This highly aromatic spice is sweet, somewhat minty, and penetrating, making it suitable for both sweet and savoury dishes, and more versatile than black cardamom, which lacks sweetness and has a smoky aroma that may not work in desserts.
Cardamom’s flavour profile is dominated by a powerfully penetrating eucalyptus-like flavour compound called cineole. It also contains a less common flavour compound, alpha-fenchyl acetate, which is sweet, minty, and herbal. In addition, there are significant amounts of several pleasant terpene compounds, including lemony limonene and delicately floral linalool.
