Mankind has been enjoying cinnamon for thousands of years, since about 2000 BC. The Egyptians used it as an ingredient in embalming, and cinnamon is also mentioned in the Old Testament. Some evidence confirms that cinnamon was present throughout the ancient world, and that it was brought to Europe, where it gained no less popularity, by Arab traders. Legend has it that the Roman emperor Nero burned all his supply of cinnamon on the funeral pyre of his second wife, Poppea Sabina, in order to atone for his involvement in her death.
The Arabs transported the spice via complicated overland routes, which made it expensive and limited in supply. Thus, the presence of cinnamon in the house could serve as a symbol of status in Europe in the Middle Ages. After some time, the middle classes of society began to strive to acquire luxury items that were once available only to the upper stratum. Cinnamon was a particularly desirable food because it was used as a meat preservative. Despite its ubiquity, the origin of cinnamon was a big secret among Arab merchants until the early XNUMXth century. In order to maintain their monopoly of the cinnamon trade and justify its unjustified price, the Arab merchants wove their customers colorful stories about how they extract the luxurious spice. One of these tales was the story of how birds carried cinnamon sticks in their beaks to nests located on top of mountains, the path to which is extremely difficult to overcome. According to this tale, people left pieces of the cape in front of the nests, so that the birds began to collect them. When the birds drag all the meat into the nest, it becomes heavy and falls to the ground. This made it possible to collect sticks of the treasured spice.
In an effort to meet the growing demand, European travelers began to search for the mysterious place where the spice grows. Christopher Columbus wrote to Queen Isabella claiming to have found rhubarb and cinnamon in the New World. However, samples of the plant he sent were found to be an undesirable spice. Gonzalo Pizarro, a Spanish navigator, also searched for cinnamon throughout the Americas, crossing the Amazon in the hope of finding “pais de la canela,” or “the land of cinnamon.”
Around 1518, Portuguese traders discovered cinnamon in Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) and conquered the island kingdom of Kotto, enslaving its population and controlling the cinnamon trade for a century. After this time, the Kingdom of Ceylon Kandy allied with the Dutch in 1638 to overthrow the Portuguese occupiers. About 150 years later, Ceylon was captured by the British after their victory in the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War. By 1800, cinnamon was no longer an expensive and rare commodity, as it began to be cultivated in other parts of the world, along with such “delicacies” as chocolate, cassia. The latter has a similar aroma to cinnamon, which is why it began to compete with it for popularity.
Today, we mainly encounter two types of cinnamon: and Cassia grows mainly in Indonesia and has a stronger smell. Its cheap variation is what is sold in supermarkets for sprinkling baked goods. More expensive, Ceylon cinnamon (most of which is still grown in Sri Lanka) has a mild, slightly sweet flavor and is suitable for adding to baked goods as well as hot drinks (coffee, tea, hot chocolate, etc.).
Cinnamon is widely used in traditional therapies such as Ayurveda and Chinese medicine. Its antimicrobial properties help in the fight against. Mixed together with honey, it saturates the skin with softness and radiance.
Precious spice. With diarrhea, 12 tsp is recommended. cinnamon mixed with plain yogurt.
A study published in Diabetes Care in December 2003 showed that consumption of just 1 gram of cinnamon per day lowered blood sugar, triglycerides, bad cholesterol and total cholesterol in type 2 diabetic patients. advises Dr. Shiha Sharma, nutrition expert at Nutrihealth.