Green Cardamom Pods
Shop for superior-quality green cardamom in bulk
Current price: Dhs. 32.00 Original price: Dhs. 38.00
Save 15% (-Dhs. 6.00)
Vanilla Beans
Excellent Product! Excellent Service!
I'm a convert
I've been making my own vanilla extract for over a decade and used to buy my beans based on reviews at a Infamous Global seller. Was never sure what I would get. Then I found this company! The beans were beautiful! Fragrant, moist but not too moist, easy to cut open to expose the seeds and each Bean was six to seven inches long. I'm a happy extract maker! 💝💃🥳
High Quality Vanilla - excellent customer service.
Slo Food group team takes great care of their customers. Received a broken bottle of Vanilla and it was immediately handled. Received my replacement bottle within 3 days.
This extract is used to make our Tahitian Vanilla Cakes!
Great place to get your spices
SLO Food group is the best place I have found to buy my vanilla beans, great customer service, fast shipping and very competitive prices. Thank you for helping me with my project, Vanilla extract. Thank you don young
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Vanilla Beans
Excellent Product! Excellent Service!
I'm a convert
I've been making my own vanilla extract for over a decade and used to buy my beans based on reviews at a Infamous Global seller. Was never sure what I would get. Then I found this company! The beans were beautiful! Fragrant, moist but not too moist, easy to cut open to expose the seeds and each Bean was six to seven inches long. I'm a happy extract maker! 💝💃🥳
High Quality Vanilla - excellent customer service.
Slo Food group team takes great care of their customers. Received a broken bottle of Vanilla and it was immediately handled. Received my replacement bottle within 3 days.
This extract is used to make our Tahitian Vanilla Cakes!
Great place to get your spices
SLO Food group is the best place I have found to buy my vanilla beans, great customer service, fast shipping and very competitive prices. Thank you for helping me with my project, Vanilla extract. Thank you don young
A Spice Worth Its Price
One of the World's Oldest Spices
Elettaria cardamomum has been prized for centuries, and remains the third most expensive spice in the world after saffron and vanilla.
Real Scarcity, Not Just Marketing
According to CARDEGUA, Guatemala's official cardamom growers association, crop theft and aging plantations put real, ongoing pressure on supply, genuine scarcity behind the price.
A Little Goes a Long Way
Cardamom's intense flavor means a small amount flavors an entire dish, making each package last far longer than the price per pound suggests.
Sweet or Savory, It Delivers
From chai and kulfi to curries and roasted poultry, few spices cross between sweet and savory applications as effortlessly as green cardamom.
Technical Specifications
| Origin | Guatemala |
|---|---|
| Botanical Name | Elettaria cardamomum |
| Common Names | Green Cardamom, True Cardamom, Elaichi |
| Form | Whole Pods, Minor Split, Smell Blemishes |
| Color/Appearance | Green, Pale Green, Yellowish Outer Pod; Seeds Brownish-Grey-Blue Inside |
| Pod Size | 6.5-8.5 mm |
| Certifications | Kosher (EarthKosher), GMP |
| Flavor Profile | Flowery, Citrusy, Intense; Notes of Menthol and Pine |
| Uses | Coffee, Rice, Poultry, Curries, Chai, Kulfi, Baking, Vegetable Dishes |
| Pairing | Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Ginger, Vanilla |
| Shelf Life | 24-36 Months |
| Storage | Tightly Sealed Container, Cool, Dark Place |
| Packaging | Food-Grade Pouch or Bag; Corrugated Box with Liner for Bulk Orders |
Premium Quality Green Cardamom Pods from Guatemala
Used in both savory and sweet recipes, green cardamom pods are a superstar in the cooking world. Most famously, cardamom is heavily consumed in India and the Middle East. Cardamom's use in food also continues to grow in both the US and Europe due to its unique flavor profile. Like Arabica coffee, green cardamom plants thrive in mountainous regions, so Guatemala is a significant exporter of both products. However, despite cardamom thriving in this country, Guatemalans do not use this spice. Ready to put your cardamom to use? Try it in this cardamom and orange loaf cake.
Cardamom Origins: Where Does Green Cardamom Come From?
The Differences Between Green and Black Cardamom Pods
How to Use Green Cardamom in Cooking
Green cardamom pods are actually part of the ginger family. Elettaria cardamomum, as these pods are often called, are one of the world's oldest spices. Most cardamom pods are cultivated in countries like Southern India, Sri Lanka, and Guatemala. These pods bring a citrusy, intense flavor to any dish. Each pod combines a triangular outer shell containing seed clusters arranged in a spindle shape, with small seeds in a brownish, grey, blue hue inside. These seeds can be removed and ground to powder, or the pod can be used whole.
