I love cardamom! Actually, I used it as the spice to make glazed carrots last night for dinner (with oj, butter and a bit of sugar) and it is one of the few ways The Picky One will eat carrots.

I've also had it in Sour Cream Cardamom Cookies and a Swedish bread and yes, I thounk you should be able to taste it. My Swedish friend also put it in Glugg the Swedish Spiced Wine and it lends a lovely flavor to that too.

Maybe it is an acquired taste?

Alexa

This thread may be of interest to you:
I baked Sol's 'Dirt Bombs' tonight...... :o)

I love cardamon, and use it with blueberries anytime I make fresh blueberry syrup or blueberry muffins. It's also a standard ingredient in my homemade curry powder.

I like cardamom, but I'm not wild for it and I don't use it in a lot of things.

I was going to make Sol's Dirt Bombs and found that cardamom was something like $8 or $9 a jar here at the local Evil Empire Walmart. I passed, and a couple of members here sent me cardamom, LOL. I later found a small jar at Penzey's for $2.79. So much for their spices being "more expensive".

Anyway, I now have enough cardamom to last a lifetime, except it will probably lose its flavor before I use it all. The dirt bombs were good, though...

Annie

I was think about cardamon while at the store today. I was trying to recall the ingredients in the cardamon syrup that you pour over a mountain of donut holes that Jessica posted a couple of years ago. I made it for Christmas breakfast and want to make it this year too.

...or did I just make all that up?

Cardamon is "odd" to me...sort of foreign....I like it but every time I come across something that has it in...I sort of go...Whoa! I didn't expect that!
Sort of like the other night I was talking, drinking and browsing the snack dish. I picked up what in my subliminal mind was a nut and it turned out to be a mint! Whoa!!
Start out gently with cardamon...like 1/4tsp in a spice cookie....along with cinnamon, ginger and cloves.
Linda C

Mmm..I love cardamom!

Cardamom is from a plant related to ginger. It is expensive; only saffron is a more expensive spice.

Cardamom adds flavor and aroma to recipes and is used in many different cultures' cooking. In India, it's found in chai, curries, and lentil dishes or sometimes as a garnish on rice dishes. Northern European cooks are more likely to use it in baking cookies, cakes and breads than in a main course. In the Middle East, it is often used to flavor coffee/tea and in stews.

Mustangs, if you just made all that up, dream out the whole recipe because that sounds all kinds of yummy!

BTDT, I found it!! After looking at the recipe, I see why I thought I might had made it up. I took a short cut and bought a couple dozen glazed donut holes from Krispy Kreme, stacked them, then poured the Cardamom Syrup over the pyramid, sprinkled almonds over them, and had a cup with skewers next to the platter so guests could spear and dunk in the pool of syrup.

Cardamom Syrup for Donuts
________________________________________
Ingredients
1. 1 3/4 cups warm water
2. 2 (.25 ounce) envelopes active dry yeast
3. 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
4. 2 tablespoons sugar
5. 3/4 teaspoon salt
6. Vegetable oil, for frying
7. 1 cup sliced almonds
8. 2 cups sugar
9. 1 cup water
10. 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
11. 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
12. 1 teaspoon rose water
Cooking Directions
1. In a large bowl, combine the 1 3/4 cups of warm water with the yeast and let stand for 5 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the flour, 2 tablespoons of the sugar and the salt. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead lightly until the dough is silky. Oil a medium bowl and add the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. Punch down the dough, then let it rise again for another 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the almonds in a pie plate and bake for 10 minutes. In a medium saucepan, combine the remaining 2 cups of sugar and 1 cup of water with the lemon juice and cardamom and simmer over moderate heat until reduced by half; strain. Let cool slightly, stir in the rose water.
3. In a large saucepan, heat the vegetable oil to 325 degrees F. Meanwhile, divide the dough into quarters. Cut each quarter into 10 pieces. Using wet hands, shape into balls and poke a hole in the center of each. Carefully add the doughnuts to the hot oil in batches and fry until browned, about 1 minute per side. Drain on paper towels.
4. Dip 1 side of each doughnut in the syrup and sprinkle with the almonds; serve.
Yield: 40 servings

It's kind of like cinnamon or ground dry ginger as far as usage and flavor note. I just bought a jar of pods ($$$) to grind as I need for the Indian sweets I've been making.

