SC - grains of paradise vs black cardamom

[Angus]

According to Gernot Katzer's spice pages
(http://www-ang.kfunigraz.ac.at/~katzer/engl/index.html)

they have the following characteristics:
*used part: 
GoP --- Seed. The seeds have approximately the size and the shape of cardamom seeds (3 mm), but are reddish-brown in colour.

BC  --- Seeds. Normally, the large (typically, 3 cm), brown pods are sold as a whole. 

*Plant family:
GoP --- Zingiberaceae (ginger family). 
BC  --- Zingiberaceae (ginger family). 

*Sensoric quality:
GoP --- Spicy, hot and warm, a little bitter. 
BC  --- Black cardamom has a fresh and aromatic, but also smoked aroma. Camphor is easily discernable in its odour. 

*Main Constituents:
GoP --- In the acetone extract of Ghanese grains or paradise, the following hydroxyphenylalkanones were found:
1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-decan-3-one (called (6)-paradole),1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-3-hendecan-3-one (called (7)-paradole) and 1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-3-hendeca-4-ene-3-one (called (6)-shoagole) in approximately equal parts. (Phytochemistry, 14, 853, 1975).
     Other work reports (6)-paradole and (6)-gingerole (5-hydroxy-(6)-paradole). 

BC  --- The seeds contain 3% of an essential oil, which is dominated by 1,8-cineol (more that 70%). Smaller and variable amounts of limonene, terpinene, terpineol, terpinyl acetate and sabinene have also been reported (Phytochemistry, 9, 665, 1970) 

*Origin:
GoP --- West Africa (Nigeria to Ghana). Most imports stem from Ghana. In the countries of origin, the seeds are used not only to flavour food, but they are also chewed on cold days to warm the body. 

BC  --- Several species of the genus Amomum are distributed all over the mountainous area from the Himalayas to Southern China. Furthermore, some    African cardamoms (genus Aframomum, in Madagaskar, Somalia and Kameroon) have a similar taste and appear sporadically on the Western market. 

*Etymology:
GoP ---In the Middle Ages, the spice was termed graines of paradise because of its high value. Guinea and Malagetta refer to the region of origin.
About the elements -amomum in the genus name see cardamom.

BC  ---  For the botanical genus name Amomum and for cardamom, see cardamom. The botanical species name subulatum derives from Latin subula "awl", referring probably to the awl-shaped and pointed leaves. 

About the genus Amomum:
I am not sure on the origin of the old genus name Amomum and the modern form Cardamomum. The Greek name kárdamon is recorded for a plant of probably Persian origin, but this seems more probably refer to a kind of cress. 
In the New Testament (which was largely written in Greek), the name ámoomon appears in reference to an aromatic plant. This could be derived (and some books state so) from the adjective ámoomos "blameless, without reproach"; given, however, that ámoomos is a regional and poetic form, this seems less probable than (what other books state) the derivation from Aramaic hemama (of whose origin I know nothing).

The modern genus name Elettaria is derived from the local name in a South East Asian tongue (cf. Hindi elaichi). 

The sensoric qualities and main constituents of Grains of Paradise and Black Cardamom are totally different so it's not the same spice =(.  (otherwise I would have raided a nearby store a long time ago, the sell black cardamom at a good price.

/Angus MacIomhair

- --- "Christina van Tets" <cjvt at hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>Hello the List!
>
>Have been going over Francesco's marvellous description of grains of 
>paradise again.  So are these the same thing that my Nepali friends here 
>have been waving around as black cardamom?
>
>Cairistiona
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