A pair of old south Indian women sorting the Cardamom plants in Kerala

From the archive record

Popularly known as "Queen of spices", small cardamom of commerce is an important and popular flavouring material and spice. The useful part is the dried mature fruit. It is usually referred to as capsule. Cardamom is used for flavouring curries, cakes, and bread and for other culinary purposes. It is also used as masticatory and for flavouring coffee and confectionery. An essential oil is obtained by steam distillation of the seeds, which is used for flavouring processed foods and liquors, in perfumery and beverages. The pleasant aroma and the characteristic warm, slightly pungent taste are due to numerous essential oil components present in the seeds. The earliest record of cardamom in India is in an Ayurvedic medical treatise compiled in BC 1000. Cardamom is a native of Western Ghats in