Green cardamom pods have a flowery, citrusy flavor and can be ground for use in coffee, rice, and poultry. Some cooks prefer to lightly roast the pods before adding them to a dish, but they're just as tasty in their original dried form. When stored in a tightly sealed container, green cardamom pods will keep their flavor for years. Cardamom is the third most expensive spice in the world, behind saffron and vanilla beans. It's a staple in Middle Eastern and Scandinavian cuisine, but has become a popular ingredient worldwide due to its diverse use in sweet and savory cooking. Buy bulk green cardamom online at Slofoodgroup spice shop.
The difference between green and black cardamom is apparent from the name, but aside from color, the two are different in appearance, aroma, and use.
There are two primary varieties of cardamom, black and green. Green cardamom pods have a powerful aroma and flavor and are smaller than black cardamom pods. Though it's one of the most expensive spices, green cardamom is commonly found in small glass jars in the spice section of most grocery stores. Black cardamom pods are cheaper than green cardamom but aren't as popular. They're usually larger, more fibrous, and have a dark, smoky flavor. Additional cardamom types include yellow and white sub-varieties.
The flavor of cardamom: Cardamom shares characteristics with ginger and turmeric, its family members, but its flavor is unlike either. Green cardamom has a uniquely strong flavor and aroma, with notes of citrus and menthol as the most predominant. Some describe it as tasting similar to menthol, pine, or even fruit. Green cardamom pods can be used whole, crushed, or as just the seeds.
Black cardamom, on the other hand, has a flavor similar to camphor with smoky undertones, and emits a cooling effect like mint. While green cardamom can be used as whole pods or seeds, only black cardamom seeds are suitable for cooking. Both varieties have an intense flavor, so use them sparingly to avoid overwhelming a dish.
Don't have cardamom on hand? You can substitute this distinctively flavored spice with either nutmeg or cinnamon in many recipes.
Even though green cardamom has an unusual flavor, it adds a delicious nuance to most dishes in the kitchen, in both sweet and savory applications, and even beverages. If you haven't yet tried green cardamom pods in your food, here are a few ways to experiment:
- Add whole green cardamom pods to meat or poultry dishes.
- Crush the pods and add them to improve the taste of rice.
- Include this spice in a vegetarian curry with chickpeas as the hero ingredient.
- Add ground green cardamom pods and pistachio nuts to kulfi, an Asian ice cream dish.
- Use it in a homemade masala chai or latte chai, or to enhance the flavor of your next cup of coffee, since cardamom is one of the core spices in chai blends.
- Add it to vegetable dishes like potatoes or sweet potatoes.
You can buy green cardamom pods to flavor nearly any dish, so don't be afraid to experiment. When buying, look past the price, you only need a small amount to flavor your food, making a package last a long time. Our green cardamom pods are freshly harvested in Guatemala and ready to use in all your favorite recipes.
Why Is Cardamom So Expensive?
Cardamom's high price comes down to more than just labor. The plants grow best in cool, high-altitude, shaded conditions, which limits where they can be cultivated at scale. Each pod must be hand-harvested at just the right stage of ripeness, since pods picked too early lack flavor and pods left too long tend to split open and lose their seeds before they can be collected. Because pods on the same plant don't ripen all at once, a single field often needs to be hand-picked multiple times over several weeks, a slow, labor-intensive process that can't be easily mechanized.
According to CARDEGUA, the official association of Guatemalan cardamom growers, the supply chain also faces real, ongoing pressures: crop theft, intermediary buyers pushing farmers to harvest before pods are fully ripe, and aging plantations that haven't been replanted in recent years. These factors mean that even in a good growing season, the amount of cardamom that actually reaches export can fall well short of what the plants are capable of producing, a genuine scarcity factor behind the price, not just a marketing story. It's part of what keeps cardamom in the same price tier as saffron and vanilla.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice are all great substitutes for green cardamom pods.
- Yes. Depending on the recipe, you may need to crack open the cardamom pod to expose the seeds. You can use a pestle and mortar or a grinding machine to do this.
- Yes, green cardamom pods are perfectly safe to eat. Both the pods and seeds are edible, and some describe the taste as similar to menthol, pine, or fruits.
- Cardamom is hand-harvested at just the right stage of ripeness, and because pods on the same plant don't ripen all at once, fields often need to be picked multiple times over several weeks. According to CARDEGUA, the official association of Guatemalan cardamom growers, the supply chain also faces real, ongoing pressures like crop theft and aging plantations, which can reduce how much cardamom actually reaches export even in a good growing season. This combination of labor-intensive harvesting and real supply pressure keeps cardamom in the same price tier as saffron and vanilla.
- Whole cardamom pods will last 2-3 years before losing flavor. Ground cardamom seeds have a shelf life of 1-2 years.
- Keep green cardamom pods in a tightly sealed container in a cool, dark place to extend their life.
- Green cardamom pods are currently available for purchase in bulk at Slofoodgroup.
