Cardamom, whether green, white or brown. The name usually refers to green cardamom. It is used in both sweet and savoury dishes. It is one of the most valuable spices, along with saffron and vanilla. Cardamom pods grow on low fronds of a palm-like bush. They are hand-picked and then laid out on drying floors.
Jack fruit. The fruits can be enormous, up to 1 meter (3 ft) in length and weigh as much as 100 lb (45 kg). For this reason they are most often sold ready cut, in sections. The colour of the flesh varies with the variety, and can be anything from yellow to pink. They grow in the Western Ghats range of mountains. When the fruits are immature, they provide a starchy vegetable which needs to be cooked. When ripe, they are sweet, with a strong flavour. The section should be set on a board and the thickened heart cut out. This means cutting it across ways, about half way down, below the internal stem.The flesh can then be pulled away in hunks enclosing seeds. The seeds can be peeled and cooked and have a flavour of chestnuts. The hunks of flesh which held the seeds can be stuffed with sweet fillings. In appearance they are light green, ripening to yellow brown, and covered in hard, knobbly spines.
Mace. Nutmeg is the kernel of a fruit similar to an apricot, and is wrapped in a scarlet leathery lace or aril of mace. Nutmeg is a hard kernel which needs to be grated.
