Christmas spices: all you need to know about cinnamon
origin : the cinnamon is the bark of a tree called the cinnamon tree from Ceylon (Sri Lanka), today it is also found in China and Indonesia. Its use dates back centuries, the Egyptians for example used to embalm the dead. In ancient Greece it was as precious as gold because it was a rare commodity that could hardly be imported!
In the kitchen : we find this spice in its original form, stick, or more often in powder, that can directly incorporate in all our dishes. In France, the cinnamon is mainly used to make scented desserts, pastries, breadspices, pancakes, compotes, donuts. It's also one of spices main to perfume the mulled wine. It can also be used in many savory-sweet dishes to enhance the taste, it marries perfectly with the particular honey.
Its medicinal qualities : the cinnamon stimulates the respiratory and digestive tracts. It was used before to fight colds. This spice also helps fight against intestinal transit disorders as it stimulates digestion. It also seems that it has aphrodisiac qualities, because the cinnamon has an action on the nervous system.
Conclusion : the cinnamon consumed in small quantities is excellent for health and strong in taste. It perfumes our desserts easily.
