Cardamon

Green cardamom verte
Botanical Name : Amomum cardamon, Elettaria cardamomum.
Europa : English : Green Cardamom, German : (Grüner) Kardamom, (Grüner) Cardamom, Spanish: cardamono, Portuguese : Cardamomo, Italian : Cardamomo (verde), Dutch : Kardemom, Russian : Kardamon
Africa : Hebrew : Hel, Arabic : Hal, Hail
Asia : Hindi : Elaichi, Choti elaichi, Singhalese : Enasal, Srilankais : enasal, Malay : Buah pelaga, indonesien : Kapulaga, Kepillaga, Thai : Krava, Luk krava, Chinese : Wok lok uvat, Sha jen, Pai tou k'ou, Japanese : Karudamon
White Cardamom
Cardamom green cleared in the dioxide of suffers. Little perfumed, to avoid.
Black Cardamom
Synonyms: cardamom of Nepal, Brown C
Botanical Name : Amomum subulatum, Elettaria cardamomum
Europa : English : Nepal cardamom, Greater Indian cardamom, German : Nepal-Cardamom, Schwarzer Cardamom, Spanish: Cardamomo negro, Italian : Cardamomo nero, Dutch : Zwarte kardemom
Asia : Sanskrit : Upakunchika,Hindi : Kali elaichi, Badi elaichi, Bigillachi

Cardamom is a plant native of India. Its seeds, stemming from some fruit of black color have a peppered flavor. Very aromatic, they are used to perfume the gingerbread. In beauty care, besides their aromatic Properties, they possess of interesting fortifying Properties.
Cardamom is universally used in the Indian food, It enters the composition of every curry and every masala. There are three varieties there, green, white and black. Cardamom green has a flavor finer and softer than cardamom black.
Cardamom is used for arômatiser salty and sweet dishes. His price, in our time still, remains high; he is comparable to that of the saffron and the vanilla.

Historic :

Native of India where his use is attested for more than 3000 years as spice, medicinal plant and as compound of flavors and incense. She was very early imported in Africa Noire and in countries Arabics to flavor the coffee and as component of the ras - el-hanout.

1500 years before JC, an Egyptian recorded his virtues on a papyrus. Cléopâtre perfumed her palace during the visits of her lover then husband Marc-Antoine.
Greece and Rome import cardamom by whole caravans.

In 65, Pedanios Dioscoride praises its virtues in the treaty "Sur la matière médicale" and warns against the power of its action, in particular
Of its flavor which could be abortive.

Romain uses him as liqueur during their disproportionate orgies. Ovide, in his poems, celebrates his flavor.

It is not however sure that Greeks and Romain differentiate "our" cardamom of the maniguette.Certain descriptions as they give could indeed it correspond to the maniguette, Aframomum melegueta, aromatic and peppered, native of Africa Occidentale.
Avicenne (980 - on 1037), doctor and philosopher, in the "Cannon of the medicine", indicate its sovereign action against throat pains and cough. It is used as liqueur in Europe, from the XIIIth century.

Duarte Barbosa (1480 - 1521) The sailor Portuguese companion of Magellan, places his real origin on muscle man's coast, where his trade would be a monopoly of local Radja.
In Europe it is hardly used than in the Scandinavian countries where it perfumes delicatessen, breads, cake stores and hot drinks. It is however used for aromatize gingerbread for the XIIth century.

Properties :

Stimulating - Liqueur - Carminative - Antiseptic (delay the decomposition of food)

Composition :

Black Cardamom (Amomum subulatum Roxb.) - 3 % of essential oil - More than 70% de 1,8-cinéole - - limonene, terpinene, alpha-terpineol, terpinyl acetate and sabinene
Green Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum, White and Mason) - 8% of essential oil - 20 à 50% 1,8-cinéole - 30% alpha-terpenyl acetate - sabinene - 2 à 14% limonene
borneol

The plant:

Green Cardamom : Ellateria cardamomum, Amomum cardamon - Family of zingibéracées as ginger. Perennial, herbaceous, looking like in one reeds, of 2 in 5m, pushes on average height (750 in 1500m) in rainforest tropical. Wide and long leaves. Small and clear flowers. Long fruits of 1cm in 3 compartments which contain from 10 to 20 black and perfumed bony seeds.The color of the fruit depends on the variety: brown and round for the Cambodian, the green and lengthened for the Indian.
This plant is native, as the cinnamon, the jungles of the South India and Sri Lanka. It was acclimatized in Central and South America, in Tanzania, in Vietnam and in the Cambodia. The Indian is considered as of better quality. Cardamom white is obtained by treatment of the pods of cardamom green in the dioxide of sulfur. Its aroma is lesser and its only interest is esthetic. In western Africa we let cardamom green dry in the sun, pods become then light yellow.
Black Cardamom : Amomum subulatum
Family of Zingibéracées
Bigger fruits ~( 3cm ) and a dark brown with 40 in 50 seeds by pod. Native plant from the east of Himalaya, it grows at present of Himalaya to the South of China and even in Africa. It is essentially used in China.