Direction India, to discover one of the most precious and coveted spices, cardamom. Its seeds are extracted from the fruits by hand, and then sold at auction. Report from the Kerala region.
In India, it is said to be the queen of all spices, with its lemony taste, cardamom grows on these tropical lands in the state of Kerala, in the south of the country. This region is the largest producer in the world, it is also here that it would be the best on the planet. This fruit, which grows at the foot of these plants, which can be up to three meters high, contains small black seeds. They are the spice. Because cardamom is fragile, it is only harvested by hand.
Third most expensive spice in the world
After being harvested, cardamom must be cleaned and then dried for 22 hours in vats where the temperature rises to 75 degrees. An essential operation to reveal all the aromas of the fruit. Precious and delicate, cardamom is the third most expensive spice in the world, after vanilla and saffron. But she is the only one to be sold at auction. A sales room organizes two auctions a day, where a hundred lots are offered. Samples are distributed one after another, for buyers to assess their quality. Cardamom can be bought here between 9 and 70 euros per kilo. It will then be resold to wholesalers or exporters.
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