lanxangia_tsao-ko_crevost_lemarie_m.f.newman

Lanxangia tsao-ko (Crevost & Lemarié) M.F.Newman & Škorničk. syn. Amomum tsao-ko Crevost & Lemarié - Zingiberaceae
草果 (chin.), tsao-ko, black cardamom, Tsao-ko, Schwarzer Kardamom

Perennial herb, native to China, Laos, and Vietnam

„The pods are used as a spice, in a similar manner to the green Indian cardamom pods, but with a different flavor. Unlike green cardamom, this spice is rarely used in sweet dishes. Its smoky flavor and aroma derive from traditional methods of drying over open flames. At least two distinct species are called black cardamom: Amomum subulatum (also known as Nepal cardamom) and Lanxangia tsaoko (formerly Amomum tsao-ko). The pods of A. subulatum, used primarily in the cuisines of India and certain regional cuisines of Pakistan, are the smaller of the two, while the larger pods of L. tsaoko (Chinese: wiktionary:草果; pinyin: cǎoguǒ; Vietnamese: thảo quả) are used in Vietnamese cuisine and Chinese cuisine, particularly that of Sichuan province. “ wikipedia

Amomum tsaoko essential oil odor description: Strong smoky, more or less leathery, sweet dill, aldehydic-nitrilic, not reminiscent of Amomum subulatum; dry-down: smoky, cinnamic, more or less aldehydic-nitrilic. The main constituents of A. tsao-ko oils were eucalyptol (22.6-28.1%), geraniol (7.0-7.1%), geranial (1.6-7.8%), trans-2,3,3A,7A-tetrahydro-1H-indene-4-carbaldehyde (3.7-7.8%), (2E)-decenal (3.0-6.1%), neral (1.0-4.7%), and 4-indanecarbaldehyde (2.3-4.3%). High levels of straight chain unsaturated aldehyde (2E)-decenal (3.0-6.1%) together with the presence of (2E)-decenol and (2E)-dodecenol (0.9-2.5%) and the corresponding acetates seem to differentiate A. tsao-ko further from Amomum subulatum and Elettaria cardamomum. Several wood smoke-related phenolic compounds were present, like carvacrol (0.1-0.4%), thymol, guaiacol, 4-methyl guaiacol, phenol, 4-ethyl guaiacol, p-cresol, eugenol, 3,4-xylenol, 4-methyl syringol and 4-propyl syringol.
[Sim, Sherina, et al. „Amomum tsao-ko—Chinese black cardamom: detailed oil composition and comparison with two other cardamom species.“ Natural Product Communications 14.7 (2019): 1934578×19857675] PDF

„The fresh fruit of A. tsao-ko contains a large amount of water, which is not favourable for its storage and transportation. Thus, the fruits are traditionally dried in the shade room or over charcoal flame after harvest… The drying temperature 100°C could be a good choice to obtain the highest content of eucalyptol, although the oil yield is low. However, samples dried at 55°C yielded more oil… The main compounds (peak area＞3% sum of area) of the essential oils were α-phellandrene, eucalyptol, neral, (E)-2-decenal, geranial…“ Minor components were terpenes like α-thujene, terpinolene, cymene, α-pinene, sabinene, trans-sabinene hydrate and aldehydes like (E)-2-hexenal, (E)-2-octenal, (E)-2-decenal, geranial, (E)-2-dodecenal, (E)-2-tetradecenal e.g.
[Wang, Jingjian, et al. „Drying temperature affects essential oil yield and composition of black cardamom (Amomum tsao-ko).“ Industrial crops and products 168 (2021): 113580]

Main components of a headspace solid-phase extract of fresh Amomum tsaoko were aldehydes like (E)-2-octenal, (E)-2-decenal, (E)-2-dodecenal, neral, and geranial, as well as 1.8-cineole (eucalyptol), limonene, and linalool e.g.
[Liang, Miao, et al. „Comparison of Amomum tsaoko crevost et Lemaire from four regions via headspace solid-phase microextraction: Variable optimization and volatile characterization.“ Industrial Crops and Products 191 (2023): 115924]