Description

Cardamom, the Queen of Spices, is the third most expensive after saffron and vanilla. A native to India and Sri Lanka, the tropical plant Elettaria cardamomum produces a small seed pod, no bigger than two peas side by side. Inside are up to a dozen seeds, no bigger than a match head, but packed with an astonishing combination of aromatic essential oils and compounds.

This is green cardamom, and the most used, and referred to simply as cardamom. Its cousin Amomum subulatum produces a black seed pod, or black cardamom, with a smoky, savoury aroma Adam Liaw's honey and cardamom cheesecake with crushed pistachios. Photo: William Meppem

Why do we love it?

It is one of the most complex aromatic spices in a chef's armoury. It contains fragrant compounds that smell like clove, Mediterranean pine, citrus, geranium and rose and earthy scents like crushed limestone and clay.

While its aroma implies sweetness, it is a spice that can meld with others to form a chorus of different but harmonic notes in dishes as diverse as Masala chai to Persian love cake to a duck terrine. A little goes a long way which helps to alleviate the high price tag.