- Type
- Herbs & Aromatics
- Difficulty
- Hard
- Season
- -
- Sowing
- Plant a sapling
White cardamom
Amomum kravanh
1,8-cineole · the ginger-family pod that goes into curry and chai
White cardamom is the dried fruit of a ginger-family plant, one of the group known today as cardamom. The green pods sold as cardamom in supermarkets are usually Elettaria cardamomum, while the round, pale pods sold as 白豆蔲 in herbal markets and Chinese grocers belong to the genus Amomum. They are different species, but the leading compound in both essential oils is 1,8-cineole, so the aroma runs along the same lines. The Herb section of the Donguibogam enters it as an imported drug, marked 【唐】, its nature very warm, its taste pungent, with no toxicity. The fruit is described as clustering like grapes, green while unripe and turning pale as it ripens, gathered in the seventh lunar month and hulled before use. The same entry says to hull and grind it, and notes that it has a clear, high aroma of its own. In the kitchen the pods go in whole and come out once they have given up their scent, or they are cracked with the back of a knife and only the seeds are ground.
Where It Grows
- Origin Native to the Krâvanh Mountains in the southwest. The Western name for the range, the Cardamom Mountains, comes from this spice.
- Wild population It grows wild in the border forests of the east and in the south, where wild collection and cultivation go hand in hand.
- Major producer Grown in the tropical rainforest belt of Hainan and southern Yunnan. A considerable share of the white cardamom that reaches the medicinal-herb markets comes from here.
- Major producer It comes from the forests of the south and is shipped toward China.
- Major producer What is grown in Java is Java white cardamom (Amomum compactum), a different species.
It is native to the southwestern Indochinese Peninsula, above all the Krâvanh (Cardamom) Mountains of Cambodia, and cultivation has since spread to Thailand, Vietnam and southern China. The overlapping names need separating. The green pods sold in supermarkets as cardamom are Elettaria cardamomum, grown in southern India and Guatemala; the plant grown in Java is Amomum compactum; and the round white pod known as baekdugu in Korean medicinal-herb markets and in Chinese grocery stores is this Amomum kravanh. So that the three do not blur together on one map, this entry covers the growing areas of A. kravanh, with Java noted separately as a different species. In Korea it is not grown at all, since it cannot overwinter — survive the winter outdoors — so no domestic-cultivation field has been included.
- Optimum
- 22~28℃
- Range
- 15~35℃
- Hardiness
- Tropical
- Day length
- Not applicable
A perennial of the tropical forest floor. It grows where sunlight is filtered through the shade of tall trees and the air stays humid, and it withstands neither frost nor dry wind. What sets the timing of flowering and fruiting is not day length but the divide between the wet and dry seasons.
How to grow
- Light
- It does not grow outdoors in Korea. In its home range it grows under tree cover in tropical forest, in filtered light
- Soil and depth
- You will not meet it as a crop planted in soil here. In its home range it grows on free-draining forest floor under a thick layer of leaf litter
- Spacing
- In the kitchen, buy whole and keep it in a sealed container. Stored in one jar with other spices, the aromas transfer
- Watering
- As a dried spice, damp is its worst enemy. Keep water off it and never open the jar over a steaming pot
- Feeding
- Nothing to tend. Work to using it within six months of buying, and when the aroma thins, buy fresh rather than adding more
- Harvest
- In its home range the clusters are cut and dried before the pods split, as the colour begins to pale. The Donguibogam records gathering in the seventh lunar month
What makes the difference. Crack a pod with the back of a knife each time and grind the seeds fresh. Pre-ground powder loses its aroma quickly
Why this one is harder. It wants the shade and humidity of tropical forest and will not survive a Korean winter outdoors. Foliage is possible in a glasshouse, but fruit is effectively out of reach
Common problems
- Damp You will see Pods go limp and stick to each other What to do Move them to a sealed container somewhere cool and dark. A fridge condenses moisture every time it is opened, so a dry shelf at room temperature is better
- Mould You will see White bloom or black specks on the pods and a musty smell What to do Discard the whole container. Do not pick out the sound ones
- Indian meal moth You will see Webbing inside the container and small larvae among the pods What to do It carries over when spices are stored with grain. Move everything to glass or metal with a tight seal, and throw out any container where larvae have appeared
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 — baekdugu (白豆蔲). The Donguibogam lists it in the Herb section as 白豆蔲, marked 【唐】 as an imported drug. Its nature is set down as very warm, its taste as pungent, with no toxicity. The fruit is described as clustering like grapes, green while unripe and turning pale as it ripens, gathered in the seventh lunar month and hulled before use. The entry also says to hull and grind it and notes a clear, high aroma of its own. Which species within the group the name stands for today is open to argument. What an old medical text wrote differs from how it is judged now.
