Question

is the smell of clove and cardmon of matter ? why

Answer 1

Cardamom is considered a sweet kitchen spice, yet maybe its smell is not quite as immediately gratifying as that of cinnamon or clove. It’s more of an acquired taste; kids might not cotton to it immediately, as they would with cinnamon. It is a complex smell, with notes that seem sweetly, duskily floral, another facet that is like black pepper, but not nearly so silvery/piquant and burning. It seems to have a lovely fruit note in it… which reminds me of fresh-sliced green Granny Smith apple, and indeed cardamom will bring out the delicious green flavor of apples in an apple pie or in baked apples. It has a kind of “green banana/plantain” quality to it, also, and Caribbean plantain dishes just shine when cardamom is added.

Cardamom is much more used in Asia than it is in Western countries, especially China, where it is a part of every cook’s kitchen. But recently its popularity has been boosted with the newfound popularity of so-called “Chai Tea” and “Chai Coffee”. Chai beverages contain a mix of sweet spices, but cardamom is perhaps the most important spice here, giving it a quality thought exotic to western palates.

It is widely used in perfumery; its darkish, mysterious, sweet greenish complexity marries very well with a perfumer’s spice and fruit notes; it blends beautifully with citrus notes— bergamot, neroli, petitgrain, sweet orange, grapefruit and lemon. It blends marvelously with the grassy/rooty purr of vetiver, and it is sumptuous when blended with patchouly, oudh, sandalwood and amber. With florals, especially rose, lily and tuberose, it brings out the spicy aspects of that flower.

It has a tweedy crispness to it which makes it especially suitable for men’s fragrances, especially Oriental, Green, Spicy and Fougere types. At present, I do not know of a scent, masculine or feminine, which includes cardamom as the starring, focal note; it’s more of a sophisticated “blender”.

Hope it helps you.......!