Cardamom the Spice - plus Homemade Applesauce


Cardamom is a spice which originally came from India, where it is used in many dishes, including sweet saffron rice. In some parts of India, cardamom ice cream and cardamom-flavored milk take the usual place of chocolate ice cream and chocolate milk. There is also a spice called "black cardamom", a cousin, which is very different from true cardamom.

True cardamom is popular in Scandinavia, Germany and elsewhere, especially for winter baking. It is used in Danish pastries, Swedish breads, and cookies from many European countries. It is very compatible with several other spices, especially cinnamon. It is often used with orange, apple, peach and pineapple. Cardamom is less familiar in the U.S. than in Europe, perhaps because it loses its flavor soon after it is crushed or ground. We're so used to pre-ground spices. Mom discovered the whole spice years ago and started using it in cinnamon rolls, sometimes with a little orange zest. She had the bleached pods and the seeds seemed a little softer than the ones in the green pods which I have now. I used to crush the seeds she bought between two spoons. The latest batch of cardamom seeds I got seemed harder - see the directions for crushing with a hammer below.

You can buy whole cardamom pods either green or bleached - less flavorful. Or "decorticated" seeds, which have been removed from the pods, but not ground or crushed. For people who use a lot of cardamom. If using whole pods, remove cardamom seeds from pods and grind seeds in a spice grinder or crush in a large mortar and pestle. Or place seeds in the empty, tough inner plastic liner from a cold cereal or cracker box (not from strongly flavored crackers such as garlic) and tap lightly on a non-marring surface, such as smooth concrete, with a finishing hammer or other smooth-faced hammer to crush. Rub crushed cardamom through a fine sieve before measuring. Wrap any extra crushed cardamom in a little foil packet and keep it in the freezer for the next time you want to use it.

Cardamom is a potent spice. 1/8 teaspoon per cup of flour will give a pronounced cardamom flavor if the cardamom is ground or crushed fresh. Before adding more than that, consider whether the person who developed the recipe may have been using commercially ground (less potent) cardamom. Many recipes will use less than 1/8 teaspoon per cup of flour, for a more subtle effect.

Below are three recipes for cardamom in applesauce. The first one can sub for apple pie, at least sometimes (warnm maybe with some toasted chopped almonds, butter cookie crumbles or a little vanilla ice cream). Two kinds of apples - one to fall apart quickly during cooking (forming a natural sauce) and one to retain some chunkiness - are recommended. This was one of Keira's Mom's tips, too. The second recipe looks very good, too - it calls for more liquid and seems a little more "country-style". Granny Smith and Golden Delicious apples together would be a good choice for winter applesauce.

Apple Varieties: I've always thought of the season for McIntosh apples (first recipe) as coming before the Granny Smith season. Granny Smith is a late, warm-climate apple which can be exceptional when it is allowed to stay on the tree until the bright green color mellows to yellow-green. It is grown here in our hot-summer climate, and home growers can allow it to ripen fully on the tree. It is often picked commercially long before it is ripe, while still sour and even sometimes a little bitter. I think one could find a better fall variety than Granny Smith to pair with McIntosh apples.

Of varieties grown locally, Gala seems to be the top choice for the early season. It loses much of its flavor in storage. Fuji and Red Fuji are recommended for later harvest and storage. Pink Lady is also recommended for sauce. Granny Smith can be picked fully ripe here if you grow it at home, and should be good mixed with other varieties. I used 2 pound Washington Fuji to 1 pound Washington Granny Smith in January, and the Fuji had held its crispness much better in storage. The Granny Smith tasted like they had been picked green, but fell apart easily in applesauce around the tender chunks of Fuji apples.

The third recipe below (pureed like most commercial applesauce) is made with commercially ground cardamom. It calls for A LOT of the spice compared to the other two recipes. Add cardamom to taste if using freshly-crushed spice.

Fresh Cardamom Spiced Applesauce

We like to use a combination of McIntosh and Granny Smith apples for the best texture and a little bit of tart flavor. Cardamom, a member of the ginger family, has a unique, aromatic quality that is just delicious with apples and ramps up the flavor of this sauce immensely. If you don't have any on hand though, you can use a little extra cinnamon and a pinch of ground ginger in its place.