The leading compound of the oil. Repeated analyses report 1,8-cineole as the leading compound in the essential oils of the cardamom group. The same work reports that the share of compounds such as alpha-terpinyl acetate varies by species. This is an analysis of composition.
Names and species. Botanical classification confirms that what is traded as white cardamom belongs to Amomum while what the West calls cardamom is Elettaria cardamomum, two different species. This is a record of how the names are used.
Nutrition
- 1,8-cineole (eucalyptol) (the leading compound of the essential oil) — the source of the cool line in the aroma
- Alpha-terpineol and borneol (present alongside it in the oil) — terpenes that fill out the aroma
- Essential oil (concentrated in the seed, sparse in the husk) — the volatile fraction that disperses quickly once ground
The aroma sits in the oil The scent of white cardamom comes from the essential oil in the seed, led by 1,8-cineole, which gives it a cool line. Ground, it disperses fast, so crack a pod and grind the seed each time it is needed and keep the rest whole in a sealed container somewhere cool.
Husk and seed The aroma gathers in the seed; the husk itself holds little. Dropped in whole it releases slowly into a stock, while ground seed spreads at once and strongly. Grind it into curries and fried rice; put it in whole for long-simmered stocks or chai and lift it out at the end.
What to look for when buying Choose pods that have not split, even in colour, that rattle faintly when shaken because the seed is loose inside. A pod already gaping has lost its aroma. If it crumbles under a fingertip it has sat too long.
The word cardamom The green pods sold as cardamom are usually Elettaria cardamomum, while white cardamom belongs to Amomum. The leading oil compound overlaps, so the aroma is alike, but they are different species — read the name a recipe uses alongside the botanical name on the packet.
Pairings
○ Milk and black tea — chai — Crack the pods into milk and black tea and hold it at a low simmer. With ginger and cinnamon alongside, the aromas stack in layers. Strain the pods out before pouring.
○ The spice base of a curry — Drop it whole into hot oil to scent the fat before the other spices go in. Ground seed added at the end puts the aroma in front; added at the start and cooked long, the line softens. Which way to go depends on how long the pot runs.
○ Braised pork or duck — A couple of pods in a rich braise lighten the weight of the fat. It is a long-cooked dish, so put them in whole and lift them out before serving.
△ Do not chew the whole pod — Pods dropped whole into a pot come out before the dish is eaten. Bitten into, the aroma overwhelms and a bitter note spoils the food. For anything a child will eat, grind a very small amount instead.
△ A drug dose is not a seasoning dose — White cardamom is also sold as a drug in herbal markets. The amount used to scent food and the amount decocted as medicine differ in both purpose and quantity, so do not brew it on the strength of an old record. If you are pregnant or taking medication, keep to seasoning quantities.
△ Pre-ground powder — Ground cardamom loses its aroma quickly and cakes once it takes up moisture. Throw out powder that has clumped or darkened. Buy whole, grind as needed, and once opened keep it away from the stove and out of direct sun.
Varieties
- White cardamom (Amomum kravanh) (fruit) — Round, pale pods with lengthwise ridges. Used in Chinese and Southeast Asian cooking and as a drug
- Green cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) (fruit) — Small, green, elongated pods. This is usually what a supermarket sells as cardamom
- Black cardamom (Amomum subulatum) (fruit) — Large dark pods with a smoky aroma. Another species again
Source: Donguibogam, Herb Section 白豆蔲