posted 7 months ago
I love cardamom and I get the worth out of them, hulls and all!
You mentioned chai, but you can use them to subtly flavor any tea or even warm milk or hot chocolate. The hulls don't have a lot of flavor left in them but they do help give that great cardamom aroma.
Another thing I do is add them to water I'm simmering to help with either getting rid of odors or humidifying the air. (Along with cloves, star anise, lemon/lime/orange peels, nutmeg, or any other spices I like and have on hand. This is mostly how I use them. In the summer, when you don't need the humidity, you can make sachets out of them with other spices, oils, or even bits of wood like cedar. I have a friend who combines certain herbs with cedar and Irish Spring Soap in sachets and uses them to repel insects.
If you don't mind picking them out later, you can lightly flavor rice as you're cooking it.
Or you can just compost them or toss 'em.
That's about all I've got.
Thank you in advance to everyone for their replies, help, and suggestions! Forgive me if I miss any replies, I'm still learning how to keep up with threads I participate in!