30 DAYS OPEN PURCHASEKnuckles Mountain in Sri Lanka's Kosgolla region. Cardamom is called the queen of spices for good reason, but what you usually find on shop shelves doesn't come close to what a truly exceptional specimen can deliver. I cannot stress enough how true that is. Before and after my chance to taste The Pepper Quest's cardamom was much like before and after my stubborn partner's long-postponed visit to the optician. This cardamom is an heirloom variety, Vhazukka, from the Ashoka family's plantations in the forest belts on the mountain's slopes. The variety is rarely cultivated and almost never exported. That we have it is a joy we don't take for granted.
The flavour is astoundingly complex. Minty notes of kiwi and pine shoots meet a deep, floral sweetness unlike any other cardamom we've encountered. The pods are picked just before full ripeness, washed and dried with care to preserve the volatile aromas that disappear if you wait too long. The shelled version makes them immediately ready for pestle and mortar.
Cardamom and Scandinavia share an old love story that arrived with the Vikings along the Silk Road and lodged itself in our baking culture for good. Use it generously in cardamom buns, but also try grinding half a pod over your morning coffee, stirring into porridge with honey, or cooking with lentils, chickpeas and lamb. It handles sweet and savoury contexts equally well, and a single taste converts every sceptic.
