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It has gone from being as valuable as a ruby to becoming a versatile ingredient present in every kitchen in the world. But not for being more affordable the cinnamon It is no longer a very exclusive product. All the contrary. Its price is still above that of other spices. We explain how to recognize the best cinnamon, where to buy it y how to enjoy it. And by the way, we tell you ten things that perhaps you did not know about one of the oldest and most precious spices in the world.
There are cinnamon and cinnamon
The first thing to know about cinnamon is that there is not just one type of cinnamon, but several. The real cinnamon and the most precious is the Cinnamomum zeylanicum and it comes from Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon (hence the adjective zeylanicum). its substitute more famous is the cassia or cinnamon from China, thicker, darker in color and coarser in appearance. It is the best seller – in the United States it is marketed simply as cinnamon – but do not be confused: the slightly spicy aroma of cassia is considered a cheap copy of the cinnamon“really”. Then there is the saigon cinnamon (C. loureirii) which comes from Vietnam and looks like cassia, but is smaller and finer and the Indonesian cinnamon (C. burmannii) thicker and stronger than Vietnamese.
A luxury product
The cinnamon sticks are the fruit of a laborious process. The cinnamon tree, which belongs to the Lauraceae family, reaches between 10 and 15 meters in height. It has branches, leaves, flowers and fruits, but its most valuable asset is the bark. When the tree reaches 4 or 5 years, the bark is removed with a knife. This is done during the rainy season, as the humidity makes it easier to separate from the stem. Then it is left to ferment for 24 hours, the outermost part is scraped off and the inner part is rolled up and left to dry, first in the shade and then in the sun. It is at this time that the white crust acquires the characteristic tan color.
What Pantone says goes to mass
In Pantone Matching System, that chromatic bible to which we all go from time to time, cinnamon occupies a very special place. There are no less than three colors that refer to this spice: Cinnamon, Cinnamon Stick y Apple Cinnamon. The next time you say that this suit is tan and they don’t understand you, the fault will certainly not be yours.
From cinnamon to gait
The cinnamon sticks that are obtained once the trees are harvested are called quills in English and can be up to a meter in length. They are classified by their appearance, thickness and aroma and are the most precious part of cinnamon. However, what is left over from this long-distance race towards excellence is also marketed. Broken branches below 20 cm are called quillings. To the pieces that are obtained by peeling the inner bark, featherings and to the remains of unpeeled bark, both internal and external, chips. Finally there is the ground cinnamon, which is obtained by grinding the different types of branch, and although technically they cannot be called cinnamon, the leaves and buds of the bush are also very precious.
Cinnamon, just like a ruby
Cinnamon has always been synonymous with luxury. In ancient times its use was restricted to the nobles and the rich, due to its high price. It was also used to pay taxes. When Portugal took control of Ceylon, it forced the King of Kotte to pay an annual tribute of 300 bahars of cinnamon, 12 ruby rings and six elephants. By the way, the agreement, according to John O’Connel in The Book of Spices, recently published by Debate, was engraved on beaten gold leaf. With the arrival of fashionable products from the Americas, such as coffee, cocoa and exotic fruit, the cinnamon began to lose value. Even so, it is still very expensive. In stores Ruiz House 50 gr. Ceylon cinnamon sticks cost 3.65 euros. If it is cassia, the price drops to 1.75 euros.
Birds and snakes
The Egyptians embarked on dangerous expeditions to a fantastic place called Punt, in the Horn of Africa, in order to get some cinnamon. How this spice got there and brought by whom remains a mystery. And not the only one, apparently. According to the aforementioned O’Connell, there is no other spice that is the subject of so many myths and misinterpretations as cinnamon. Some examples? The Arabs believed that it was brought by huge birds, others that it grew in deep valleys inhabited by snakes and Columbus believed he found it in the Indies, which were America, in the cannella winteriana or wild cinnamon (another one!), Used in medleys and perfumes.
The trendy ingredient
Cakes, chocolates, porridge, béchamel, liqueurs, even chicken and pork dishes. Cinnamon is a versatile ingredient and it is used in practically every kitchen in the world. Two of the most recent gastronomic trends, cinnamon toast and cinnamon rolls, show that no matter how old cinnamon is, it never goes out of style. A suggestion: once ground, the cinnamon loses its nuances of aroma. Real cinnamon is easy to grind at home. It takes a little more work, but it’s worth it.
Cleopatra’s hair
Cinnamon has always been highly appreciated also as a perfume. Everyone knows that Caesar fell at the feet of Cleopatra. What is perhaps less known is that one of one of the queen’s beauty secrets was to bathe her hair in cinnamon. In the Middle Ages, this spice was soaked in fat or oil and heated to give off its fragrance. In Egypt, Greece and Rome it was also used in funeral rites and embalming, being associated with the sun and eternal life. Nothing more, nothing less.
A natural ‘antibiotic’
Ancient civilizations blindly trusted in the healing virtues of cinnamon. Although today we know that it is not so bad, they are still attributed to cinnamon stimulating properties of the nervous, circulatory and respiratory systems y GI. Its essential oil, rich in cinnamic aldehyde and eugenol, is a natural antiseptic and “antibiotic”, although it can have side effects. According to the Portuguese doctor Garcías, a sweet drink is obtained from the distilled water of the flowers and from the berries a useful fat is extracted, apparently for cooling and joint pain.
Princess of Serendipity
Do you remember that movie with John Cusak and Kate Beckinsale in which two lovers agree to separate so that fate brings them together again? Serendipity It’s called an accidental finding. A beautiful word that comes from Serendip, which is none other than the name by which the island of Ceylon was known, before being called Ceylon and Sri Lanka. In the Persian tale The Three Princes of Serendip, the protagonists discovered things without looking for them, by pure chance. You want to think that cinnamon, as a princess of Serendipity that she is, at some point was also such a fortuitous find as lucky.