The Plant
Cinnamon comes from several species in the genus Cinnamonium in the family Lauraceae, the laurel family. Members of this family in New England include the sassafras, which is often seen in the woods around Boston. Other members of this family provide avocados and bay leaves. Perversely, the common laurels (sheep, mountain, great) are not in the laurel family but are in the heath family, along with blueberries. Cinnamonium verum (or Cinnamonium zeylanicum) is often called true cinnamon or Ceylon cinnamon, and "cassia" is sometimes used to refer to the other species of cinnamon trees. In this e-mail, "cinnamon" will unless otherwise stated be used to refer to all generically. I use "Ceylon" and"Sri Lanka" interchangeably.
In the wild the true cinnamon tree can grow to a height of
50 feet, but under cultivation it is usually kept to about 10 feet or less. The two pictures below shows a cinnamon plantation in Sri Lanka. The trees are all short, and the trunks have small diameters. This will be explained shortly.
Here are pictures of Sri Lankan cinnamon.
- Close up of the leaves.
- The foliage and flowers.
- A close-up of the flowers.
- The fruit.
- Leaf, fruit, and seed.
- For comparison, the last picture shows a flower of the Indonesian cinnamon.
The cinnamon plant is cultivated by what is called coppicing. Generally,
coppicing means that the tree is cut off at ground level. The response of the tree is to send up a number of stump sprouts (sometimes called shoots or suckers) from the side of the stump. After some number of years, these sprouts are again cut off at ground level, and the cycle then repeats, where the length of the cycle depends on the species and on the intended use of the wood. (See the general, explanatory picture below; the cycle length does not apply to cinnamon, but I have been unable to discover the cycle length for cinnamon, though I have seen a
suggestion that it is 2-3 years; this makes sense since cinnamon, like most tropical trees, is fast growing.) Coppicing might be followed for a number of reasons, e.g., to provide poles of a desired size (coppiced shoots are usually straight without the bends of uncoppiced wood), to provide flexible shoots for wattle fencing and wicker-work, and to provide the raw material for charcoal. A common reason for coppicing in England was that until the 20th century it was difficult to
transport large logs, which could only be used locally. Presumably, cinnamon is coppiced because this maximizes the production of the inner bark from which the spice comes. A traditional coppiced woodlot is divided into sections, where each section is at a different stage of growth. Not only does this provide a crop every year, but this means that different sections are in different stages of growth, and this promotes biodiversity.
The cinnamon plant can be
propagated by seeds or cuttings.
History
Cinnamon was known in Egypt as early as 2000 B.C. It was valued so highly that it was considered a suitable gift for kings or even gods. Among other uses, the Egyptians used it for
embalming.
In ancient Greece and Rome the origin of cinnamon was unknown; it arrived "... by unknown means from the vast blank spaces on the map, spaces populated by dragons, gods, and monsters" [Turner, p. 231]. Following in the grand tradition of spice traders, the traders played dumb to protect their monopoly and said that they didn't know where it came from. Herodotus [3.111] stepped into this knowledge void and asserted that cinnamon came from Arabia and that the Arabians gathered it in a picturesque way.
...it is said that huge birds carry the stalks, which we have learned from the Phoenicians to call cinnamon, to nests of clay that they have built hanging from steep mountains completely inaccessible to men. But the Arabians have surmounted this problem rather cleverly. They cut up the limbs of dead cattle, donkeys, and other beasts of burden into pieces as large as they can carry, scatter them in the area under the nests, and then move out of the way. The birds swoop down for the limbs of the beasts and take them back to their nests, but the nests cannot bear the weight and so crash to the ground, where the men then collect the cinnamon that comes down along with them.
Herodotus made the classic mistake of thinking that the point from which a spice was procured, in this case Arabia, was the true origin of the spice. Don't get the idea that the ancients were entirely uncritical. Pliny the Elder (circa 23-79 A.D.) dismissed Herodotus's story by saying, "These tales have been invented by the natives in order to raise the price of their commodities" [quoted in Keay, p. 42].
In ancient Rome cinnamon "...was far and away the most esteemed and important of the Eastern spices" [Turner, p. 230]. Strange to say, however, aside from a single reference to spiced wine, there is no evidence that the Romans ate cinnamon [Turner, p. 148]. Rather, it was used in funeral rites and other religious devotions [Turner, p. 148-49, 228-31]. In addition to its aroma, it was convenient since it could be powdered and added to oils to produce a paste, or the sticks could be fed to the flames [Turner, p. 230].
