Cinnamon

Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum, which can be used in both sweet and savory foods. Cinnamon trees are native to South East Asia, and its origin was mysterious in Europe until the sixteenth century.

More About Cinnamon

Cinnamon is the aromatic, inner bark of certain bushy, tropical, evergreen shrubs or small trees of the Cinnamomum genus of the laurel family (Lauraceae), especially C. verum, C. aromaticum, and C. loureirii, that is dried, ground, and used as a spice. The term is also used for the culinary name of the spice and for the plants yielding this bark, and in particular for C. verum (or C. zeylanicum), which is known as "true cinnamon" or Ceylon cinnamon.

Most of the spice sold as cinnamon in the United States and Canada (where true cinnamon is still generally unknown) is actually cassia from C. aromaticum (or C. cassia). In some cases, cassia is labeled Chinese cinnamon to distinguish it from the more expensive true cinnamon, which is the preferred form of the spice used in Europe and Mexico.

Cinnamon, which has played a very important historical role, tracing to ancient empires and trade between nations, is principally used to provide flavor to food. Human creativity has taken this spice and used it in a wide variety of prepared dishes, including desserts, chocolate, spicy candies, tea, hot cocoa, liqueurs, savory dishes of chicken and lamb, and for flavoring cereals and fruits. Cinnamon bark is one of the few spices which can be consumed directly.

The name cinnamon comes from Greek kinnámōmon, from Phoenician and akin to Hebrew qinnâmôn, itself ultimately from a Malaysian language (cf. Malay and Indonesian kayu manis, which means sweet wood).