The Cardamom harvest got under way in October, and has been going strong ever since.
A typical house surrounded by cardamom fields.
The tops of the plants are big reaching leafy fronds,
at the base are the flowers and seed pods.
Although they look the same from the outside, some pods are ready to pick (those with the black seeds) and some are still immature (those with the white). Those in the know go through and invariably pluck the ones with black, coming back through two to three weeks later to get the next round of ripe cardamom further down on the stem.
It's tiring work, requiring bending over to the ground to reach the seed pods.
Once picked, they are gathered together and taken to the cooperative...
...where they are bought and put into huge wood-fired driers. Once dry, the coop sells the "pergamino" abroad where it is processed. I haven't met any Guatemalans who have tasted cardamom, despite it being the main income in my community and many villages in my area.
I bought some cardamom while home in the States for the holidays.
If anyone knows a simple recipe using cardamom, please post it in the comments.
I'd love to share the flavor with my host family and the women in my cooking groups.
One time, at FLBC, back in 2009, I was making ginger cookies, and the recipe called for cloves, and I couldn't find any, so Bree told me I could use cardamom instead, so I did. And the ginger cookies tasted the same. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteYou might be able to make a variation of this recipe. I don't really think you have to deal with the shallots and the oil...
ReplyDeleteWhipped Cardamom Sweet Potatoes Recipe
Add a photo
1 of 1 Photo
Whipped Cardamom Sweet Potatoes
Yield 8 servings
Ingredients
5 pounds sweet potatoes
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
salt and pepper to taste
1 quart vegetable oil for frying
3/4 pound thinly sliced shallots
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Prick sweet potatoes with a fork. Bake for 1 hour or until tender; reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
Scoop potato flesh out of skins and place into a mixing bowl. Slowly beat in the butter and cardamom. Whip until potatoes are smooth and fluffy; season with salt and white pepper. Keep warm in oven.
In a large deep skillet, heat 1 inch of oil until shimmering. Add 1/2 of the shallots to oil and fry until crisp. Transfer the shallots, using a slotted spoon, to a paper towel; season with salt. Repeat the process until all the shallots are fried. Garnish top of potatoes with shallots.
Footnotes
Editor's Note
We have determined the nutritional value of oil for frying based on a retention value of 10% after cooking. The exact amount may vary depending
Gorgeous pics, and interesting process, thanks for sharing Bethany! It's boggling to me that most of the locals haven't had the opportunity to try the product that they harvest. I hope you get the chance to share it with them!
ReplyDeleteThis is probably sacrilege for Guatemalans, but I love cardamom with beans. I fry onions and garlic, usually chop a whole bunch of cabbage thinly and then pour in pre-cooked beans in some juice so the whole thing can simmer, seasoned with salt and pepper and cardamom. I love these harvest pictures and descriptions, thank you beth!
ReplyDeleteAnna
Thanks for the suggestions, all! Anna, what kind of beans do you use? Black? Kidney? White? I'm going to have to try all these recipes.
ReplyDeleteI'd suggest adding Cardamom to virtually any banana-bread type recipe. Maybe this would be something that Mom and I could do with the women while we're there? I'll try to grab any ingredients that might not be at hand... like yeast in case we want to do bread. Do they do bread? I suppose we should avoid anything that involves ingredients they can't get a second time... I'll come with recipes in hand! xo
ReplyDeleteThe worst time has passed”However, it is true that there are more improvements than before...because of the rising numbers of people living with HIV in the state of Nevada. How could they stigmatize all of them? Therefore everything becomes a little easier and we start to share everything... We also started to invite and visit each other in a community. You know, it is six years since I started taking antiretroviral drugs...Yet whatever problems I face, the worst time has passedWhen I was evicted from the family home by my mother, my father rented a small room for me. But my mother and brothers believed that having HIV was my own fault – and that I deserved to be punished...I also considered myself unworthy and without hope... But I have a child and eventually I convinced myself to live for my child’s sake.
ReplyDeleteMy mother knew nothing [about HIV]. She didn’t understand anything. Do you know why? She didn’t have [the chance] to go out of the house and communicate with society. However, my father does interact with the community. I know his friends are mature and dignified africa america. So he has a better understanding than her.My father came call me on a sadfull day sitting on my couch about a friend of his from africa who introduce him to Dr Itua herbal cure in africa in which he advise we should purchase his herbal medicine to cure my hiv so we did and Dr Itua prescribed I should drink the herbal medicine for two weeks to cure although we were so curious about the whole thing ,I finished the herbal medicine like he advised then he talked to me to visit my nearest clinic for check up I did and now I'm totally cured from Hiv my father was my rock and I and my family are now happy together also Dr Itua has be helpful in my community ever since he cure my Hiv so why I'm leaving my story on here today is to reach out someone out here to hope on God and never give up no matter the situation you that you are facing especially through this pandemic seasons which has really taught us all on how we should be helpful to each other and cherish one another.Dr Itua cures the following diseases..... Herpes,Liver cancer,Throat cancerLeukemia.,Alzheimer's disease,Chronic Diarrhea,Copd,Parkinson,Als,Adrenocortical carcinoma Infectious mononucleosis.
Intestinal cancer,Uterine cancer,Fibroid,Bladder cancer,Hiv,Esophageal cancer,Gallbladder cancer,Kidney cancer,Hpv,Lung cancer,Melanoma,Mesothelioma,Multiple myeloma,Oral cancer,Sinus cancer,Hepatitis A,B/C,Skin cancer,Soft tissue sarcoma,Spinal cancer,Stomach cancer,Vaginal cancer,Vulvar cancer,
Testicular cancer,Thyroid Cancer.You can contact Dr Itua Herbal Center on E-Mail: drituaherbalcenter@gmail.com Or Whats-App Chat : +2348149277967