As late as 1250, a well-informed Crusader in Egypt believed that cinnamon (as well as ginger) was dredged up in nets from the source of the Nile [Turner, pp. 43-44]. By the end of the 13th century, however, it came to be known that Ceylon was the homeland of cinnamon. Venice obtained cinnamon in Alexandria and came to have a monopoly on the distribution of cinnamon in Europe. Cinnamon became a
status symbol in Europe.
Both because of the high prices for cinnamon and also because the trade routes were disrupted by various factor, e.g., the rise of the Ottoman Empire, European desire for a direct route to the source of cinnamon grew.
After Vasco da Gama reached India in 1498, the Portuguese kept exploring, and they came to Ceylon in 1505 when an adverse wind blew a Portuguese fleet into Colombo. The Portuguese in 1518 built a fort on Ceylon and tried ineffectually to establish a monopoly on Ceylon cinnamon.
The Dutch started contesting with the Portuguese for the island in the early 1600s, established a trading post in
1638, and succeeded in totally expelling the Portuguese in 1658 [Russell-Wood, p. 193]. The Dutch, as usual, were much more thorough about enforcing a monopoly than the Portuguese, and in the 17th century cinnamon became the most
profitable spice for the Dutch East India Company. In parallel with what we have seen with cloves (22 Oct 2015) and nutmeg (30 Oct 2015), Dutch rule exhibited its standard pattern of local revolts followed by draconian suppression [Turner, p. 297]. The Dutch were sometimes forced to drastic measures to protect their monopoly; to get rid of excess supply, in June of 1760 the Dutch burned 16 million French livres worth of cinnamon; the fragrant plume wafted over Holland [Turner, p. 297].
When the English took Ceylon over from the Dutch in 1795, cinnamon plants were transplanted throughout the British Empire [Turner, p. 297]. The demand for cinnamon, however, was falling as tastes
shifted toward coffee, tea, chocolate, and sugar. Cinnamon was well on the way to losing its mystique and becoming just another commodity in world trade.
Cinnamon was important in European cooking in the 16th to 18th centuries; its use is now greatly
diminished, with its main use being in desserts. It remains popular in
South Asia, its native land.
The Spice
True cinnamon is produced in the following
steps. (All pictures are of Ceylon cinnamon.)
- Harvest the stems. The two pictures below show a farmer in Sri Lanka harvesting coppiced cinnamon trees with a hatchet.
- Scrape off and discard the outer bark. The picture shows an assembly line of bark scrapers in hats at work. This step and the next must be undertaken immediately after harvest and completed while the inner bark is still wet.
- Beat the now exposed inner bark with a hammer to loosen it, then pry it off in cylindrical strips perhaps a yard long. These strips are stuffed with trimmings to maintain a roughly circular cross-section. This inner bark is about half a millimeter thick.
- Dry the bark, which takes from four to six days under favorable conditions. The inner bark rolls up into what is called a "quill."
- Once dry, cut the quill into cinnamon sticks two to four inches long.
- If desired, grind the cinnamon stick into a powder.
The first four steps of this process are very nicely illustrated in the first three minutes of this
video or in this
video; these videos supplied the pictures of the process used here.
If stored in an airtight glass container, a cinnamon stick will maintain its
potency for maybe a year. Powdered cinnamon will not last as long.
Four species provide bark that is sold as
cinnamon. The term "cassia" refers to the last three species.
- Sri Lankan or Ceylon or true cinnamon (Cinnamonium verum): Considered by connoisseurs in the West and South Asia to be the most delicately flavored form of cinnamon with an aroma that hints of incense [Krondl, p. 163]. The inner bark is about half a millimeter thick. It can easily be reduced to a powder, unlike the other three varieties. Here is a video that tells all about true cinnamon as produced today in Sri Lanka.
- Chinese cinnamon (Cinnamonium cassia): Made from all layers of the bark,not just the inner. The walls are between three and ten millimeters thick. It is used in cinnamon rolls and other baked goods since its strong flavor stands up well to baking. This is the preferred form of cinnamon in Southeast and Central.Asia. This spice is always sold in pieces since the bark is not supple enough to roll into a quill.
- Indonesian cinnamon (Cinnamonium burmanii): Indonesian cinnamon tastes much like true cinnamon, but the walls of its quills are from one to three millimeters thick. It can be rolled into a quill.
- Vietnamese cinnamon (Cinnamonium loureiroi): Always sold in pieces since the bark is not supple enough to roll into a quill. This looks much like Chinese cinnamon but with the walls being somewhat thinner. Vietnamese cinnamon is virtually unavailable, in part because it has a poor reputation.
