Description

Cinnamon, a bushy evergreen tree of the laurel family (Lauraceae) is native to Sri Lanka (Ceylon), the neighbouring Malabar Coast of India, and Myanmar (Burma) and also cultivated in South America and the West Indies for the spice consisting of its dried inner bark. The spice is light brown in colour and has a delicately fragrant aroma and warm, sweet flavour. It is lighter in colour and milder in flavour than the other related species.

Cinnamon was once more valuable than gold and has been associated with ancient rituals of sacrifice or pleasure. In Egypt, it was sought for embalming and witchcraft; in medieval Europe for religious rites and as flavouring. References to cinnamon are plenty throughout the Old Testament in the Bible. Later it was the most profitable spice in the Dutch East India Company trade.

Culinary use

In modern times, cinnamon is used to flavour a variety of foods, from confections to curries; in Europe and the USA it is especially popular in bakery goods. The stick cinnamon is added whole to casseroles, rice dishes, mulled wines and punches, and to syrups for poaching fruit. The chips are also used in tea infusions or spiced cider blends. Ground cinnamon is used in baked goods like cakes, pasteries and biscuits. Cinnamon leaf oil is used in processed meats, condiments and also in bakery items. Oil from the bark is used in the manufacture of perfume.