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Cardamon seeds question

18 years ago

I FINALLY found cardamon!! Can't believe how hard that is to find up here. I bought a package of seeds (no shells). Should I keep them in the freezer? Since I only have one coffee grinder that I use for coffee and they say not to use the same grinder for spices, can I use a mortar? (spelling??) Will they be crushed enough with this??

I was going to buy the powdered cardamon but remembered someone said that the seeds were more flavorful.... but did she mean cardamon in SHELLS ???

I can't wait to try the cardamon! Just have to pick out a recipe now! ;-))

Thanks!

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Comments (7)

centralcacyclist
18 years ago
I buy pods, I've never seen seeds sans pods but they should be just as good. I use a mortor and pestle and they are crushed enough for me. Love the stuff! A little goes a long way.
alison
18 years ago
Should be fine! I like to use the mortar and pestle for smll amounts of cardamon 'cuz you get such a great burst of scent. The only concern I suppose would be if you were making something with an exteemely fine texture, like ice cream or bread, some people* might not like the occassional larger piece of the seed.

*obviously, not a problem for me!
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Daisyduckworth
18 years ago
The seeds should be good for a couple of years, but if you think you won't use them up before that time, freezing will help keep them for longer.

They are fairly easily crushed with mortar and pestle, or even between sheets of plastic wrap with your heavy rolling pin. I use a food processor! The silliest thing I ever did was to give my son my very cheap food processor (less than $20) which was brilliant for powdering seeds or chopping herbs or nuts etc. It had a tiny 1-cup bowl - perfect for very small quantities. It would be worth your while looking for a similar little one for purposes like this.

Actually, why not try your coffee grinder? Cardamom in coffee is supposed to be wonderful (if you like coffee, that is!).

Hint: To clean your coffee grinder, add a small amount of dry rice and turn it on until the grinder no longer has any odour.
Terrapots
18 years ago
The old Braun stick blenders came with a small cup and blade that would be great for pulverizing spices. They can be easily washed by hand or in the dishwasher. They may still be found and I don't think they are very expensive. If you look around, I bet you can find a coffee grinder for about $10. But thanks for the hint on cleaning up the coffee grinder. By the way, I'm still looking for Cardamon, I wanted to make my own Chai tea but some of those spices are hard to find here.
khandi
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks! I do have a small food chopper. I think that I'll use that.
vicki_lv_nv
18 years ago
Great hint DaisyDuckworth!! I bought some seeds, crushed them with a mortar and pestle...added them to a sour cream coffee cake. YUM!
booberry85
18 years ago
Here's some info that others posted a few weeks ago about cardamom.

Here is a link that might be useful: Spice Rack Challenge-Cardamom

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