Swad Cardamom Indian Grocery Spice, Pods Green, 3.5 Ounce

Such a great price and surprisingly good quality!Cardamom is one the most expensive spices, so I was suspicious of this product's price point and expected to have to (literally) grind through a lot of pods to get usable seeds, but... wow... there were only a few pods with grey/pale seeds; most revealed the hoped-for black and pungent seeds. There was a bit more pith (the "white stuff" that holds the seeds within the pod,) than I'm used to seeing, but it was papery and easily removed. And a little cardamom goes a long way, and this is a lot of cardamom, especially for the price.They do arrive in a "cheap" plastic bag, but the pods were crisp and easy to crack, and as stated above, mostly revealed quality seeds ready to grind. (Lose the bag and store the pods you don't use in an air-tight jar, and cardamom will remain good for years.)The packaging states these are from Guatemala, and offer a guarantee, as well.I used these for holiday recipes: cardamom meatballs, rye bread, which turned out great, with the expected pungent delayed impact of cardamom upon the taste buds. Oh... and a post-holiday attempt at a turkey masala (ahem... not recommended, but perhaps just my failed attempt.)

I learned this from an Indian lady in one of my classes in law school. When you add green cardamom to stuff, you’ve gotta break open the shell and get the seeds out first! I’m embarrassed that it took me so long to learn this.Now what I do is use my mortar and pestle to gently crack the pods open, pick out the shells, then close my eyes and blow into the bowl a few times to get the… chaff(?) out. When I’m done I’m left with the sweet aromatic seeds that adds great a great licorice flavor to whatever you’re putting them into!

I tried repeatedly to make a good chai using the usual spices in typical American kitchens, to no avail. Even bought cardamom seeds. But my wife found a recipe for chai that required whole spices that you grind yourself using a mortar and pestle, and we had to find whole cardamom pods. These green pods from Spicy World were very fresh, unbelievably wonderful smelling, and now I wonder why I ever fell into using packaged ground spices in the first place. Grind them yourself and see the incredible difference in taste!

As the title says, the price is quite good (especially since there are not any Indian grocers near where I live), and you are given a solid amount of cardamom. The only reason I've taken off one star is because the quality itself isn't exactly 5 star. The cardamom, though certainly fragrant, isn't necessarily the freshest, and I've found several pods with minor discoloration/blight. Then again, I suppose that's bound to be the case in a package this large.

The freshest ones I used. From delivery time and up until half a year later they stay fresh and black color. As a reminder, only use fully black little pods on the inside, not the light brown ones that are dry.

Large pods, I use these when infusing vodka to make gin. Perfect flavor additive; good quality, good amount for the price.

I used these for the first time recently and they are fantastic - very aromatic and tasty. I first gave them a quick toast in a frying pan on medium heat for about 2 minutes, to dry out the pods. Then I put a small handfull at a time into my mortar and pestle, and tapped them until the pods crumbled. Then all you have to do is separate out the green pods (which are inedible) from the little black cardamom seeds inside. The seeds grind up really nicely in a coffee grinder, or if you don't have a grinder just use a mortar and pestle. Yum!

I use cardamom as a breath freshener after i smoke... (its the only thing that leaves me smelling fresh after.. IT WORKS People!! its also great for digestion)I bought another bag of cardamom from another seller... it was awful compared to this bag!! These are the BEST!! FULL OF SEEDS AND CHEAPER!! the other bag's leaves had 1 or 2 seeds where this bag was ripe with seeds!! WILL ONLY PURCHASE THESE GOING FORWARD!! Thank you for offering a quality product at a perfect price!!!