What to use instead of cardamom
It depends entirely on what it's doing in the dish. Here's the job, what else does it, and what to skip.
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Warm aromatic in a sweet dough or bake
The oils are cooling and citrusy at once, and they survive an oven, which is what makes a bun read Scandinavian rather than plain sweet.
Cinnamon plus a pinch of ground gingerRan out
3/4 tsp cinnamon + 1/8 tsp ginger per 1 tsp cardamom
Warm and sweet in place of cool and citrusy. The bun tastes American, and it browns exactly the same.
Ground coriander seed plus a pinch of clovesRan out
1 tsp coriander + 1/8 tsp ground cloves per 1 tsp cardamom
Coriander carries the same lemony top note at lower volume and the cloves fill in the cooling edge. Quieter overall.
Nutmeg plus ground gingerRan out
1/2 tsp nutmeg + 1/2 tsp ginger per 1 tsp cardamom
Rounder and more custardy. Nutmeg turns bitter above about 1/2 tsp in a batch, so do not push it further.
What doesn't work: Pumpkin pie spice or chai masala. Both contain cardamom but lead with cinnamon and clove, so you get spiced cider and the cardamom never surfaces on its own.
Whole pods perfuming a simmering liquid
The husk keeps the seeds from dumping everything at once, so flavour builds across the cook and stays clean instead of going soapy.
Ground cardamom added lateRan out
1/3 tsp ground per 4 green pods, in the last 5 minutes
Faster and louder, and it clouds the liquid. A long simmer turns ground cardamom soapy, so keep it near the end.
Black cardamom podsRan out
1 black pod per 4 green pods
Smoky and resinous from being dried over fire. Right in a lamb braise, wrong in anything milk-based.
A strip of lemon zest plus whole clovesRan out
1 strip of zest + 2 cloves per 4 green pods
Gets the citrus lift and the warm back note, with none of the eucalyptus edge that makes cardamom recognisable.
What doesn't work: Measuring pods and powder one for one. Four pods yield about a third of a teaspoon of seed, so a teaspoon of ground cardamom per pod overdoses the pot and it turns bitter and medicinal.
Ground cardamom loses most of its oil within a month. Crush pods as you go if the flavour is meant to be the point of the dish.