How do you know what type of cinnamon you are buying if, as is usually the case, the label does not say? If you are an expert and can examine the cinnamon sticks, it is easy to distinguish the four types. For example, in the picture below, true cinnamon is on the left and Indonesian on the right; the true cinnamon has lighter-colored, thinner bark. If you are not an expert, you can perhaps pick out cassia since it has a noticeable burn in its aftertaste [Krondl, p. 163]. About a quarter of
world production is true cinnamon, with the bulk of the rest being Indonesian cinnamon. Most of the "cinnamon" sold in the U.S. is in fact cassia [Krondl, p. 163].
MIscellany
As
Wikipedia states, "Cinnamon has a long history of use in traditional medicine." The
NIH has investigated these uses of cinnamon and concluded, "High-quality clinical evidence (i.e., studies in people) to support the use of cinnamon for any medical condition is generally lacking."
The essential oil of cinnamon can make an environmentally friendly pesticide; it has been shown to
kill mosquito larvae.
"To the Venerable Bede [ca. 673-735] and dozens who copied him, pale, ashen-brown cinnamon was taken as a symbol of inner worth over outward display, of substance over style, redolent of inner virtue" [Turner, p. 252]. Go figure.
A cinnamon plant can be grown in all 50 states, but you must carry it indoors whenever the temperature is below
40 degrees. (Be sure you plant it in a pot rather than in the ground.) These trees are easy to maintain, but making cinnamon is difficult not only because you have to summon up the courage to cut down your tree but also because the process in involved (see above).
The e-mail on vanilla (22 May 2015) pointed out that coumarin, which is a constituent of tonka beans, an adulterant of vanilla, is banned since it is suspected to cause liver damage. Cassia
contains a small amount of coumarin. If you consume
vast quantities of cassia, you could be putting yourself in danger. As the
NIH states, "Cassia cinnamon contains coumarin, the parent compound of warfarin, a medication used to keep blood from clotting. Due to concerns about the possible effects of coumarin, in 2006, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment warned against consuming large amounts of cassia cinnamon."
This
site give the most complete analysis I have seen of cinnamon toast. See the appendix for more on cinnamon toast.
Cinnamon is not produced by the cinnamon fern (pictured below), which grows at High Mowing, Mei-Mei's place in Vermont.
Since cinnamon is such a well known spice, I will not attempt a full discussion of its uses but will limit myself to some of its uses around your mouth.
- Are you into brown lipstick? Do you want your lips to look like autumn leaves? Then try the Cinnamon Spice brand from Milani cosmetics.The pictures below shows the tube of lipstick (along with other brown shades) and a close-up of the extended lipstick. (Not offered in vegan.)
- If you seek a power smile, then try the mouthwash Jason Power Smile, the cinnamon mint flavor.
- Keep your mouth kissable with Trident gum. Despite the packaging that trumpets its cinnamon flavor and is dominated by cinnamon sticks, it is artificially flavored and presumably contains no cinnamon.
- Finally, from the galaxy of foods that contain cinnamon, I select cinnamon rolls, which were my second favorite food when I was a child. Pictured are cinnamon rolls that look much like the ones my mother made.
Cinnamon Art
Cinnamon has a very modest presence in art works.
- A Bulgarian living in Vienna has invented a method of painting with cinnamon. Take a look at his portfolio, one of which is shown below.
- Cinnamon bun painting.
Travel Tip
To get the full cinnamon experience, visit the world's only
Cinnamon Museum in Mirissa, Sri Lanka, a few minutes from beautiful Weligama Bay. The Museum, which doubles as a four-room hotel, is located in the heart of a working cinnamon
plantation, which you can observe in action. The picture of the
hotel room below shows that, with artificial cinnamon flowers scattered on the bedspread, the cinnamon motif is fully exploited. (Are the curtains around the bed mosquito netting, or is that just gracious living?) If the rooms are all taken, here is an
alternative plantation tour, which can be combined with a tour of the Tea Virgins Tea Factory.
Rick
Appendix: Cinnamon Toast
While on the porch of Pepe and Maria's Lake House on the evening of 29 July 2015, Mike and I were relaxing from our labors of picking blueberries. (Below is a picture of me standing in the lake while picking highbush blueberries.) I was telling Mike what I had found out about cinnamon, and this got us to talking about cinnamon toast. Our experiences were similar in that it was a favorite food as a child, but we had not had any in roughly half a century. This created a burning desire to try cinnamon toast.
On 1 August 2015, I was back home and had assembled the ingredients. Here's what I did.
