AllenOK
Executive Chef
In the Kitchen said:Could someone describe the taste of Cardamom? One recipe called for it and was over $11 so I just left it out but often wonder what would it have tasted like. Thanks
Also they have all their spices on sale this week. Could someone suggest some I should buy that normally costs over $5 that I should try to buy. I do like to get things at lower price.
Ok, I just pulled out my Cardamom and gave it a check. Now, I remind you, I have commited a vile sin by owning a small bottle of it for over 8 years, and not using it since I bought it. This is why I had to check it, as I forgot what the flavor/scent was.
Smell: It kind of reminded me of some kind of orange-scented candy.
Taste: I just licked the end of my finger, tapped a little of the spice on it, and tasted that. I DID NOT caramelize it, as cooking with it most probably would. It reminds me of cinnamon, but mixed with something else, which I believe would just be the way Cardomom tastes.
In use, the bottle (McCormick's) stated it is used in pastries, and Scandanavian cooking. I will agree with the pastries, as this is definitely a "sweet" spice. The only reason I bought it, was to make a cinnamon roll recipe that called for it. I wasn't impressed with the recipe, as it had to much Cardamom, not enough cinnamon and sugar.
When buying spices, remember that ounce for ounce, spices are more expensive than just about anything else. This has been true for centuries; peppercorns used to literally be worth their own weight in gold.
To get your money's worth, try to decide if the spice you are buying is something that you're going to use a lot of, or something that you're only going to use once or twice a year. Buy accordingly. If you are lucky, you will have some place that sells bulk spices by the ounce, so that you can buy a little, as needed. You'll just need a jar of some kind to store it in after you purchase it.