Cardamom substitutes

Crush 10 to 12 pods, discard the husks and grind the seeds for roughly 1 tsp ground

Keeps the flavour role.

Far more aromatic than the pre-ground jar, which fades within months. Use only the black seeds, since the papery husks are bitter.

1:1

Keeps the flavour role.

Cardamom is usually the lead spice, so this works very well in sweet bakes and drinks. It also brings ginger, cinnamon and black pepper along with it.

Per 1 tsp cardamom: 1/2 tsp cinnamon + 1/2 tsp ground ginger

Keeps the flavour role.

Brightness as well as warmth, which is closer in spirit than cinnamon alone, but ginger's heat is a different sensation from cardamom's perfume.

Per 1 tsp: 1/2 tsp cinnamon + 1/2 tsp nutmeg

Keeps the flavour role.

The standard fallback. It supplies warmth but none of the floral, faintly eucalyptus note that makes cardamom recognisable, and it is sweeter overall.

Use about 3/4, in savoury dishes

Keeps the flavour role.

Contains cardamom but also cumin and coriander, which are obvious in a sweet bake. Perfectly good in a curry.

Use half the amount

Keeps the flavour role.

Warm and complex but clove-forward, and it has none of the perfume. Better than nothing in a spiced bake, useless in a Scandinavian bun.

Per 1 tsp: 1/2 tsp cinnamon + 1/4 tsp ground cloves

Keeps the flavour role.

Warm and aromatic, but assertive in the wrong direction. Chai made this way tastes like mulled wine.