Just today 
I came across this recipe using cardamom.

Baked French Toast With Cardamom and Apricot Preserves

Ingredients:


1-1/4 cups apricot preserves

10 ( 4 x 4 x 1-inch-thick) slices egg bread or Texas toast

1-1/4 cups whole milk

3/4 cup whipping cream

1/2 cup sugar

3 large egg yolks

3 large eggs

1-1/4 teaspoons ground cardamom

1 teaspoon grated orange peel

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel


For citrus syrup:


1-1/4 cups light corn syrup

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons grated orange peel

1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

4 teaspoons sugar

Powdered sugar



Directions:


1) To make French toast:

Butter 15 x 10 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Spread preserves evenly over 1 side of each bread slice. Cut slices diagonally in half, forming triangles. Arrange triangles crosswise in dish, preserve side up and overlapping slightly. Whisk milk and next 7 ingredients in large bowl. Pour custard over bread. Let bread stand 1 hour, basting occasionally, or cover and refrigerate overnight.


2) To make citrus syrup:

Mix first 5 ingredients in small bowl, stirring until sugar dissolves. Let stand at least 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)


3) To cook:

Preheat oven to 350degrees F. Bake French toast, uncovered, until puffed and golden brown, about 50 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar; serve with citrus syrup. Yield: 10 servings

The blog has a nice photo. Looks yummy to me.

Jim

Here is a link that might be useful: Blog Link

Thanks, Mustangs! DH was talking about breaking out the deep fryer for malasadas next time he's home. Sounds like a good time to make this, too!

I don't remember where I found it, but I like this.

Cardamom Spice Ice Cream Recipe

Ingredients

1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
2 Cups Half & Half
1 TBSP Honey
Cup Brown Sugar
½ Cup Sugar
1 ½ TSP Cardamom
1 ½ TSP Cinnamon
1 ¼ TSP Vanilla Extract
2 TSP Lemon Juice
1 Pinch of Salt

Instructions
Blend all ingredients together and freeze according to your ice cream maker instructions.

Great minds Jaz, great minds. If those don't sell someone on cardamom, nothing will!

OK, Renee, what is a malasada?

Annie

My housekeeper lit right up when I made us hamburgers for lunch and had sprinkled a pinch of cardamon on them. She has raved about them for months now... suppose I should take the hint and make them again.

I use it in curry and on coffee grounds before brewing. An interesting spice that seems to be easy to experiment with. I can see it going into meatloaf and stuffed cabbage rolls in my future. So far I've stuck to very low amounts... just a fine dusting over a burger as it cooks or a tiny pinch in the coffee grounds.

Next time you watch Casablanca have some in a cup of coffee.

: )
lyra

How could I forget? It's an important (to me) ingredient in Chai tea!

Annie - A malasada is an Azorean yeast doughnut (but without the hole). They are pretty simple to make, and addictively good. They are popular in Hawaii and the New Bedford MA area, having been introduced there by immigrants from Sao Miguel, Azores.

I'm told that it was traditional to make them for Fat Tuesday in order to use up the lard and eggs before Lent, but you can find them for sell at nearly any Portuguese festa year-round. I just like making them when there's snow on the ground and plenty of people around to help eat them. DH's ancestors would probably spin in their graves to have them served with cardamom syrup. LOL! Then again, maybe not: after all, the Portuguese WERE the ones to bring most spices toe the rest of Europe and never met a spice they didn't like. :)

Cardamom is used in making Swedish sweetbreads, and that's how I first started using it. It's like a substitute for cinnamon in a cinnamon roll, and I prefer it to cinnamon, which I really don't like very much. It goes much further than cinnamon, however. I buy the pods at an Indian market, and it wasnt expensive, considering how little is needed. It's better to buy the pods and grind them yourself, as the ground cardamom has much less flavor. I tend to use it mostly in Indian curries, rather than in desserts.

Lars

I made these fabulous carrot cake cupcakes, and everyone loved them. I used the recipe from The Silver Palate for the cream cheese frosting. A little cardamom goes a long way. I used to make a four layer almond torte that has a little cardamom in it, a lovely marriage of delicate flavors.

