Cardamom in Mead
Sweet, intense, fruity, spicy, a hint of citrus and pine, Cardamom is a unique ingredient to have in one's pantry.
Generally sold in one of two forms, green or black. These are not the same thing. They bring two totally different flavour profiles and should not be simply interchanged without an awareness of this fact coupled with the imagination to foresee the end result.
Green Cardamom comes from the species Elettaria cardamomum and are picked before they are ripe, while they are still green. The full pod of the green cardamom is used, it is dried at low heats to preserve flavours and is sold either whole or crushed. The quality of Cardamom can of course vary from area to area and even from village to village.
Often Cardamom seeds are sold separately, these are the seeds from the green cardamom and will give less of the citrus notes than whole buds.
Black Cardamom is from a different species, Amomum subulatum and has been picked much later in the growing season before being dried and roasted over flames, it is often only the seeds that are used and the hard husks are discarded.
As you can imagine, black cardamom has a smokiness to it, it brings mint and menthol to the table but is much softer in its presence than its green friend.
Cardamom is reportedly the third most expensive spice there is. So it is not one that gets a lot of experimentation given to it. It is a unique ingredient that brings a quality well worth its price.
In Meads a little goes a long way. I find it to be an ingredient that brings a new dimension and complexity to the "baking spices" such as cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg etc.
A quick dry toast before being given a bash with the pestle and into a mead post fermentation works well. I don't combine this with other spices in the bag, it often needs longer or shorter than the other ingredients.
Either of the Cardamoms go well with citrus, black cardamom goes particularly well in a burnt marmalade mead, green cardamom, ginger and lemon is a pleasant mix.
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