Cardamom up on fresh spot demand

Press Trust of India / New Delhi November 01, 2011, 11:42 IST

Cardamom futures prices moved up by Rs 6.10 to Rs 668.50 per kg today on fresh demand in the spot market, driven by the ongoing wedding season.

Restricted arrivals from producing region also supported the uptrend in cardamom futures prices.

At the Multi Commodity Exchange, November cardamom gained Rs 6.10, or 0.92%, to Rs 668.50 per kg, with a business turnover of 536 lots.

The December delivery moved up by Rs 6, or 0.84%, to Rs 719.30 per kg, with a trade volume of 212 lots.

Traders said fresh demand in the spot markets on account of the ongoing marriage season and restricted arrivals from southern producing region mainly led to the rise in cardamom futures prices here.

Taken From: http://business-standard.com/india/news/cardamom-upfresh-spot-demand/150021/on

Colombian farmers find in Cardamom a way to diversify their crops

Cardamom Plantations in Valparaiso, Colombia

Valparaiso, Located in the southwest of Antioquia, is a town known mostly for its coffee plantations, Over the years it has become the epicenter for cardamom plantations in colombia due to its climate and fertile lands. and its been a blessing for the farmers, first of all, cardamom is one of the most prized spices in the market, as you have read in our website. it has helped the farmers to diversify their crop, making them less dependent on the coffee plantations and thus, providing a more stable income for the community.

Cardamom plants, approximate age of 6 months

Very few people know that Cardamom has been grown in Colombia for more than thirty five years, however, lack of demand and Guatemala's large scale production gave way for coffee to reclaim its ground and take over the few cardamom plantations that were mostly located around the Quindio, Nariño, Antioquia regions.

Alonso, Manager of the Cooperative Farmers project talking to Cardamom growers

About ten years ago cardamom buyers from arab countries came to Colombia looking for cardamom once again, and they asked Alonso Munera, a business man whose past endeavors were focused on the fragrance sector and the fresh fruit market , he knew cardamom from his fragrance background and saw the opportunity to get into the spice market, without thinking it twice, he started along with many farmers what is today the Cooperative of valparaiso.

Cardamom Perfumes

Each week we'll be featuring a perfume that utilizes Cardamom as one of its main notes. there are as many perfumes made with cardamom as there are nations in the world, what we want to find out is what role Cardamom plays in every perfume and if you use one of the mentioned fragrances, please share your thoughts, today we'll begin with Finjan, a middle eastern fragrance from the Ayala Moriel House.



                    FINJAN

This perfume is dedicated to the middle-eastern guest welcoming, with dark, sweet and fragrantly spiced Turkish coffee. Turkish coffee is the inspiration for this unique blend of Middle Eastern flowers, spices and sweet balsams.

Famlies: Gourmand, Oriental Spicy

Notes: Balsam Tolu, Blood Orange, Cardamom Cinnamon , Clove Bud, Coffee AbsoluteCoriander, Honey Absolute , Jasmine Grandiflorum Rose Maroc,Sweet Orange.

The Real Cardamom Chai

Taken From www.korasoi.blogspot.com

Cardamom Chai

There’s nothing I like better than a little mug of sweet cardamom tea to unwind after an action-packed day. Today the term ‘chai’ has become a generic term for posh frothy mugs of under-spiced and over-priced drinks available in coffee shops across the globe.This makes me sad.

The recipe for chai is one I email out a lot to readers and I think finally, it's time to officially share one with everyone. It's taken me long enough.

If you’ve never tasted a real cup of Indian chai, you won’t know that it should be spicy, not just aromatic but full of heat from ground cloves, cinnamon and peppercorns. The spice should be balanced with a generous amount of sugar, milk (or condensed milk) and of course, well-brewed tea leaves.

This is the epitome of the perfect Indian chai.

Making tea is a fine-tuned art everyone can be a dab hand at. Every family has its own recipe but the balance of flavours will always be in perfect harmony. Don’t be shy, play with flavours, and find your favourite combinations of spices. Just make sure they are balanced against the strength of tea, and quantities of milk and sugar.

I’m currently in love with fresh green cardamom pods and find myself adding it to just about anything from Paneer Butter Masalato Eggless Banana and Cardamom Crème Brûlée. Insanely delicious.

Something I’ve been receiving a lot of questions about via email is how to add depth of flavour to homemade chai. The answer is simple and if you haven't been to India to it made by the super-talented chaiwalla, it’s something any Indian can reveal to you – just boil it in a saucepan.

