Amomum

Amomum villosum

Bornyl acetate and camphor · a ginger-family seed roasted for its aroma

Amomum, sold in Korean herb markets as sain or chuksain, is the seed inside the fruit of a ginger-family plant. The dried fruit is an oval covered in soft projections; strip the husk and the seeds come out clustered in three masses, brown shading to black. The aroma is cool and faintly sweet, and essential-oil components such as bornyl acetate and camphor have long been reported across this group. It goes into spice blends for boiling meat and appears often in herbal prescriptions. Grinding it only just before use keeps the aroma, and in a broth it holds better added at the end than boiled from the start. The Donguibogam lists it in the Herb section as 縮砂蜜, recording a warm nature, a pungent taste and no toxicity. Its form resembles that of baekdugu (白豆蔲), the entry says, though darker in colour, and it also resembles ikji (益智); it is gathered in the seventh and eighth lunar months. Sain (砂仁) is given as another name, and the preparation is set down: roast it over a low flame until it smells fragrant, rub off the husk, and pound the kernels.

Where It Grows

Origin Major producer Latitudes at 22–28℃ Zoom and pan to explore · temperatures are rough zonal averages

Origin This is both the plant's native range and today's largest producer. Production centers on Yangchun in Guangdong, Xishuangbanna in Yunnan, and Guangxi. What is grown on Hainan is Hainan amomum (Amomum longiligulare), a different species. Harvest August, September
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Major producer It is grown in understory plots in the northern mountains, and a considerable share crosses over into China.
Major producer It is gathered in the northern forests and sent across the border.

The subtropical forests stretching from southern China to the northern Indochinese Peninsula are both the plant's native range and where it is grown today. The fruit from Yangchun in Guangdong is known as yangchunsa, or Yangchun amomum, and the area has long been counted a famous source. It does not grow in Korea, so the entire supply is imported. Other species enter the market alongside it: Hainan amomum (Amomum longiligulare) from Hainan, and green-husk amomum (Amomum villosum var. xanthioides) from Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. It is a perennial that takes three or four years from planting to its first fruit set, so its cultivation cannot be expressed within a single year's calendar.

Optimum: 22~28℃
Range: 15~35℃
Hardiness: Tropical

It grows in the shade of humid subtropical forests where rain is frequent and the average annual temperature is 19–22℃. It cannot tolerate frost, and its leaves are damaged once the temperature falls below 3℃. Because it will not grow where sunlight strikes it directly, it is raised under large trees or in shaded understory plots (cultivation beneath a forest canopy).

How to grow

Light: A plant of shaded subtropical forest. It is not a crop grown in open sun
Soil and depth: It grows in rich, soft forest soil that holds its moisture. The conditions are not those of open ground in Korea
Spacing: In Korea it is bought rather than grown. In its home range it is planted widely under tree shade
Watering: Fruit sets in a wet climate with frequent rain. Long exposure to dry wind and the fruit never fills
Feeding: In its home range it draws on leaf mould built up under the trees. There is nothing to do here
Harvest: Nothing is harvested here. In its home range the fruit is picked ripe and dried; it reaches the market as whole dried fruit or as husked seed

What makes the difference. Choose fruit that releases a rush of aroma when the husk is pressed, with seed filled out from brown to near black. No aroma, or seed that crumbles, means it is old. Buy whole fruit and rub off the husk and pound as you go

Why this one is harder. A subtropical crop, it is not grown in Korea at all. Plan on buying it, and treat storing it so the aroma survives as the whole of the cultivation for this entry

Common problems

Mould You will see White powder on husk and seed, and a musty smell What to do Discard the whole packet. Keep the rest in a sealed container somewhere cool and dry
Storage insects You will see Small insects and fine dust inside the packet What to do Move it to a sealed container and freeze anything being kept long. Do not use what insects have been through

This page describes how a crop is grown and used. It does not claim health effects for any food, nor is it intended to prevent or treat disease. Component and study notes are references only and do not mean the same result occurs in people. Consult a medical professional about health concerns.

