If you love cinnamon or not, you have to read this. I am talking about the real cinnamon of Sri Lanka origin aka Ceylon Cinnamon (Cinnamomum Verum). It is very likely that you're not using the real cinnamon since it is hard to find if you’re not paying attention to the sort and origin you choose. And it is also likely that you don’t like cinnamon since you haven’t tried the real one.
Where’s the difference? In taste, scent, toxicity and price of course.
In brief, the real cinnamon tastes better, has a more subtle and sweet scent, is not toxic if you enjoy it reasonably and has a higher price. The latter is the reason that in stores we usually find other sorts of spices called cinnamon of Chinese, Indian or Indonesian origin. In EU, we often find “cinnamon” with no declared country of origin (just “non EU”).
The aforementioned toxicity comes from the coumarine, a natural chemical substance found in many plants. It is a blood-thinning agent with anti-fungicidal properties, and it is toxic at high doses. The fact #1 is, there are high doses of coumarin in sorts of cinnamon other than the real one.
If you’re not concerned about this fact, let’s focus on taste (fact #2) and scent (fact#3). I love cinnamon, but besides mild allergic reactions what had always bothered me is a sharp aftertaste. Well, it doesn’t come with a real cinnamon. This one has a gorgeous, soft taste and strong yet subtle sweet scent while it doesn’t fill your nose and head (if you’re sensitive to strong scents, you know what I mean). While the real cinnamon should be a bit lighter (and reddish brown) colour I recently found organic fair-trade supply of pretty dark coloured Ceylon cinnamon which I really love.
Let me explain why the cinnamon is so important for me. I use it in almost all kind of sweets. For adding a spicy flavour to my cooking. For curing cold in winter by mixing it in a tea infusion. And last but not least, for my own skincare. I do my own skincare (and I’ll write about it in my upcoming posts) and cinnamon is an important ingredient: for body care (anti-cellulite peeling and skin-toning body butter) as well as for face care. I use it in my healthy, deliciously naturally scented, invigorating facial foundation and I wouldn’t dare to use it if it wasn’t a real cinnamon.
I hope this information about cinnamon will be useful for all cinnamon lovers (and others) out there. I am a lover and explorer of all-natural, transparent food and skincare.
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