Allotments 4 All

Is there any EASY way of getting the seeds out for grinding?

not that we know of sorry

Yep, you buy cardamom seeds from Fox's Spices - all ready to grind.  You can also get ground cardamom.

valmarg

Didn't know that they had the seeds - thanks.

But every stage of refinement loses flavour, so I persevere with the scissors, with dustpan & brush handy for when the leap out all over the floor!

when i crush the pods with a pestle and mortar ?spelling i do it just a little bit then shake the seeds out of the pods still quite laborious though

you just need some good finger nails, mainly thumb nails actually and it is half the fun cracking open the pods as they smell so nice, I love them - have a nice jelly rx that uses them and  very nice in coffee

Bung 'em under the grill for a few moments - the shell gets nice and brittle and then pop them into a plastic bag, bash with rolling pin and out they come. If you blow gently into the bag, the husks separate nicely from the seeds, too  ;)

I just treat them like garlic. Splat them and it all falls out?

 :(I've always ground then seed pod and all.

I'm another who does them whole with the pestle and mortar and then take out the green bits after the first couple of bashes.  I adore the scent and flavour and love cardamon ice cream.

I squash them between my fingers and I roll them between my fingers and the seeds just fall out.

Doing a lot this way would be a bit tedious though.

Some fingers, mate!! I can barely get the kitchen scissors through them.

Aha!! - just tried 'splatting' with a large knife, like Garlic, & it's great. Thanks.

So how to grind? I used the coffee grinder I use for other spices &, like with Coriander, could only achieve a gritty result.

I use the splat then coffee grinder method. For a finer result would try the pestle n mortar, but a lot of work! :)  I "ahem" now cheat and buy it ready ground! (wonder if keeping it in the freezer immediately after opening it would keep it fresher?)

Not like the real thing!