Cardamom is a highly prized spice used in flavouring curries and puddings. The pods are often add to dishes, but should be discarded, as they are woody. The flavour is in the seeds, which can also be added to black coffee or milky tea. Cardamom pods grow on low fronds of a palm-like bush. They are hand-picked and then laid out on drying floors. AS with saffron and vanilla, other labour-intensive crops, this adds hugely to the cost. Like them, it is a king of spices. Cardamom is often used in puddings, such as rice pudding, but is also good mixed with a little oil and used to dress fish.
