Cardamom Pods
Known in its native India as the "queen of spices," cardamom has spiced dishes set before Roman nobles and medieval kings. Today, this relative of the ginger plant is a common coffee flavoring throughout the Middle East, a spice for sweets in Scandinavia and a constituent in curries throughout southern Asia. Cardamom, as English speakers know it, refers to green cardamom, the seed pods of the Elettaria cardamom plant. While cardamom's warm, resinous sweetness has no exact substitute, other spices share some of cardamom's characteristic flavors and can pinch-hit for cardamom if necessary.
Nutmeg
Nutmeg's warm, woody character approximates cardamom's flavor and aroma. Like cardamom, nutmeg is strongly aromatic and lends itself equally well to sweet or savory dishes. However, nutmeg lacks the brighter citrus and menthol components of cardamom's taste. Nutmeg is more accessible and less expensive than cardamom, but lacks the latter's complexity. Substitute nutmeg for cardamom in recipes at a one-to-one ratio. For example, if the recipe calls for half a teaspoon of cardamom, use half a teaspoon of nutmeg instead.
Cinnamon
Cardamom and cinnamon share a similar warmth of flavor, but cardamom lacks cinnamon's heat. Because of its distinctive flavor, cinnamon works best as a component in a spice mixture used as a cardamom substitute -- not as an exact substitute by itself. Cinnamon tastes familiar in sweets and candies, but can quickly overwhelm a savory dish. Use half as much cinnamon as you would cardamom in a sweet recipe. In a savory dish, cut the cinnamon to no more than a quarter of the amount of cardamom specified.
Coriander
Roasted coriander seeds have a warm, nutty flavor with citrus overtones. Their size and flavor profile make them a good substitute for whole cardamom pods, particularly in savory recipes. Although coriander seeds come from the same plant that produces the herb cilantro, the two taste nothing alike; coriander seeds make a viable substitute for cardamom, but cilantro does not. Substitute the seeds of this parsley relative for cardamom directly in savory recipes. In sweet recipes, cut the amount of coriander in half.
Allspice
Allspice tastes like a blend of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and pepper with a hint of cardamom. It's logical, then, that allspice could double as cardamom in recipes. Allspice doesn't have the warmth that cardamom does, but it matches cardamom's expansive fragrance well. Use it sparingly -- do not use more than a quarter of the amount called for as a cardamom subsitute. Allspice's flavor lingers more than cardamom's, so use a lighter hand with it than you would with cardamom.
Spice Blends
While no single spice exactly matches cardamom's flavor profile, spice blends can approximate it. Mix equal parts of nutmeg, coriander, and allspice for a plausible cardamom substitute in savory dishes. In place of cardamom in sweet recipes, use a blend of four parts of nutmeg to one part each of cinnamon, clove, and allspice. To mimic cardamom's citrus overtones, add a small quantity of orange zest to either blend. Finish the spice mixture with a pinch of ground ginger.
Tags: coriander seeds, more than, cardamom flavor, cardamom lacks, cardamom recipes
