Cardamom (redirected from Cardimum)

cardamom (kär`dəməm): see ginger.

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cardamom

Spice consisting of whole or ground dried fruit, or seeds, of Elettaria cardamomum, a perennial herb of the ginger family. The flavour is warm, slightly pungent, and highly aromatic. Cardamom is a popular seasoning. Native to moist forests of southern India, the fruit may be collected from wild plants, but most is cultivated. The whole fruit is a green, three-sided oval capsule containing 15–20 dark, hard, angular seeds.

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cardamom, cardamum, cardamon

1. a tropical Asian zingiberaceous plant, Elettaria cardamomum, that has large hairy leaves

2. a related East Indian plant, Amomum cardamomum, whose seeds are used as a substitute for cardamom seeds.

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cardamom [′kärd·ə·məm]

(botany)

cardamon

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Cardamom 

(Elettaria cardamomum), a perennial herbaceous plant of the family Zingiberaceae. It has creeping root-stock. The leaves are lanceolate and are arranged in two rows along the vegetative shoots; they measure 2-4 m tall. The flower stalks, measuring up to 60 cm long, end in panicles with pale green blossoms. The fruit is a trilobate capsule with reddish-brown seeds of irregular shape. The seeds are used as a spice in cooking. They contain 3.5-7 percent oil, which is used in food and tobacco products. The oil is also used in medicine. Cardamom grows wild in the rain forests on the mountains of southern India. The plant is cultivated primarily in India, Sri-Lanka (Ceylon), Indochina, and South China.