Or, for more conventional flavor, substitute nutmeg for cardamom.
Ingredients ~ 

2-1/2 to 3 pounds apples (about 6 medium)

2 tablespoons lemon juice 

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom 

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

Pinch of salt

Preparation ~ Measure lemon juice and water into a a3 quart saucepan. 
Peel and core the apples and cut them into 1-inch pieces, right into saucepan, tossing to coat with lemon-water as you prepare the apples. Mix in the sugar and bring to a simmer, uncovered, over medium-high heat until the apples begin to break down and give off liquid, about 8 to 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, stir in the cinnamon, cardamom, butter, vanilla and a pinch of salt. Cover and continue cooking for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the apples have broken down completely and the sauce is thick. Remove from the heat and allow to cool before serving.
Makes about 4 cups. Fresh applesauce will keep 3 or 4 days tightly covered in the refrigerator.

Chunky Country-Style Spiced Applesauce
Bon Appétit  | November 1993
yield: Makes about 6 cups

ingredients
• 2 pounds Granny Smith apples, cored, peeled, sliced
• 2 pounds Golden Delicious apples, cored, peeled, sliced
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons (or more) fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon (generous) ground cardamom

Combine first 4 ingredients in heavy large Dutch oven; bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium; cover and simmer until apples are tender, about 20 minutes. Uncover and cook until mixture is thick, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes longer. Mash apples slightly with potato masher until chunky applesauce forms. Stir in sugar and spices. Cool. Add more lemon juice if desired. Transfer to bowl; cover and chill overnight. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.)

Cardamom Applesauce (probably too much cardamom if you crush it fresh - but they did call it "bracing")
Bon Appétit  | November 1995

• 2 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup (packed), golden brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cardamom

Combine all ingredients in heavy medium saucepan. Cover, bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until apples are very tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Cool slightly. Transfer to food processor; puree. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)

Allergy information: No corn, wheat or egg. First applesauce recipe contains butter. Others are dairy-free.

Food Safety and Storage Life

Answer to questions on shelf life of foods, proper storage conditions and food safety here.

Tomato Flowers with Cottage Cheese Salad

When Miss Hauser taught us how to make these in high school cooking class, we peeled the tomatoes after rotating them over the flame on our gas stoves on a fork stuck in the stem end. You can also blanch tomatoes to remove the peels. I prefer to use a variety of tomato which is easy to peel while it is raw. This works best with fully-ripe tomatoes.

A fancy-looking dish from ordinary ingredients. I don't have Miss Hauser's exact recipe, but I do remember being surprised that MSG and a little extra salt were added to the cottage cheese. The MSG really does make a difference in flavor, but I don't use it anymore.

Cooking Science: In China and Japan, where the use of monosodium glutamate is commn, there is a theory that our tongues have receptors for a "meaty" flavor in addition to sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Monosodium glutamate is the sodium salt of an amino acid (one of the building blocks of protein), glutamic acid. I believe it is sometimes extracted commercially from sugar beets. It is also present in hydrolyzed protein products. If you react to it with a headache, flushing or other symptoms, don't use it. The higher the dose, the more likely a reaction is. A 5 mg dose reportedly causes a reaction in many people.

I have a cookbook from the 1950s, and era when exploration of the uses of processed foods was in full swing, in which almost every recipe with a savory flavor contained MSG. It is most familiar in the US under the brand name ACCENT. It is used in a variety of foods, especially soups and salad dressings (like Ranch). Some evidence suggests it increases weight gain (perhaps by making food tastier).

Ingredients
1 pint cottage cheese, regular or low-fat
1/8 teaspoon salt - optional
1/16 teaspoon monosodium glutamate (ACCENT) - optional
2 Tablespoons diced or chunked green bell pepper
1 - 2 Tablespoons minced scallions (white part, maybe with some of the tender inner green tops) and/or up to 2 Tablespoons chives

3 or 4 medium to large tomatoes
Salt and fresh ground pepper
Lettuce, if desired

Directions
Mix all ingredients except tomatoes and allow flavors to blend for a few minutes to overnight, refrigerated.

When ready to serve, peel tomatoes and remove a slice from the stem end so that they will sit flat on a plate. Remove the shallow white cores from the cut end and place cut side down on a cutting board. Carefully cut across tomatoes to make eight segments, stopping an inch or less from the bottom. Gently spread into "flowers", sprinkle with a little salt and fresh-ground pepper and allow to drain for a minute or two. Carefully transfer on a spatula to individual serving plates, over lettuce leaves or on a bed of shredded lettuce if desired.

Pile cottage cheese mixture into the center of the tomato flowers. Serve.

Variations:

1. I cut the peppers in chunks because I have trouble digesting them. They will flavor the salad, but I can push them aside when eating the salad. If your tummy REALLY can't take raw green peppers, substitute ripe red, orange or yellow bell peppers or canned diced mild chiles or pimento. Or add minced Italian parsley in place of peppers.

2. Use a different hearty salad mixture in tomato flowers - chicken, tuna, potato, etc. Let me know if you have other ideas.