Cardamom (/ˈkɑːrdəməm/[1]), sometimes cardamon or cardamum,[2] is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera Elettaria and Amomum in the family Zingiberaceae.

[4] The word cardamom is derived from the Latin cardamōmum,[5] as a Latinisation of the Greek καρδάμωμον (kardámōmon),[6] a compound of κάρδαμον (kárdamon, "cress")[7] and ἄμωμον (ámōmon), of unknown origin.

[8] The earliest attested form of the word κάρδαμον signifying "cress" is the Mycenaean Greek ka-da-mi-ja, written in Linear B syllabic script,[9] in the list of flavorings on the spice tablets found among palace archives in the House of the Sphinxes in Mycenae.

In the Middle East, green cardamom powder is used as a spice for sweet dishes, and as a traditional flavouring in coffee and tea.

It is used by confectionery giant Wrigley; its Eclipse Breeze Exotic Mint packaging indicates the product contains "cardamom to neutralize the toughest breath odors".

[15] In 2022, world production of cardamom (included with nutmeg and mace for reporting to the United Nations) was 138,888 tonnes, led by India, Indonesia and Guatemala, which together accounted for 85% of the total (table).

[17] Other notable producers include Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, and Vietnam.

[18] Traditionally, small plots of land within the forests (called eld-kandies) where the wild or acclimatised plant existed are cleared during February and March.

The flowering season is April to May, and after swelling in August and September, by the first half of October usually attain the desired degree of ripening.

[19] At the time of harvesting, the scapes or shoots bearing the clusters of fruits are broken off close to the stems and placed in baskets lined with fresh leaves.

In rainy weather, drying with artificial heat is necessary, though the fruits suffer greatly in colour; they are consequently sometimes bleached with steam and sulphurous vapour or with ritha nuts.

Production constraints include recurring climate vagaries, the absence of regular re-plantation, and ecological conditions associated with deforestation.

[26] The Kerala Land Reforms Act imposed restrictions on the size of certain agricultural holdings per household to the benefit of cardamom producers.

[27] Cardamom was introduced to Guatemala before World War I by the German coffee planter Oscar Majus Kloeffer.

[18] Although the typical harvest requires over 210 days of labor per year, most cardamom farmers are better off than many other agricultural workers, and there are a significant number of those from the upper strata of society involved in the cultivation process.

[18] Increased demand since the 1980s, principally from China, for both Wurfbainia villosa and Lanxangia tsao-ko, has provided a key source of income for poor farmers living at higher altitudes in localized areas of China, Laos, and Vietnam, people typically isolated from many other markets.

[29] Cardamom production's demand and supply patterns of trade are influenced by price movements, nationally and internationally, in 5 to 6-year cycles.

[32] According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 80 percent of cardamom's total consumption occurs in the Middle East.

India's exports to foreign countries increased during the early 20th century, particularly to the United Kingdom, followed by Arabia, Aden, Germany, Turkey, Japan, Persia and Egypt.

In medieval times, Venice became the principal importer of cardamom into the west, along with pepper, cloves and cinnamon, which was traded with merchants from the Levant with salt and meat products.

[40] In 1150, the Arab geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi noted that cardamom was being imported to Aden, in Yemen, from India and China.