Herbs & Spices

Cinnamon / Dalchini

Cinnamon is the inner bark of a tropical evergreen tree from the laurel family. There are suggested to be between 50 - 250 different species, depending on which botanist figures are collected from. Cinnamon can be found either in quills or as a ground powder. Either way, the paler the colour of the cinnamon, on the whole, the finer the quality. Quills come in three classes, the best of which is Continental followed by Mexican and Hamburg. Cinnamon can also be found in featherings, which are purely shavings of quills that have been broken in transit, although these are primarily used to make ground cinnamon.

Cinnamon has a warm, sweet and amiable aroma that is delicate yet intense. The taste is also aromatic, warm and sweet with hints of clove and citrus. Ground bark is immediately aromatic, whereas the quills have a tendency to hide their aromatic properties until broken or cooked in a liquid.

The best cinnamon can be found in Sri Lanka where it originated, though it is also cultivated in Java, Sumatra, the West Indies, Brazil, Vietnam, Madagascar and Egypt. When the Dutch established a trading post in Sri Lanka in 1638, a Dutch captain reported, "The shores of the island are full of it and it is the best in all the Orient: when one is downwind of the island, one can still smell cinnamon eight leagues out to sea".

Mexico is the main importer of cinnamon, where the spice is used to flavour coffee and chocolate drinks. Here's a tip from the Mexicans: the next time you drink hot chocolate, be sure to stir it with a stick of cinnamon to enhance its taste. Cinnamon is also widely used in Indian cuisine - its bark is an essential ingredient in masala dishes, giving them a sweet, warm and fragrant taste. Cinnamon is also used to flavour rice and desserts.

Did you know?
Cinnamon is believed to have been found by a Greek historian by the name of Herodotus on Egyptian mummies! Before the spice was bought to Europe, Arabs maintained their monopoly on spice trade by stating it had to be collected while under attack ferocious birds.