How much do you know about cardamom? This elegant spice originated in India, Nepal, and Bhutan. It is regarded as the queen of spices and is one of the most expensive, ranking third, the first and second being saffron and vanilla, respectively.

In spite of its priciness, this is once spice that ought to be used much more than it is. Not just because of its incredible flavor, but also because of its abundance of health benefits. Consider, for instance, these very good reasons to splurge on adding more cardamom to your diet:

Digestion aid. ​Cardamom is related to ginger and can be used in much the same way to counteract digestive problems. Use it to combat nausea, acidity, bloating, gas, heartburn, loss of appetite, constipation, and much more.

Detoxifier. This spice helps the kidneys eliminate waste.

Diuretic assistant. Part of the reason cardamom is such a good detoxifier is thanks to its diuretic properties. It removes waste, salt, excess water, and toxins from the urinary tract, bladder, and kidneys, and combats infections at the same time.

Halitosis helper. Cardamom is a universal natural antidote to bad breath. Just chew a few after meals or whenever you need to freshen your breath.

Oral health helper. Besides helping with bad breath, cardamom helps heal mouth ulcers and throat infections.

Natural anti-depressive. The science behind the antidepressant qualities of cardamom hasn’t been studied yet, but abundant medical research shows cardamom tea is an effective way to fight depression.

Cold and flu fighter. This pungent spice helps prevent and relieve cold and flu symptoms. It’s also effective for bronchitis and coughs.

Cancer fighter. Animal studies are showing promise that cardamom protects against, inhibits growth, and even kills some cancers.

Blood pressure reducer. As a diuretic and fiber rich spice, cardamom significantly lowers blood pressure.

Blood clot preventer. Cardamom prevents blood clotting by preventing platelet aggregation and its sticking to artery walls.

Antioxidant addition. Many of the vitamins, phytonutrients, and essential oils in cardamom act as antioxidants, cleaning up free radicals and preventting cellular aging.

Pathogen inhibitor. The volatile essential oils in cardamom inhibit the growth of viruses, bacteria, fungus, and mold.

Inflammation protector. Like ginger and turmeric, its relatives, cardamom has some anti-inflammatory properties that limit pain and swelling, especially in mucus membranes of the mouth, and throat.

Hiccup remover. Cardamom is an anti-spasmodic that can help get rid hiccups. This also applies to other involuntary muscle spasms, like stomach and intestinal cramps as well.

Convinced? I had no idea this spice was so powerful. We’ll definitely keep cardamom on hand and will be incorporated more into our cooking. If you feel the same, here’s a wonderful recipe to get your started. It’s courtesy of Serious Eats (www.seriouseats.com) and is an adaptation of "sour cream pound cake cockaigne" from that proverbial cookbook, Joy of Cooking. With the addition of vanilla beans and ground toasted cardamom, it becomes a softly aromatic spice cake.

You’ll note it calls for toasted cardamom. To toast the cardamom, crack the pods slightly and toast in a hot pan until the skins darken slightly. Allow the pods to cool, remove the seeds from their pods, and grind the seeds until finely ground. Sift the ground cardamom to remove any large particles.

TOASTED CARDAMOM POUND CAKE

3 cups sifted cake flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt, plus a pinch

1 teaspoon toasted and ground green cardamom

1 cup sour cream

2 vanilla beans

8 ounces (2 sticks) butter, plus extra for buttering the pan, at room temperature

2 1/2 cups sugar

6 large egg yolks

6 large egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line the bottom of a 9-inch tube pan with parchment paper and butter and flour the pan.

2. Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, and ground cardamom together. Set aside.

3. Split the vanilla beans and scrape the contents into the sour cream. Stir until blended. Set aside.

4. Beat the butter and 2 cups of sugar together in a large mixing bowl until lightened in color and texture, about 3 to 5 minutes.

5. One at a time, beat in the egg yolks.

6. Add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the sour cream mixture in 2 parts, beating on the lowest speed of a stand or a hand mixer or stirring with a wooden spoon. Scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure uniformity.

7. In a separate mixing bowl, beat the egg whites and a pinch of salt. Begin on low speed. When the mixture begins to foam, sprinkle in the cream of tartar and gradually increase the speed to medium. When soft peaks form, gradually add the remaining sugar and continue beating until the peaks are stiff but still moist.

8. Gently stir in 1/4 of the egg whites into the batter to lighten it, then fold in the remaining whites until evenly incorporated. Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean, 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Slide a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen it and then invert the cake and cool it further right side up on the rack.

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