Cardamom processing
Practical Action
Agmark Schedule IV for Bleached White Cardamom
Grade
Trade name
Empty and Immature Size
malformed and
(diameter
capsules shrivelled of sieve
(%) capsules hole mm)
(%)
BW1
Mysore/Mangalore 1.0
0.0 7.0
bleachable
cardamom clipped
BW2
Mysore/Mangalore 1.0
0.0 7.0
bleachable
cardamom
unclipped
BW3
Mysore/Mangalore 2.0
0.0 4.3
bleachable bulk
cardamom clipped
BW4
Mysore/Mangalore
bleachable bulk
cardamom
unclipped
BW Non
specifie
d
Weight
(G/L)
460
460
435
General
characteristics
The cardamom is fully
developed, dried
capsules of Elleteria
cardamom grown in
Karnataka State.
Reasonable uniform
shade of white, light
green or light grey
colour and suitable for
bleaching.
The capsules are free
from insect infestation
and visible mould.
Thrip marks alone do
not lead to the
conclusion that the
capsules have been
infested with insects.
Definition of terms
1. Empty and malformed capsules: Capsules which have no seeds or are scanty filled with
seeds. To measure this, 100 capsules are selected at random from the sample, opened
and the number of empty and malformed capsules are counted.
2. Immature and shrivelled capsules: Capsules which are not fully developed.
3. BW Non-specified: Cardamom that does not conform to any of the grades from BW1 to
BW4 are packed under the grade BW Non-specified.
Agmark Schedule V for Mixed Cardamom
Grade Trade
Empty and Immature Blacks
name
malformed and
and
capsules shrivelled splits
(%) capsules (%)
(%)
MEB Mixed
2.0
2.0 0.0
Extra
Bold
MB Mixed 2.0
2.0 0.0
Bold
MS Mixed 3.0
5.0 0.0
Superior
MS1 Mixed
5.0
7.0 10.0
Shipmen
t1
MS2 Mixed
7.0
9.0 12.0
Shipmen
t2
ML Mixed
15.0
Light
MN
Size
(diameter
of sieve
hole mm)
7.0
6.0
5.0
4.0
4.0
3.5
Weight
(G/L)
435
415
385
350
320
260
General characteristics
The cardamom is fully
developed, dried capsules of
Elleteria cardamom grown in
Karnataka State. Reasonable
uniform shade of white, light
green or light grey colour and
suitable for bleaching.
The capsules are free from
insect infestation and visible
mould.
Thrip marks alone do not lead
to the conclusion that the
capsules have been infested
with insects.
Definition of terms
1. Empty and malformed capsules: Capsules which have no seeds or are scanty filled with
seeds. To measure this, 100 capsules are selected at random from the sample, opened
and the number of empty and malformed capsules are counted.
2. Immature and shrivelled capsules: Capsules which are not fully developed.
3. Black and splits: The former includes capsules that have a visible blackish colour and
the latter include those which are open at the corners for more than half the length.
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