About Chef Glen L. Davis II Expertise I am familiar with a wide array of herbs/spices and techniques from around the world. I can answer questions about how to use spices/herbs, both classical and modern applications; I can also answer questions about substitution and application of herbs/spices.
Experience I Have worked as a chef for about 14 years and have written over 400 original recipes.
Organizations Virginia Chefs Association
Publications V.I.M.S. Sustainable Resources Symposium Cook Book 2004
The Free Lance Star
The Richmond Times Dispatch
Education/Credentials I attended J. Sergeant Reynolds CC where I majored in Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management.
Awards and Honors Virginia Chefs Association "Jr Iron Chef"
Question I have a recipe from my grandma that calls for 15-20 cardamon seeds. I can only find ground cardamon but don't know how much of that would equal the 15-20 seeds. Any idea? Thanks!
Answer I am gonna go "out on a limb", so to speak, and guess that you need the Cardamom for a beverage recipe. If that is he case then, no you cannot use ground cardamom. If it for a "food item" such as cookies, pastry, or almost any other dish then yes you can substitute.
Ground spices do not retain the "essential oils" that give them the desired flavor as well as whole spices. For this reason I ONLY keep whole spices (that are available as 'whole'). I would say (JUST AN EDUCATED GUESS) it will probably work out to about 3/4-1tsp. Personally I would replace 'whole' spices with about 1.5 times the amount of ground spices (because of a lack of the before mentioned 'essential oils').
A few places I can recommend looking for the whole spice is "World Market", any gourmet shop should have it (or know where to get it, if they are "worth their salt")(sorry I could not resist a little kitchen/history joke there!) or most "GOOD" "grocery stores (i.e. Wegman's, Whole foods). Another little bit of Cardamom info (from a 'Swede' that is passionate about his cardamom (its my favorite spice), look for "white paper" cardamom, while the "green paper" (paper means shell in this case) is more common, the "white" is FAR superior in flavor.
I hope this helps, any more questions you have, feel free to ask! I am more than happy to answer any questions regarding cooking (as long as you give me enough info to work with!). By the way, all this talk of cardamom has me ready for some "glogg" (a Swedish hot drink made with LOTS of cardamom, dried fruit, citron, AND VODKA known as "Aquavit") we serve it to our family and friends around Christmas. Thank you for a good question!
