |
Phosphorus, P | 178 mg | 25.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 700 mg |
Sodium, Na | 18 mg | 2.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 800 mg |
Essential trace elements (micronutrients) | per 100g |
2000 kcal The numbers show the percent of the recommended daily value for a person who consumes 2000 cal per day. This number is for one serving of the recipe. A person normally eats multiple times a day and consumes additional nutrients. You can get all of the nutrients you need over a longer period of time and in this way ensure a healthy balance. |
---|---|---|
Manganese, Mn | 28 mg | 1'400.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 2.0 mg |
Iron, Fe | 14 mg | 100.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 14 mg |
Zinc, Zn | 7.5 mg | 75.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 10 mg |
Copper, Cu | 0.38 mg | 38.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 1.0 mg |
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