Not Cinnamon — Bananas Are 10x More Flavorful When Paired With This Spice

Loaded with nutrients, including potassium, fiber, as well as antioxidants, the humble banana is a versatile fruit that's nutritious and delicious on its own or incorporated into breads, pastries, and desserts. There are countless ways to use bananas — and perhaps even more ways to put overripe ones to tasty use. While plenty of spices complement their sweetness (we see you, cinnamon), another option that can take their flavor to the next level is cardamom.

For those unfamiliar with it, cardamom is known as the queen of spices. It is native to Indonesia and the Western Ghats of southern India, and is widely used in South Asian and Southeast Asian cuisines as well as Scandinavian baking. This warming spice has a distinctive sweet, citrusy, minty, and floral flavor and aroma, making it a popular addition to everything from savory curries and meat dishes to desserts. While cardamom shares some sweet-spicy, woody flavor notes with cinnamon, it also offers hints of ginger (it's a member of the same plant family, after all), nutmeg, and clove, making it so much more complex. Paired with fruits like bananas, cardamom enhances their floral notes while adding an earthy, subtly peppery and citrusy layer to balance their sweetness.

Like cinnamon and nutmeg, cardamom has a distinctive, assertive flavor profile, so it's best used in smaller quantities. There are two main types of cardamom: green and black. Green cardamom is the variety most commonly used in baking and general cooking, with each pod containing numerous aromatic seeds. Black cardamom, on the other hand, has a smokier, more robust flavor that makes it better suited for savory dishes.

For a simple yet elevated treat, just add a few banana slices to a skillet with butter and ground cardamom; the spice enhances the bananas as they caramelize. You can then use these caramelized bananas as toppings for pancakes, ice creams, oatmeal bowls, or even just eat them on their own. Cardamom can also lend bakery-worthy banana bread some fragrance and complexity — simply add a pinch or two of ground cardamom to your dry ingredients before mixing with the wet ones. Banana muffins and sticky buns can also benefit from the same treatment, as can upside-down banana cake. 

You can also add cardamom to bananas foster, the epic dessert in which bananas and caramel are flambéed tableside, adding it either in place of or alongside the cinnamon. Even a humble banana milkshake can feel more sophisticated with a sprinkling of the spice. It can also be incorporated into the quintessential banana pudding that would make your Southern grandmother proud, balancing all those rich dairy ingredients with a spicy warmth. Cardamom can be easily found in grocery stores. However, if you can't find one at yours, try substituting it with a blend of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves, or even allspice, but know that none will be an exact match for its unique flavor.