Cinnamon is a fragrant spice that is universally used in cooking. It has been valued since ancient times for its healing properties. The cinnamon aroma of many is associated with comfort and warmth, delicious homemade cakes. Therefore, most housewives constantly buy this spice. But only do they acquire cinnamon? Most likely, almost no one knows that there are two identical spices - cassia and cinnamon. How to distinguish them, you need to figure it out. Indeed, it is cassia that is the most common on sale - a low-quality and often harmful substitute for this spice.
The benefits of cinnamon
It is no coincidence that this spice has been known and popular since ancient times. It was used not only in cooking, but also in medicine. It was believed that cinnamon calms and gives peace, warms and treats colds. In addition, this spice invigorates, gives a good mood and improves memory. It contains a lot of manganese, calcium, iron and fiber. A special substance, eugenol, accelerates tissue regeneration and wound healing.
Modern medicine has proven the healing value of cinnamon. This spice has the following properties:
- stimulates brain activity;
- dilutes blood;
- destroys bacteria and viruses;
- slows down the growth of fungal microorganisms;
- normalizes glucose levels;
- relieves inflammation;
- cleans the airways of mucus;
- slows down the aging process;
- fights flatulence, improves digestion;
- cleanses the body of toxins and salts.
How to use cinnamon
This spice is most often used in cooking. Everyone knows the smell of baking with cinnamon, which is associated with comfort and tranquility. But this seasoning is also successfully added to desserts, drinks, salads, main dishes. Cinnamon, apple pie or baked chicken are especially popular.
There are several recipes for cinnamon to treat various diseases:
- half a teaspoon of powder and a pinch of black pepper, brew a glass of boiling water, cool slightly, add a spoon of honey and drink with flu or a cold;
- if you mix a spoonful of honey with half a spoonful of cinnamon, this mixture helps with nasal congestion and coughing;
- fasting cinnamon infusion with honey helps to reduce weight;
- a glass of yogurt with a teaspoon of cinnamon in the morning helps to establish digestion and normalize blood pressure.
You can use cinnamon in cosmetology. When powder is mixed with honey, it brightens the skin, making it more tender. When added to hair masks it accelerates their growth.
Kinds of Cinnamon
This spice is very much appreciated and widespread. But the process of obtaining real cinnamon is very laborious, and trees whose bark is taken for its production grow in only a few places. Therefore, cassia and cinnamon are most often found on sale. How to distinguish them from each other, few people know. Usually people do not imagine that there are 4 types of cinnamon, of which only one is really valuable:
- Ceylon cinnamon, or cinnamon, is a real expensive spice;
- Indonesian, or Chinese cassia;
- malabar brown, or woody cinnamon, also called "cassia vera";
- cinnamon, or spicy cinnamon.
In addition, cinnamon substitutes are often used in the sale, as well as in food production: cinnamon or laurel cinnamon, as well as cinnamon extract.
Ceylon cinnamon
Both cassia and real cinnamon have a spicy aroma and make baking tastier. But only spice from a tree native to Ceylon, on the island of Sri Lanka and in South India brings benefit. This is the most valuable type of cinnamon - Ceylon. It has a rich delicate aroma and a light brown tint. The sticks of such cinnamon are thin and fragile, easily crumble.
For its production, young trees aged 1-2 years are used. A thin layer of the inner cortex is removed from them. It is dried in the sun and manually wrapped in tubules. Then they cut it into sticks about 12 cm long or grind it into powder.
Cassia Feature
Despite the fact that this spice in 90% of cases is presented on the shelves of our stores, few people know this name. What is cassia, mainly cooks and those who seriously care about their health know. This seasoning is made from trees related to cinnamon, but with slight differences. They grow in Vietnam, Indonesia and China. For the production of cassia, whole pieces of bark are taken from trees at least 7 years old. Therefore, the sticks of this seasoning are so tough and coarse, and its smell is sharp and bitter.
Why is cassia dangerous?
You could not try to find out if you bought the real cinnamon, because the aroma of the fake is still pleasant. But in fact, the constant use of cassia in food is dangerous to health. It contains a very large number of tannins, and most importantly - coumarin. Its content exceeds the permissible 1200 times. In cassia, it is present in an amount of more than 2 g / kg.
Coumarin is also called rat poison and is quite toxic to humans. With frequent use, it accumulates and damages the liver and kidneys. A person begins headaches, indigestion, dizziness. It became known that a dangerous dose of coumarin for a preschool child is contained in 4 cookies with โcinnamonโ. For an adult, 6-7 mg of cassia, that is, a fifth of a teaspoon, are already toxic.
The main differences between cinnamon and cassia
At first glance, these spices do not differ, so this confusion has turned out. Most people have no idea that cassia and cinnamon are on sale. What is the difference between them, you can understand by examining in detail their signs. Since most often people buy powder, you need to know how they differ. Real cinnamon is a lighter color, has a delicate pleasant aroma, a little sweet. Cassia is dark, even with a reddish tint, it smells more sharply, leaving a bitter aftertaste.
Cinnamon sticks and cassia
It is in this form that this spice is more useful. Flour or starch is often added to the powder to make it more crumbly. In addition, during storage, ground spice loses its aromatic and taste qualities. And on sticks it is easier to compare cassia and cinnamon.
- The most characteristic feature is appearance. Cinnamon sticks are made of many very thin layers tightly twisted into a tube. They are twisted on both sides and on the side resemble ram horns. Cassia has a rough texture and large thickness, so it does not curl well. It can only be twisted on one side.
- They differ in color. Cassia has a reddish-brown hue, often heterogeneous. Ceylon cinnamon has the same color both inside and outside - light brown.
- The density of the tubes is also a hallmark. Cassia is very rough and fibrous, it is hard to grind, it can even break the coffee grinder. And Ceylon cinnamon breaks even with hands.
How to choose real cinnamon
In most cases, people get this spice in sealed bags, so they canโt determine the color, much less smell it. In this case, you must first look at the name and country of the manufacturer. Real Ceylon Cinnamon is produced in Sri Lanka. China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and even more so other countries are engaged in the production of cassia. A bona fide manufacturer will also correctly indicate the name of the product: Cinnamomum zeylonicum is real cinnamon, and Cinnamomum aromaticum is fake.
In addition, it would not hurt to pay attention to the price: real cinnamon can not be cheap, usually it is 5-10 times more expensive than cassia. Shelf life is also important. After all, after a year of storage, cinnamon loses its properties and aroma.
How to check the quality of cinnamon at home
But what about those who just found out that there is cinnamon and cassia? How to distinguish a fake at home already purchased a product? You can look at the color so that it is not very dark, smell it. But the most informative way is to take a little powder and drop a drop of iodine into it. Real cinnamon will hardly change color, and cassia will turn dark blue. Can also be determined by taste. Cinnamon is sweet and spicy, has a mild flavor and delicate aroma. Cassia, on the other hand, smells stronger, bitter and burning. And if you pour a little powder with boiling water, the precipitate from cinnamon will become jelly-like, red-brown.
Now you know that cassia and cinnamon are very similar. How to distinguish them? If you have sticks in front of you, then you need to try to break them. Ceylon cinnamon is fragile, breaks easily, and cassia is dense and rough. The fake will be a strip of thick bark, slightly curled, often only on one side.
Now you know that cassia and cinnamon exist on sale. How to distinguish them is easy to remember. Therefore, you can take advantage of all the beneficial properties of this noble cinnamon.