Cinnamon (and Cassia)
Cinnamon
is an ancient spice, although only Chinese cinnamon (cassia) has been
known in the west until the 16th century. Compared to Cassia,
cinnamon has a more delicate aroma and is the dominating quality on the
Western market.
For a casual cook it may not make much of a difference whether Cassia or Cinnamon is used in the recipe but smark cooks can tell them apart. The cassia tree (cinnamomum cassia), which is native to Myanmar (Burma), is a very close relative of the cinnamon tree (cinnamomum zeylanicum), which is native to Sri Lanka (Ceylon). Both trees are the sources of cinnamon sold in much of the world, although in some countries a distinction is still made between cassia and cinnamon. Ground cassia is a darker red-brown, and has a coarser, more pungent, almost bitter taste. Ground cinnamon is lighter ("buff colored"), and has a sweeter and gentler taste. The cassia and cinnamon sticks come from the inside of the bark after the trees have been cut down during the rainy season, when it is more pliable. But, unlike cinnamon bark, which curls itself into neat quills or scrolls when it dries, the cassia bark curls in a less uniform, less compact pattern. Cassia is the less expensive of the two.
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
| Hindi | दालचिनी |
| Kannada | ದಾಲಚಿನ್ನಿ ಚಕ್ಕೆ, ದಾಲ್ಚಿನ |
| Gujarati | Tuj |
| Marathi | दालचिनी |
| Tamil | இலவங்கம், லவங்க பட்டை |
| Telugu | Lavangamu |
Since Cinnamon originated in south asia, Indian cuisine makes heavy use of it in fiery gravy based dishes, aromatic biryanis. It is applied as a whole; the bark pieces are fried in hot oil until they unroll (this is important to release the fragrance); then, temperature is quenched by adding other components, like tomatoes, onions or yoghurt The cinnamon chunks may be removed before serving, but are more frequently kept as a fragrant decoration. In south asian cuisine, Cinnamon is very rarely used in sweet concoctions.
In most other countries, powdered cinnamon is preferred. The powder should be added shortly before serving, as it becomes slightly bitter after some time of cooking. Some people in the west prefer their pastries, preserves and even drinks like Coffee sprinkled on with some powedered Cinnamon.
The so-called “cinnamon buds” are the unripe fruits harvested shortly after the blossom; in appearance, they are similar to cloves. These buds are less aromatic than the bark; their odour is, however, rather interesting: mild, pure and sweet. to release their fragrance, they must be finely ground. Their usage as a spice has only regional importance in China and India (Gujarat region).
