In cooking, few other elements possess the power to enhance, balance, or even salvage a recipe the way spices can. When used properly, they can take the palate to pleasing and surprising places.

Thrive Market’s Organic Ground Cardamom is USDA Certified Organic, Kosher Certified, and non-GMO. It is carefully tracked from its point of origin, ensuring quality, cleanliness, and organic nature. With our stringent quality control standards that means you’re getting the very best spices available, all at the best price possible.

All about cardamom

Cardamom is sometimes spelled cardamon or cardamum. No matter how you spell it, this spice is made from the seeds of plants in the genera Elettaria and Amomum, family Zingiberaceae (ginger). These plants are native to India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Indonesia, Nepal, and Bangladesh. The seeds grow in small pods with a thin, papery shell. Elettaria is green cardamom, with light green pods, while Amomum pods are larger, with a dark brown outer covering. Ground cardamom is made from the seeds without their outer shell.

Also called Grains of Paradise, this spice has been used for thousands of years and is known to be highly aromatic, woody, and pungent. It is perhaps one of the world’s most ancient spices that found its way into herbal medicines, as well as foods. The spice comes from the seeds of a plant in the ginger family that is native to southern India. Although, now cardamom is cultivated widely in Guatemala, which is currently the largest producer of cardamom in the world.

Cardamom is the third most expensive spice in the world, behind vanilla and saffron. Despite its high cost, only a small amount is needed to produce potent flavor.

With a strong aroma and taste—it’s easy to distinguish in a dish, but not overwhelming. It also pairs well with ginger, turmeric, allspice, pepper, cinnamon, and many other spices. Cardamom smells somewhat like cloves, and its taste has been described as a cross between ginger and cinnamon, with a definite floral and somewhat spicy scent.

The spice is used widely in Middle Eastern, Indian, and Asian cuisine, where it flavors curries and is a key component in many spice blends. It is a traditional part of Indian and Nepali masalas, plays a key role in Thai curry pastes, and also serves as customary drink in Asia, cardamom tea.

Cardamom also featured in many traditional Scandinavian recipes, like glogg (mulled wine), the Finnish sweet bread pulla, the Scandinavian Jule bread Julekake, and the Swedish kardemummabullar sweet bun. It lends a spicy-sweet note to many festive holiday dishes, but is versatile enough to deserve a place as a staple in your spice cabinet.

A brief history of cardamom

The story of cardamom is almost as old as civilization itself. The ancient Egyptians used cardamom thousands of years ago in medicines and embalming rituals, and also chewed cardamom pods to help clean their teeth and freshen their breath.

The Vikings discovered cardamom during their travels to Constantinople and brought it back to Scandinavia, where it is still found in many dishes and drinks today. Glogg, a traditional mulled wine, features cardamom as a key spice, and it is also used in Scandinavian meatballs and pastries.

In the early 1900s, a German coffee planter brought cardamom to Guatemala, where it began to be cultivated on large plantations. Currently, Guatemala is the largest producer of cardamom in the world while India is the second largest. In recent decades, increased demand for cardamom has led to additional farming in countries like China, Laos, and Vietnam.

Health benefits of cardamom

The spice is rich in vitamins and nutrients including: niacin, riboflavin, pyridoxine, thiamine, vitamin A, vitamin C, sodium, potassium, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, zinc and phosphorus.

Cardamom Recipes

Orange-Cardamom Madeleines

What a delightful and delicious holiday recipe! These dainty little seashell-shaped cakes taste great with the combination of citrus, sweet, and spicy cardamom. Even better—the recipe is gluten-free!

Spiced Apple Oat Cookies

These healthy, spice-filled, gluten-free cookies boast crisp, golden edges with a chewy middle. Try them with a mug of hot tea or cider.

Paleo Banana Upside-Down Cake

This paleo-friendly recipe uses raw honey, ghee, and bananas to top an almond flour base sweetened with more bananas and maple syrup. Cardamom, cinnamon, and vanilla complement the maple and banana to make a deliciously spiced grain-free cake.

Best-Ever Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins

Savory, rich ghee and delicate almond flour form the base of this delightful muffin filled with antioxidant-rich blueberries. Cardamom and cinnamon spice things up and pumpkin seeds add some crunch to the top.

More about Thrive Market products

At Thrive Market, our mission is to bring you the highest quality organic goods at truly affordable prices. That's why we've gone directly to the source to develop our own line of premium products made from the very best all-natural ingredients at a fraction of the usual price.

Finally, you don't need to choose between cost and quality, taste and health, value and your values. If it has the Thrive Market seal, you can trust that you're getting the highest quality product possible at the best price possible. Shop our premium, organic, and fair-trade certified virgin coconut oil, spices, nuts and dried fruit, tomato sauces, ghee, and sprouted grains today!

Thrive Market, Organic Ground Cardamom