today on seasonings we're talking about cinnamon but mostly we're going to talk
about cassia so what am I talking about cinnamon cassia what's cinnamon in North
America if you go to the grocery store or the spice market you're probably
going to find this and it is cassia it's not true cinnamon this is true cinnamon
grown in Sri Lanka and they're from the same plant family but they're from
different branches of that family tree and they have slightly different flavors
so let's get into it and like a lot of other spices cinnamon comes from a tree
within the laurel family if you do any sort of spice research you're going to
realize very quickly that a lot of the spices that we use in cooking come from
various branches of the laurel family tree so this is true cinnamon and you
can tell true cinnamon because it is softer flakier more brittle it's going
to come apart in your hands more and it has a really well-rounded flavor and
smell and aroma so true cinnamon is also known as Baker cinnamon se law cinnamon
soft stick cinnamon this is grown in Sri Lanka and you'll notice that when is
rolled into quills like this the walls are very thin and papery thin and
there's several different layers now this is true cinnamon when you're buying
ground cinnamon you're not getting true cinnamon you're getting cassia when
you're buying cinnamon sticks in the grocery store like I said you're buying
cassia does that really make a difference I don't think that it does I
think that the complexity of flavor is lost on most people in the way that we
usually use cinnamon if cinnamon is the only flavor component then I would say
yes true cinnamon is the way to go but if you're putting it into cakes and you
know soups or stews or all of those things kasi it works just fine it leaves
out some of the flavor components it's like taking away all of the treble and
just having the base this is the base note this is what most people in North
America associate with cinnamon and packaging
laws in North America don't say that they have to tell you whether it's true
cinnamon or cassia they can call cassia cinnamon so I use cassia everywhere I
use in soups I use it in stews I use it in baked goods so cassia cinnamon is the
most commonly harvested cinnamon species it's sold in North America generically
as cinnamon and the flavor is both a little bit more simplistic and more
intense than that of true cinnamon true cinnamon was Ferrari cassia would be a
Pontiac Fiero and so if you're gonna buy cinnamon sticks you're gonna try to
grind them at home almost impossible hi if you need ground cinnamon by ground
cinnamon you're never gonna get this ground as finely as you think you want
it there are other varieties of cassia cinnamon there is a variety grown in
Vietnam called Saigon cinnamon and if true cinnamon was really complex regular
cassia cinnamon is is less complex Saigon cinnamon is like a smack in the
face it's all bass note no complexity just the heat and that has its place as
well in our kitchen we also have this stuff which is cinnamon bark from older
trees and I picked that up when I go to to the Caribbean and I use this in Chile
so I use this in places where I really just want that bass note you could use
Saigon cinnamon in that place this stuff has great flavor you know for those
places where you just need a cinnamon sledgehammer so true cinnamon true
cinnamon is is native to sri lanka the cassia cinnamon is native to central
china they grew up in different environments slightly different species
slightly different flavor profiles so are you confused it can be confusing and
for those people out there that try to tell you that the true cinnamon is the
only way to go not really they both have their place they both
have their uses and so that's it for cinnamon