The benefits of cinnamon
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What cinnamon does
What this vegetable does
Held to ease cold, clear excess heat from the body and ease the cold and pain, which makes it ideal for warming up.
How to eat it
Added to a hot drink, it not only warms the body but gives a rich aroma to enjoy.
A yakuzen note
Cinnamon clears cold, so it suits a chilled body and heading off colds in particular.
Cinnamon is a pungent, sweet spice, warm in nature, held to warm the body from within, encourage circulation and warm the gut. It suits daily care when you feel the cold, or when you have had too many cold things, and its sweet, showy aroma sits well in drinks and confectionery. A little in a dish or a tea is easy to use when you want to warm the body.
TOC
What cinnamon is made from, the kinds, and how to choose
If you want to bring in the aroma of cinnamon and what it does, deliciously, knowing what it is made from, the kinds and how to choose makes it easier to use. Its appeal is a sweet, showy aroma, and it is one of the oldest spices in the world.
Made from bark, mainly from Sri Lanka and China
Cinnamon is the dried bark of an evergreen tree in the laurel family. In kampo it is called keihi or nikkei, and yakuzen has long used it as an ingredient that warms the body. Stripped and dried, the bark curls into its distinctive form. As a dried spice it is available all year, so it can go into cooking or tea at any time. The main producing areas are Sri Lanka, known for refined Ceylon cinnamon, along with China, Vietnam and Indonesia, which produce the richer cassia. Kept as sticks, the aroma lasts longer.
Ceylon cinnamon and cassia
Cinnamon falls broadly into two types, by the tree it comes from.
| kinds | What stands out |
|---|---|
| Ceylon cinnamon | True cinnamon from Sri Lanka. A refined, rounded, sweet aroma |
| Cassia | From China and Vietnam. A rich, powerful aroma. Most shop cinnamon is this |
| Sticks and powder | Sticks for infusing and decoration, powder for sprinkling and mixing into batter |
Ceylon cinnamon for a refined aroma in confectionery and tea, cassia for stews and chai where you want it to come through: choose by use. Sticks suit infusing to carry the aroma across, powder suits mixing into a batter or sprinkling to finish. Choosing by the character of the aroma brings out what each has.
How to choose it and how to use it
When choosing good cinnamon, these points make it easier to tell.
- Rounded Ceylon or rich cassia, chosen to suit the aroma you like
- A sweet, showy aroma that comes through strongly when the packet is opened
- For an aroma that lasts, sticks rather than powder
Cinnamon loses its aroma easily if overcooked, so adding it to stews and teas near the end keeps it. Breaking a stick before infusing helps the aroma out. Powder is strong in small amounts, so sprinkling it and adjusting to taste works well. It goes beautifully with apple, honey and chocolate, and pairing them brings the aroma forward.
How to use cinnamon
Cinnamon works widely, from drinks to confectionery to cooking, drawing on its sweet, showy aroma. Here are the standard ways.
In chai and hot drinks
Where the aroma of cinnamon most comes into its own is in a hot drink. Chai, infused with tea and milk, paired with ginger and cardamom, is exactly the cup for cold weather when you want to warm up. A stick in an apple tea or mulled wine, or a little sprinkled into coffee or cocoa, enriches the aroma. With honey or milk it becomes sweet and gentle. It is an easy pleasure when you want warmth along with aroma.
In confectionery and stews
Cinnamon is something baking cannot do without. In cinnamon rolls, apple pie, biscuits or French toast, its sweet, showy aroma spreads. It goes exceptionally well with apple, and a shake over a baked apple or into jam deepens the flavour considerably. In cooking, a little in a curry, a Moroccan dish or a meat stew gives depth and length. Putting a stick into a stew to carry the aroma across and lifting it out at the end gives a refined result.
How to keep cinnamon
Cinnamon is vulnerable to damp, light and air, and left alone the aroma goes. Keep it in an airtight container somewhere cool and dark, away from direct sunlight and damp. To hold the aroma longer, keep it as sticks rather than powder and break or grate it when you use it. Powder loses its aroma quickly, so buy a little at a time and use it soon to enjoy it at its best. In humid weather, keeping it away from hot places such as beside the hob holds the flavour better.
Alongside this, it is worth knowing about The benefits of ginger and one paired with cinnamon in confectionery, The benefits of apple as a guide when building a table for the seasons when the cold is on your mind.
Cinnamon, known for its sweet, showy aroma, is the spice that stays alongside you when you want to warm the body, in chai, hot drinks, confectionery and stews. Refined Ceylon cinnamon and rich cassia: choosing by use brings out what each has. For daily care in the seasons when the cold is on your mind, bring the aroma of cinnamon into your life.
