Natural Health.
Cinnamon trees belong to a large genus of some 250 species, Scientific name ;(Cinnamomum zeylanicum Blume) most of which are aromatic. True Cinnamon is native to Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon and the south-eastern coast of India, while the closely related Cassia is native to China. Cinnamon and Cassia are both small tropical evergreen trees that grow up to 20 – 30 feet tall, with aromatic bark and leaves. Young leaves employ a typical trick of tropical trees to make themselves look unappealing to predatory insects by assuming a limp, reddish appearance, as if wilting. Once they mature they perk up and darken to a deep green. The leaves are elongated ovate with a pointed tip, shiny and dark green on the upper surface, lighter below. The inconspicuous whitish flowers grow in panicles, which later develop into bluish berries. The bark is reddish brown and smooth.
History
Despite of its exotic, distant origin, Cinnamon was known and widely used in the ancient world. The Arabs were the first to introduce it to the west and dominated the trade for centuries via their network of trading routes that went as far as China. Their account of where and how Cinnamon and Cassia were obtained proves that exaggerated marketing techniques were not invented yesterday. Herodotus (484 BC – 425 BC) gives the full account:
Their mode of obtaining Cassia is this: – The whole of their body, and the face, except the eyes, they cover with skins of different kinds; they thus proceed to the place where it grows, which is in a marsh, not very deep, but infested by a winged species of animal much resembling a bat, very strong, and making a hideous noise; they protect their eyes from these, and then gather the cassia.
Cinnamon trade was big, even in the ancient world. Tons of it were imported, as it was extensively used for ritual and mundane purposes. The Egyptians used it for embalming potions, perfumes, incense and oils. It is also mentioned in the Old Testament. In fact, the word ‘Cinnamon’ is derived from the ancient Hebrew word ‘kinnämön, which in turn probably originates from the Malay or Indonesian term ‘Kayumanis’, meaning ‘sweet wood’. In China, the city of Guilin was originally known as ‘Kwei Lin’ meaning ‘cassia forest’, in allusion to the fragrant groves of cassia that that surrounded the ancient city.
All the more incredulous that Emperor Nero (not known to have been a very nice sort of chap) demanded every scrap of Cinnamon that could be found in Rome to be delivered to him to be burnt on the funeral pyre of his second wife Poppaea Sabina, after he had killed her by kicking her pregnant belly. This amounted to an entire year’s supply of Cinnamon.
The Arabs controlled the spice trade for almost 3000 years, from 1500 BC to 1500 AD. They traded with the Greeks and Romans, and Venice became the most important city for spice imports to northern Europe. Spices were among the most profitable trading goods of that period in history, and it was amongst other precious spices, for the sake of Cinnamon that Columbus sailed West in 1492 an attempt to find an easier way to the (then) Promised Land and Spice Islands in the East. Instead he ‘found’ the Americas, and was at first mightily disappointed at the lack of spices there.
Around 1518, Portuguese traders discovered cinnamon at Ceylon, present-day Sri Lanka, and conquered its island kingdom of Kotto, enslaving the island’s population and gaining control of thecinnamon trade for about a century until the Ceylon kingdom of Kandy allied with the Dutch in 1638 to overthrow the Portuguese.
Today, we typically encounter two types of commercial cinnamon: Ceylon and cassia cinnamon. Cassia cinnamon is primarily produced in Indonesia and has the stronger smell and flavor of the two varieties. This cheaper variety is what we usually buy in grocery stores to sprinkle on our apple pies or French toast. The more expensive Ceylon cinnamon, most of which is still produced in Sri Lanka, has a milder, sweeter flavor popular for both baking and flavoring hot drinks such as coffee or hot chocolate.
Wish you all the best.
Saad Ismail ( Steve Ramsey). PhD Public Health.
PGD ; Natural medicine.
MSc – Medical Ultrasound.
BSc Diagnostic Imaging.