I have grown to love cardamom, in learning about the cuisines of India. It is very strong, and 1/2 t for a loaf of lemon bread sounds heavy to me, especially if the cardamom was of a good, fresh quality. Generally speaking, pre-ground cardamom can be quite strong when you first open the container, but loses "zip" quite rapidly with exposure to air. The pods keep better, but then you have the hassle of breaking them open and grinding the seeds yourself if you need it powdered. I mostly prefer to crack the pods lightly and simmer them whole in whatever it is I'm making, remembering to remove them before serving. Bite into one and you'll taste nothing else.

I've always fancied that cardamom and ginger would make a nice perfume. Must be the foodie in me.

It is claimed that eating cardamom every day will improve eyesight, strengthen the nervous system and generally improve health. Seeds prepared as a tea are used to treat sore throat, as a preventative for morning sickness and nausea, rheumatism and migraine, incontinence, bronchitis, asthma, complaints of the lung, bedwetting and digestive disorders. Seeds are chewed to aid digestion and sweeten the breath. A little cardamom taken each day may improve gluten intolerance.

Cardamom-Honey Bread Pudding
6 thick slices crusty, stale French bread
1 teaspoon cardamom powder
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups milk
1 egg
pinch salt

Shred the bread, into 2cm cubes and arrange, tightly packed, into a glass baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk the egg, milk, cardamom, vanilla and nutmeg until well blended. Add the honey, and whisk until the mixture is frothy. Pour the liquid over the bread and leave for 1 hour, pressing the top every 10-15 minutes with a spatula to prevent the top from drying out. Bake at 180°C for 50 minutes or until the top is puffy and browned. Cool on a rack for 20-30 minutes before serving.

Cardamom Carrot Cake
1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 cup self raising flour plus extra for dusting
2 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom seeds
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup softened clarified butter
1 1/2 cups grated carrots, firmly packed
2 tablespoons chopped pistachios
2 tablespoons chopped blanched almonds
2 tablespoons raisins

Rub a 23cm round cake tin with the vegetable oil and then dust it very lightly with flour. Preheat oven to 180°C. Beat the eggs well in a large bowl. Add the cardamom, sugar, and clarified butter. Keep beating until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Add the sifted flour and fold it in gently with a spatula. Add the carrots, pistachios, almonds, and raisins, and fold them in gently. Turn the cake batter into the prepared tin and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean and the top is golden red.

How nice to see this thread! Cardamom is one of my favorite spices; I associate it with Danish holiday baking.

A food writer on NPR Saturday predicted that cardamom with be one of the flavour trends of 2010, and I resolved to do more with the savory side of cardamom. I'm not big on curries, but I know there's a whole world of Arabic cooking that uses cardamom in main course dishes.

Interesting, Alison. I love cardamom and have the following recipe from F&W in my to try file. I think I need to move it to the This Week file instead!

Cardamom Chicken with Rice Pilaf

Ingredients
4 chicken legs (about 3 pounds)
2 1/2 tablespoons cooking oil
Ground cardamom
Salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
1 tablespoon butter, cut into 4 pieces
1 small onion, minced
1 1/2 cups basmati or other long-grain rice
1/4 cup raisins
2 1/4 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
1/4 cup apple juice
Directions
1.Heat the oven to 450°. Coat the chicken with 1 tablespoon of the oil and season with 1/2 teaspoon cardamom, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the pepper. Put the chicken in a roasting pan and top each leg with a piece of the butter. Roast the chicken until just done, about 30 minutes.
2.Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil over moderately low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and 1 teaspoon cardamom and stir to coat the rice with the oil. Add the raisins, broth, and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let sit, without removing the lid, for 5 minutes. Stir with a fork.
3.Remove the chicken from the pan. Pour off all the fat from the pan. Set the pan over the heat; add the apple juice and 1/8 teaspoon each cardamom and salt. Cook, scraping the bottom of the pan to dislodge any brown bits, until reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 3 minutes. Serve the chicken topped with a drizzle of the sauce and with the rice pilaf alongside.
. Raisins and apple juice contribute a slightly sweet fruitiness to this dish, contrasting with the cardamom. A California chardonnay thats oak aged as most of them are will provide a similar juxtaposition of sweet fruitiness and spice.

One of my foodie friends gave me a gift of a box of spices from Penzey's, and one of the jars was cardamom pods. Recipes call for so little, I doubt I'll ever use it up -- an irony, because I know the reason she gave me that gift is that she is appalled at how long I keep my spices and herbs!

