The "soul" powder on the rolls, once the namesake of Sri Lanka, is more valuable than gold!

As the saying goes, "Without rice, there is no cooking; without salt, there is no flavor." The main ingredients and seasonings together constitute the soul and meat of a dish.

Today we are going to talk about Ceylon cinnamon , which is a name that is both strange and familiar. It is a condiment - strictly speaking, a spice. Although edible spices are far from being as indispensable as salt, in order to pursue a better eating experience, the use of spices in various foods has become a very common situation.

A plain roll, but with Ceylon cinnamon, it becomes a delicious cinnamon roll | pexels.com

Sri Lanka's 'Powdered Gold'

Sri Lanka is the origin of Ceylon cinnamon. This island country is known as the "Pearl of the Indian Ocean" and is rich in gems, spices and black tea.

Sri Lanka, a pearl in the Indian Ocean | NOAA

At first glance, when you hear "Ceylon cinnamon is produced in Sri Lanka", do you think there is a place in Sri Lanka called Ceylon where cinnamon is produced in abundance? In fact, "Ceylon" is Sri Lanka. Since the British Empire incorporated this treasure island into its territory in 1885, the place name Ceylon has been used. Even when it officially declared independence in 1948 and became a Commonwealth dominion, the name Ceylon was still used until it was officially changed to Sri Lanka after 1972.

Ceylon cinnamon was once known by the scientific name Cinnamomum zeylanicum, the specific epithet zeylanicum meaning "of Ceylon". Of course, the official scientific name now used is C. verum, which literally means "true cinnamon".

Does the leaf of cinnamon look like a camphor tree? Because it is indeed a plant of the genus Cinnamomum in the family Lauraceae | ox.ac.uk

Ceylon cinnamon was one of the first "powdered golds" to arrive in the Western world. In the days when transportation was underdeveloped, all kinds of spices were very precious, and cinnamon powder, which debuted in the "center position", could not be exchanged for even the same weight of gold at its peak .

The reason why cinnamon was so expensive at that time was not only because of its scarce supply, but also because of its status in various cultures. In ancient Egypt, cinnamon powder was required for the embalming of mummies; in ancient Greece, cinnamon also had a place in the tribute to the gods.

Three common forms of cinnamon products - OK, the black particles are not common, they are dried cinnamon flowers | Simon A. Eugster

One of the main purposes of the Western countries' colonial expansion and competition in the East Indies was to obtain more spices. "The magical country in the East is full of gold"? This is not a lie in the story. Think about oriental spices such as cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, and luxury goods such as black tea and gems. Which one is not more valuable than gold?

They are all called Gui, what are the differences between them?

Although the most famous "cinnamon" is Ceylon cinnamon, the spice cinnamon used in many places is not always Ceylon cinnamon. The barks of many plants in the Lauraceae family are used as substitutes because they contain similar aromatic substances.

Cinnamon (C. cassia) produced in China has long been used as a seasoning and traditional medicine. Does it sound a bit far-fetched? In other words, you must have heard of "cassia bark"!

When stewing meat, you always need to add some cinnamon | jasmine0620

The bark of cinnamon has this special aroma, and we usually use it to stew things - this usage is very different from Ceylon cinnamon, which is ground into powder and added directly to food. The reason for this difference is partly due to the difference in eating habits between the East and the West, and partly due to the difference in flavor between Chinese cinnamon and Ceylon cinnamon.

The thinner one on the left is Ceylon cinnamon, and the thicker one is domestic cinnamon. This is a natural difference between species, not a difference in production craftsmanship. | Antti Vähä-Sipilä / wiki commons

The main aroma component and source of spicy taste of various cinnamon barks are cinnamaldehyde, but in addition, some other flavor substances make them different in smell and taste. Ceylon cinnamon has a relatively light smell and a sweet taste without any bitterness , which is why it can be directly added to desserts; while Chinese cinnamon has a clear bitter taste, and the aroma can be emitted when stewing meat, while the bitterness is mostly left in the bark and is discarded after use.

If you add cassia bark to desserts instead of Ceylon cinnamon, the results will be terrible | pexels.com

The sweetness of cinnamon powder is also one of its quality criteria. Ceylon cinnamon produced in Negombo (north of Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka) is generally considered to be the sweetest and the cinnamon powder made from it is still expensive even in today's developed transportation industry.

There is another spice that is more familiar to everyone, "bay leaf", which is often mistaken for a cinnamon product because it has another name "laurel leaf" and has a special smell similar to cinnamon. In fact, bay leaf is made from the branches and leaves of laurel (Laurus nobilis) and has nothing to do with cinnamon. Laurel is also a plant of the Lauraceae family, but it is not in the same genus as cinnamon . Its branches, leaves and seeds have various special aromatic oils of the Lauraceae family (various aldehydes, esters, and the like), so they are also used in various places that require perfume and seasoning.

Fresh bay leaves | H. Zell / wiki commons

As for other things with "Gui" in their names, Osmanthus fragrans is a flower produced from the Oleaceae family, with a strong sweet fragrance, while Longan is a dried product of the Sapindaceae family's Longan. They are even more distantly related to Ceylon cinnamon.

Author: ArcherEmiya

This article comes from GuokrNature (ID: GuokrNature)

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