Knowledge Base > Eric Wynkoop - Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Eric Wynkoop - Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

This event was on Tuesday, June 10, 2025 at 11:00 am Pacific, 2:00 pm Eastern

Join Chef Eric Wynkoop in his virtual office as he welcomes all of your questions. This event was created for you and we encourage you to Ask Anything – from cooking techniques to co… Read More.

Recorded

Question:

What is green cardamom?

— Diane Dankert

Answer:

So green cardamom, cardamom is a spice. It's, um, uh, it grows commonly in India. It's from, from South Asia, from India. It's grown elsewhere too in places like Guatemala. Um, but originally comes from India. And, uh, it is very aromatic and it's used for savory as, as well as sweet cooking and, and beverages as well as food. Uh, it's used as a mouth freshener, um, uh, but, uh, it's, it's about that big comes in a hull. Uh, you can use it whole you or you can remove the hull and, and use just those seeds inside. If you remove the hull, try to use the hull in something that's gonna be strained out, like in tea, for example, because the hull has flavor as well. I hate to see that being thrown away because it's, it has nice value. Um, but, uh, it's the car. Green cardamom is the, I'll say the common version of cardamom, uh, that we see, uh, you know, in, uh, or we hear about when we talk about, you know, maybe Indian cooking, for example. There's also, um, um, black cardamom or brown cardamom. It is larger. Um, and there are different versions. Um, but those are the, the two common ones. Um, black cardamom or brown cardamom. Uh, this, this larger version, uh, is dried, um, uh, over an open flame. And so it takes on a smoky quality. And so, uh, both of these have a, a menthol, uh, sort of an aspect to its flavor profile, but the, the, um, brown cardamom, um, can be used to impart smokiness to dishes as well, uh, because of the way it's been treated. And, uh, so anyway, um, Diane, go check out spices and start to add them to your cooking repertoire. Um, my, uh, recommendation is to go to an Indian or other South Asian grocery store. You know, maybe it's a, uh, a halal store, um, that is in your, your neck of the woods. Um, these places tend to have, in my experience, the highest turnover of the inventory because the clientele, um, are using these, these spices every day, right, in their cooking. So the inventory at the stores tends to be relatively fresh, uh, second only to going to India, for example, and bringing stuff home, which is absolutely phenomenal that can't be beat. But otherwise, find an Indian grocery store, uh, and then just try one spice at a time and get to know it, then go get another one and, and slowly build up your knowledge, uh, and your experience around spices. Um, they have a lot of medicinal qualities. Um, they have a lot of phytonutrients, many of which we don't even know about, uh, at this point. And, um, I recommend to everybody, uh, to get spices right into their diet because it's just good for you in addition to tasting and smelling good. And as I mentioned earlier, when in doubt add turmeric.
Eric Wynkoop

Eric Wynkoop

Director of Culinary Instruction

rouxbe.com