Cinnamon

Hi!

Cinnamon is one of my favourite flavours to bake with. Whether in cinnamon swirls, apple cake or french toast, it is a delicious flavour that reminds me of the autumn and of Christmas. I love adding a teaspoon of cinnamon to my Dorset Apple Traybake or sprinkling some cinnamon sugar on my toast for breakfast. I thought that I would look into how cinnamon is made.

On holiday in Sri Lanka, I met a lady who showed me how cinnamon is made. Cinnamon comes from the bark of a tree. The trees are grown for 2-3 years and then the stems are cut. After the stems have been harvested, they need to be processed very quickly otherwise the bark will dry out. The outer part of the bark is then scraped off to reveal the inner bark which is the aromatic part that we use in our cooking. The bark is bashed with a tool like a hammer and then the inner bark is rolled off in curls which are sometimes called 'quills'. The cinnamon is then dried completely and cut up into pieces to sell.

There are four main varieties of cinnamon. The two most popular types are Ceylon cinnamon and Cassia cinnamon. The Ceylon cinnamon is more expensive. It has a sweeter taste and the quills are quite soft. Cassia cinnamon is more common. The cinnamon is a darker colour and the quills are harder. Ceylon cinnamon is easier to grind. Ceylon cinnamon is only found in speciality stores whereas Cassia cinnamon can be found in most supermarkets. Ceylon cinnamon grows in Sri Lanka, Madagascar and the Seychelles, but cassia cinnamon usually comes from Indonesia and China.

I hope you enjoyed my post about cinnamon!
Bye!