Ingredient: Cinnamon (whole and ground)
Category: Herbs, Spices & Seasoning
Season: All
Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum, synonym C. zeylanicum) is a small evergreen tree 10–15 meters (32.8–49.2 feet) tall, belonging to the family Lauraceae, native to Sri Lanka and South India. The bark is widely used as a spice due to its distinct odour. In India it is also known as "Daalchini".
Its flavour is due to an aromatic essential oil which makes up 0.5% to 1% of its composition.
This oil is prepared by roughly pounding the bark, macerating it in seawater, and then quickly distilling the whole.
It is of a golden-yellow colour, with the characteristic odour of cinnamon and a very hot aromatic taste.
The pungent taste and scent come from cinnamic aldehyde or cinnamaldehyde and, by the absorption of oxygen as it ages, it darkens in colour and develops resinous compounds.
Chemical components of the essential oil include ethyl cinnamate, eugenol, cinnamaldehyde, beta-caryophyllene, linalool and methyl chavicol.
The name cinnamon comes from Greek kinnám mon, from Phoenician and akin to Hebrew qinnâmôn, itself ultimately from a Malaysian language, cf. Malay and Indonesian kayu manis which means sweet wood.
Cinnamon and cassia
The name cinnamon is correctly used to refer to Ceylon Cinnamon, also known as "true cinnamon" (from the botanical name C. zeylanicum).
However, the related species Cassia (Cinnamomum aromaticum), Saigon Cinnamon (Cinnamomum loureiroi) and Cinnamomum burmannii are sometimes sold labeled as cinnamon, sometimes distinguished from true cinnamon as "Chinese Cinnamon", "Vietnamese cinnamon" or "Indonesian cinnamon."
Ceylon cinnamon, using only the thin inner bark, has a finer, less dense, and more crumbly texture, and is considered to be less strong than cassia.
Cassia has a much stronger (somewhat harsher) flavour than Cinnamon and is generally a medium to light reddish brown, is hard and woody in texture, and is thicker (2–3 mm thick), as all of the layers of bark are used.
All of the powdered cinnamon sold in supermarkets in the United States is actually Cassia.
European health agencies have recently warned against consuming high amounts of cassia, due to a toxic component called coumarin. This is contained in much lower dosages in Cinnamomum burmannii due to its low essential oil content. Coumarin is known to cause liver and kidney damage in high concentrations. True Ceylon cinnamon has negligible amounts of Coumarin.
The two barks, when whole, are easily distinguished, and their microscopic characteristics are also quite distinct.
Cinnamon sticks (or quills) have many thin layers and can easily be made into powder using a coffee or spice grinder ( cassia sticks are much harder).
Indonesian Cassia (Cinnamomum burmannii) is often sold in neat quills made up of one thick layer, capable of damaging a spice or coffee grinder.
Saigon Cassia (Cinnamomum loureiroi) and Chinese Cassia (Cinnamomum aromaticum) are always sold as broken pieces of thick bark as the bark is not supple enough to be rolled into quills. It is a bit harder to tell powdered cinnamon from powdered cassia.
When powdered bark is treated with tincture of iodine (a test for starch), little effect is visible in the case of pure cinnamon of good quality, but when cassia is present a deep-blue tint is produced, the intensity of the coloration depending on the proportion of cassia.
Cinnamon is also sometimes confused with: Malabathrum (Cinnamomum tamala) and Saigon Cinnamon (Cinnamomum loureiroi).
Uses
Cinnamon bark is widely used as a spice.
It is principally employed in cookery as a condiment and flavouring material, being largely used in the preparation of some kinds of desserts, chocolate, spicy candies, tea, hot cocoa and liqueurs.
In the Middle East, it is often used in savoury dishes of chicken and lamb.
In the United States, cinnamon and sugar are often used to flavour cereals, bread-based dishes, and fruits, especially apples; a cinnamon-sugar mixture is even sold separately for such purposes.
Cinnamon can also be used in pickling.
Cinnamon bark is one of the few spices that can be consumed directly.
|