There are very few things in life I’m absolutely certain about, but I know for a fact that cardamom is the best spice. It just is. I have never been in a situation that could not have been improved by a little cardamom and I have in fact personally improved many situations by the use of said spice.

I have to hope that you have smelled cardamom yourself, as I have no idea how to describe it – peppery, sweet, spicy? A spicy spice? This is probably the worst cardamom description ever. In any case, cardamom is wonderfully aromatic and reminds me also of precious resins and woods. I mostly use green cardamom that’s milder and has bigger pods, while black cardamom is smokier and less common. I also readily admit to using ground cardamom quite often – it’s convenient and in my kitchen, it has no time to go stale.

Where I come from, the first association with cardamom is often cardamom buns. This makes complete sense, because somehow, mixing cardamom with milk, butter, flour and sugar unleashes an alchemic reaction that produces pure magic. It works in other baked goods, too: one of my favourite cakes is by Greg and Lucy Malouf, with orange, cardamom and sour cream. It tastes delicious, can be made without a food processor and has never failed me.

But cardamom is not only about sweets – I add it to my coffee and when I take the time to make my own chai masala powder, I always reduce the amount of pepper and at least double the quantity of cardamom. Many curry pastes contain cardamom – there is a lovely chicken pistachio korma that I can recommend – and I like to use it in lamb dishes or to flavour rice.

Half – if not more – of the allure of cardamom is its strong, unique fragrance. It took me a while to realize that several of my favourite perfumes have it as a note: Olfactive Studio Lumiere Blanche, Neela Vermeire’s Trayee (and her other ones, for that matter), Ormonde Jayne Woman, Comme des Garcons Jaisalmer… Hermes Epice Marine illustrates the fresh, almost minty facets of cardamom and Mr Vetiver by Une Nuit a Bali that I’m wearing today makes a convincing case for combining cardamom with vetiver.

Something cardamom-y would make very much sense as a room fragrance, but I must admit that the two candles I’ve tried have not delivered. Lumiere Blanche was simply too faint and Byredo’s limited edition Cardamom was nice, but not comparable to the real thing. I’ve learned that if you want your home to smell of cardamom, the best thing is to turn on the oven, take some cardamom, some butter and…