Health Benefits

The old record — chuksamil (縮砂蜜). The Donguibogam lists it in the Herb section as 縮砂蜜. It records a warm nature, a pungent taste and no toxicity. Its form resembles that of baekdugu (白豆蔲) though darker in colour, and it also resembles ikji (益智); it is gathered in the seventh and eighth lunar months. Sain (砂仁) is given as another name, and the preparation is set down: roast it over a low flame until fragrant, rub off the husk, and pound the kernels. What an old medical text wrote differs from how it is judged today.

Essential oil and aroma. Analyses report the isolation of components such as bornyl acetate and camphor from the essential oil. The same work reports the oil to be concentrated in the seed rather than the husk. This is an analysis of aroma.

Roasting and pounding. That the old preparation called for low roasting, rubbing off the husk and pounding only the kernels squares with the modern finding that the aroma-bearing part is the seed. That volatile oil is lost from anything ground in advance runs the same way. This is a record of a preparation method.

Nutrition

Bornyl acetate (a leading component of the essential oil) — the volatile compound behind the cool, sweetish aroma
Camphor (reported alongside it in the oil) — the component that adds the sharp top note
Essential oil (concentrated in the seed) — the volatile fraction that carries most of the aroma
Fibre (the fruit husk) — what makes up the part rubbed off and discarded

Grind it just before use The aroma comes from essential oil held in the seed. Ground in advance, the oil escapes and the aroma goes flat, so pound only as much as is needed each time. Whole seed keeps well in a sealed container.

Roast it for the aroma The old preparation says the same thing: roast over a low flame until it smells fragrant, rub off the husk, and pound the kernels. Roll it in a dry pan over low heat and take it off the moment the aroma rises. Burnt, the bitterness comes forward.

Bornyl acetate and camphor Components such as bornyl acetate and camphor have been reported in the essential oil. The cool, sweetish aroma comes from there. All of them are volatile and are driven off by long boiling. This entry stays with the compositional record.

An ingredient used in small amounts A few seeds flavour a whole pot. Aromatic materia medica are used sparingly by nature, so a per-100g composition figure read straight across gives a badly wrong picture of what is actually eaten.

Pairings

○ Spice blends for boiling meat — Added with star anise and cassia when boiling a whole cut, it covers the smell. Its aroma goes quickly, so put it in later than the others. A muslin bag makes retrieval easy.

○ Added at the end — Simmered from the start with everything else, the oil escapes and nothing is left. Add it about five minutes before the heat goes off and keep the lid on. The practice in herbal medicine of adding it late is handed down for the same reason.

○ Sealed storage — Left as whole unhusked fruit, the aroma keeps longest. Once the packet is open, move it to a sealed container somewhere cool and dry, and freeze anything being kept long.

△ Do not grind it in advance — Buying it as powder, or pounding a whole batch at once, lets the essential oil go and leaves the aroma flat. Buy whole fruit or husked seed and pound only what is needed. Once a powder has lost its aroma, no quantity brings it back.

△ Do not swap baekdugu or ikji for it — The Donguibogam itself records that it resembles baekdugu and ikji — the ginger family holds many look-alikes. Their aromas run in different directions, and substituting one for another turns the broth into a different dish. Check the name and the botanical name on the packet, and smell before buying. White cardamom

△ Do not double up on a prescription — Amomum is a common component of herbal prescriptions. If one has been prescribed, check with the prescribing doctor or pharmacist before also using it as a spice. During pregnancy, do not add a material listed in the old records on your own judgement.

Varieties

Yangchunsa (species) — Amomum villosum, named for Yangchun in Guangdong where it was grown. The base line of the drug
Nokgaksa (species) — The name given to the Amomum xanthioides line. Its fruit projections are thicker and read as horns
Baekdugu and ikji (distinction) — Other ginger-family fruits the Donguibogam records as resembling it. Their aromas run in different directions

Source: Donguibogam (Treasured Mirror of Eastern Medicine), Herbs section, Chuksamil (amomum)