Harvesting and processing

• Cardamom plants normally start bearing capsules from the second year of planting.
• Picking is carried out at an interval of 45 days.
• After harvest, cardamom capsules are processed.
• Cardamom capsules with green colour fetch a premium price in foreign countries.
• Hence emphasis has to be given on the preservation of green colour during curing and
• subsequent storage.
• Capsule should be processed within 24-36 hours after harvest to prevent colour deterioration.
• By curing, the moisture of green cardamom is reduced to 11 per cent at an optimum temperature so as to retain its green colour to the maximum extent.
• Harvesting is done almost round the year in Kerala with the peak period from August - October.

Artificial drying

• The harvested capsules are washed in water to remove dust and soil particles.
• Then they are spread on wire net trays in curing chamber.
• Burning firewood in the iron kiln produces heat required for drying.
• The heat thus produced is passed through pipes made of galvanized iron sheets.
• The process of drying takes about 18-24 hours, depending on the ambient temperature.
• Thecapsules are spread thinly in the wire net trays and stirred frequently to ensure uniform drying.
• They are initially heated at 50oC for the first 4 hours and heat is then reduced to 45oC by opening ventilators and operating exhaust fans till the capsules are properly dried.
• Finally the temperature is raised to 60oC for an hour.
• The dried capsules are rubbed on wire mesh to remove the stalk and dried portion of
• flower from the capsules and then graded according to size by passing through sieves of sizes of 7, 6.5, 6 mm etc.
• The graded produce is stored in polythene lined gunny bags to retain the green colour during storage and also to avoid exposure to moisture.
• A relatively new innovation in the curing procedure is blanching by soaking the fruits in
• 2.0 per cent washing soda for 10 minutes prior to drying.
• This inhibits colour loss during drying operation and extends colour retention during subsequent storage from three months to ten months.

Sun drying

• Capsules are dried directly under sunlight for five to six days or more.
• Frequent turning is done.
• This method can result in surface blemishes and may not give an attractive green colour.
• This method is practiced if the cultivar yields fruits that turn yellow before they are ready for picking and where facilities for green curing are not available.

Bleaching

• A proportion of the crop is bleached after sun drying by exposing the capsules to fumes from burning sulphur to get uniform colour and appearance.
• Steeping capsules in a dilute solution of potassium metabisulphite solution induces a slight improvement in keeping quality.

Oleoresin

• Solvent extraction of ground spice yields 10 per cent oleoresin.
• Cardamom oleoresin dispersed in salt, flour etc., is used for flavouring food.
• One kilogram of oleoresin replaces 20 kg ground spice.

Decorticated seeds / seed powder

• Decorticated seeds command a lower price due to rapid loss of volatile oil during storage and transportation.
• Seed powder is marketed to a limited extent.