- I scooped into a bowl what I figured was enough butter for two slices of toast.
- I threw in what seemed like the right amount of sugar. (Damn the unhealthy ingredients, full speed ahead. This is fruit exploring.)
- I shook in what seemed to be the right amount of cinnamon. See picture of these ingredients in the bowl.
- I mashed all the ingredients together with a fork until it was a smooth paste. See picture.
- I spread the mixture on two slices of bread and put them on a cookie sheet. See pictures of both slices and a close-up of the slice on the left..
- Making use of my avocado stove, I put the bread into an oven pre-heated to 350 degrees for ten minutes; see picture. It was exciting after seven minutes to look in and see the mixture bubbling. My excitement grew when a minute later I could smell the cinnamon. (I skipped the step recommended by this site of putting the bread in the broiler for a few minutes to glaze the surface; I will save this touch for when the Queen comes to visit and I serve her cinnamon toast. For this first trial, I did not use any other ingredients like vanilla extract or nutmeg.)
- I took the toast from the oven and let it cool on the stovetop for four minutes. See picture.
- I ate the cinnamon toast.
I found that the cinnamon toast tasted good, but the cinnamon flavor was not strong enough. Maybe I didn't use enough cinnamon, but I think the bigger problem is that my cinnamon was two years old, and it was cheapo cinnamon to begin with.
My plan, after eating the cinnamon toast, had been to eat dinner; sometimes, just for a change of pace, I eat dessert before the main course. Instead, I decided to take advantage of the experimental mood and make two more pieces. This time I followed the same procedure except that I roughly doubled the amount of cinnamon, and I also dumped in a quarter teaspoon of vanilla extract. (I bought a bottle when I wrote the e-mail on vanilla, 22 May 2015, and figured I would find some use for it. The elapsed time since I bought it doesn't matter since, as you might recall from that e-mail, vanilla extract lasts forever without losing its potency.)
When the next two, enhanced slices were ready, I ate them. They were good, as they should be from the ingredients, but not noticeably better than the first two slices. I could not detect the effect of the extra cinnamon or the vanilla extract. In short, cinnamon toast no longer exerted its childhood allure. I guess the phrase, "You can't go home again," applies also to cinnamon toast.
After eating the second batch, I found that all desire to eat dinner was extinguished.
On 3 Nov 2015, using Ceylonese cinnamon just purchased at Penzeys Spices, I made cinnamon toast again. This was a test of my theory that the quality of my first two batches reported on above was held down by using old cinnamon. The result was that the cinnamon toast tasted the same as before. I guess I have to admit that the cinnamon toast phase of my life is over, and I have moved on to the garlic hummus phase.
References
Herodotus (edited by Robert B. Strassler),
The Landmark Herodotus: The Histories, Pantheon Books, 2007. I own four editions of Herodotus that I have bought over the last 35 years, and this one is my favorite because it does so much to help the reader and make the text comprehensible. For example, it has 127 maps, very full notes, 21 appendixes to explain the larger topics, and other scholarly apparatus. Note that my reference to this work is not by page number but by book and paragraph. This is the standard way to refer to Herodotus; this means that a reader can check my citation no matter what edition he or she has at hand. (I just had the idea of looking to see if there is a version of Herodotus on-line. I went to
http://classics.mit.edu/Herodotus/history.3.iii.html and found to my intense irritation that the paragraph numbers were not given. I then went to
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2707/2707-h/2707-h.htm#link32H_4_0001 and was gratified to see that the paragraphs were numbered, as they were in the Greek-English parallel version at
http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/hh/hh3110.htm. That I found these three on-line editions of Herodotus in two minutes and saw a number of others in Google that I didn't look at gives me hope for the future of the human race. We might go extinct, but it will not be for lack of access to Herodotus. By the way, Herodotus might be the most entertaining book I ever read. Give it a try.)
Keay, John, The Spice Route A History, University of California Press, 2006. For a description of this book, see the e-mail of 9 Oct 2015.
Krondl, Michael, The Taste of Conquest: The Rise and Fall of the Three Great Cities of Spice, Ballantine Books, 2007. For a description of this book, see the e-mail of 9 Oct 2015.
Russell-Wood, A.J.R., The Portuguese Empire, 1415-1808: A World on the Move, Johns Hopkins, 1998 (first published in England in 1992 under a different name). I did not read this book but just picked out a few facts. I had access to this book in hard copy.
Turner, Jack, Spice: The History of a Temptation, Vintage Books, paperback, 2005 (first published in hardback in 2004). For a description of this book, see the e-mail of 9 Oct 2015.