Anyway, last night I made a lamb tagine (well, I made it in a slow cooker) because it called for both cardomom and charnushka, which was also in the box (I'd never heard of it). Yum, it was great!

I had Googled "lamb" and "charnushka," and found this recipe from Laura Frankel, Jewish Slow Cooker Recipes (as reprinted in The Chicago Tribune). I omitted the fennel, because it was the only ingredient I didn't have in the house on a cold and snowy day, and I'm not crazy about it anyway. I also left out the red pepper flakes because DD and her delicate palate are home!

Lamb Tagine
Prep: 20 minutes Cook: 4 ¼ hours Makes: 10 servings

Adapted from "Jewish Slow Cooker Recipes."

3 pounds lamb shoulder, cut into 2-inch cubes

½ teaspoon coarse salt

Freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 Spanish onions, diced

6 carrots, peeled, diced

2 fennel bulbs, trimmed, cored, diced, fronds reserved for garnish

8 cloves garlic, chopped

½ cup each: halved pitted dates, halved dried figs, halved dried apricots

3 tablespoons Moroccan spice mix, see recipe

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons charnushka, optional

3 to 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

Strips of lemon zest, chopped cilantro (FEH!) or harissa

Heat a 6-1/2 quart slow cooker to low. Pat the lamb dry with paper towels; season with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat; add olive oil. Brown the lamb on all sides, in batches, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the lamb to the slow cooker insert.

Add onions to skillet; cook until lightly browned, scraping up any browned bits left behind by the lamb. Transfer the onions to the insert. Cook the carrots and fennel, stirring often, until slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic; cook 1 minute. Transfer the vegetables to the insert.

Add the dates, figs, apricots, spice mix, tomato paste and charnushka to the insert. Add broth to cover. Cover; cook on low until the lamb is tender. Serve with choice of lemon zest, cilantro or harissa.

The tagine can be made and stored, covered, in the refrigerator for up to two days, or frozen for up to 1 month. To reheat gently, place the tagine in a covered casserole and heat in a 300-degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve with steamed couscous.

Nutrition information
Per serving: 467 calories, 47% of calories from fat, 24 g fat, 10 g saturated fat, 108 mg cholesterol, 29 g carbohydrates, 34 g protein, 498 mg sodium, 6 g fiber

Moroccan spice mix
Grind two 2-inch cinnamon sticks (broken into pieces) with 1 tablespoon coriander seeds; 1 teaspoon each cumin seeds and chili flakes; ½ teaspoon each fenugreek seeds and anise seeds and seeds from 1 cardamom pod. Transfer spice mix to a bowl. Stir in 1 teaspoon dark brown sugar if you wish. Store away from light in a tightly covered container for up to 3 months.

If you dont have whole spices, consider this quick alternative: Mix 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon each ground cumin and coriander, pinch ground cloves and salt and pepper to taste.

I like it in Indian dishes. Not a great fan of it in a starring role. But this recipe is so weird I want to try it.

Chocolate Bark with Cardamom and Sea Salt, Apricots and Pistachios

This recipe comes from Deborah Madisonâs forthcoming Desserts from Farm, Garden, and Orchard. It makes a 10-by-6-inch slab of bark.

5 oz. bittersweet chocolate (70-percent cacao), chopped into chunks
½ tsp. cardamom seeds, toasted in a dry skillet until fragrant
3 Tbsp. Red Flame raisins or dried apricots, cut into small pieces
2 to 3 Tbsp. salted green pistachios, some left whole, some cut into large pieces
~ Fleur de sel (sea salt)

1. Line a large flat dish or baking tin (about 10 by 8 inches) with a piece of aluminum foil or parchment paper.
2. Put the chocolate and cardamom seeds in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. When the chocolate has melted, stir in half the fruit and pistachios.
3. Spread the mixture over the foil or paper in a thin sheet, then press the remaining fruits and nuts lightly into the warm chocolate. Sprinkle lightly with the salt.
4. Refrigerate until the bark has set, about an hour.
5. To serve, break the bark into pieces. Store any extra bark in the refrigerator in a covered container or waxed-paper bag. It will keep well for a few weeks, if it lasts that long.

As Lars pointed out, it's the distinctive taste in Swedish sweet buns. Lots of happy memories. I'm going to dig out my grandmother's recipe.

--Doug

BTW, Doug, welcome back, haven't seen you in a while!

Annie