The secret, revealed

Boiling tea leaves with milk, water and ground spices for seven to twelve minutes removes the ‘raw’ smell of milk and ensures the spices and tea are well infused into the final product. The stronger you like your tea, the longer you leave it to boil.

Finally, strain the chai through a fine-holed sieve to catch any spice sediment. Wouldn’t want to gulp that down. Having said this, excess masala settling at the bottom of the cup is completely normal – just don’t drink it.

I love the feeling of almost reaching the bottom of the cup and knowing it’s going to get a little bit spicier.

Cardamom Tea

(serves two)

Ingredients

290ml water

290ml whole milk

1 tbsp black tea leaves (I use Darjeeling)

1 tsp freshly ground green cardamom seeds

1-inch stick cinnamon

2 tbsp sugar

Method

1. Boil the water along with the tea leaves, cardamom and cinnamon for 3 minutes. 

2. Add the milk and sugar and continue to boil for at least a further 5 minutes or more, up to 9 minutes. Ensure it’s on a rolling boil.

3. Strain into cups using a fine-holed sieve and serve.

Cardamom as Fragrance

Cardamom is a well balanced middle note in aromatic, woody and cologne accords and can be used as a top note in spicy accords. A smokey and cool spice, not unlik ginger but certainly with more of a peppery, basil zing.


Used to add a firm and balancing warm spice or an herbacious burst to fragrances. Definitely green in character, but peppery as well. Used in designer fragrances such as Azzaro for Men, Dolce & Gabbana The One for Men and Aromatonic for women. Pairs well with citrus notes, artemisia, and woods.


This magic spice is an ingredient in some Dark Age versions of kyphi, the ancient Egyptian incense that became a medicine, and is often given as a substitute for cinnamon, which is a good match in terms of its strength of warmth, pliny mentions it as an ingredient in the Egyptian perfume called Metopium, and the Romans incorporated into perfumes as well, often combining it with saffron and myrrhm Cardamom is still often found in perfumes, especially "masculine" ones, and it is especially  nice combined with orange, cinammon, cloves, and caraway. 


You can find cardamom in fragrances all the time. It’s in Ormonde Jayne’s “Man” and “Woman,” two of the most gorgeous fragrances out there. Jean-Claude Ellena used it in his India-themed Un Jardin Apres La Mousson of course, but it’s also in his Eau Parfumee au The Vert. It’s in L’Artisan’s Timbuktu and Chanel’s Pour Monsieur, Donna Karan’s Chaos and Malle’s Cologne Bigarade. Basenotes lists 331 scents that use it (and I’m sure there are more).

So what does pure cardamom smell and taste like? Primary research time:

The pod, when chewed, is papery and tough. I can see why it was once used as a toothbrush. The black seeds inside contain the flavor. I chewed some of them and...man. There’s sweetness, quickly eclipsed by bitter lemon rind-like taste. Then comes menthol and camphor, a greenish Eucalyptus, and a slight numbing of the tongue. Smelling the crushed pods and seeds reveals the camphor, and when deeply inhaled it cools the nasal passages.

I left the crushed pods out overnight. Their scent this morning had a fruitiness that wasn’t there initially. It had mellowed, become more aromatic, but without the overwhelming Vicks Vap-O-Rub-like camphor of the just-crushed seeds.

It was Eau Parfumee au The Verte that renewed my interest in fine perfumery, which had been more or less dormant for years prior to that. I had no idea what the ingredients were and no desire to find out then; I just knew I loved the perfume. Smelling it now, with a mortar full of crushed cardamom pods alongside, I think: of course. Cardamom.

Perfumery is where we rediscover the world.

.

Cardamom Recipes

Swedish cardamom bread

Ingredients:

1/4 cup lukewarm water (1050F)

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk, scalded

6 to 6-1/2 cups bread flour

1-1/2 cups butter or margarine, softened

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 teaspoons cardamom

2/3 cup golden raisins

1 egg white beaten with 1 tablespoon water

spice up your Cocktails with Cardamom. III

Panaka Punch, submitted byPanfusine

1 oz chilled Lemon flavored Vodka
2 oz Domain de Canton Ginger liqueur
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon powdered dry ginger
2-3 pods Cardamom (seeds lightly crushed)
1/2 a lime ( juice squeezed )
3 ounces chilled sparkling water or lime flavored seltzer

Muddle the brown sugar, cardamom seeds, ginger powder and lime juice till the sugar dissolves. add the vodka, and ginger liqueur along with the seltzer/sparkling water. Strain into glasses (rimmed with sugar if desired) & serve chilled.