This spice comes from the Cinnamon tree there are dozens of species of this tree , which are small evergreens that contain aromatic bark and leaves. These trees can grow to a height of 66 feet, although most are regularly trimmed and kept as groups of bushes in order to make cultivation of the cinnamon bark easier. The cinnamon tree produces yellowish-green flowers and a small berry fruit. History Cinnamon is considered to be one of the first traded spices in the ancient world.
There are many biblical references to this spice and it is mentioned in the bible by its Hebrew word, kannamon, in Psalms, Proverbs, Ezekiel, and Revelations.
The Hebrew bible makes specific reference of this word many times. Cinnamon was considered so valuable during this time it was equal in worth to gold and ivory. It was regarded as a suitable gift for Monarchs and for Gods. Ancient Egyptians used cinnamon as part of their embalming rituals.
Physicians from the middle ages used cinnamon to help treat cold and throat ailments such as coughing, hoarseness and sore throats. Arab traders brought the spice through trade routes into Egypt, where it was bought by Venetian traders from Italy who held a monopoly on the spice trade in Europe. At the beginning of the 16 th century, Portuguese traders arrived in Ceylon Sri-Lanka where this spice was growing and was the largest producer of cinnamon at the time.
They took control of the area and started their own monopoly on the spice. They established a fort on the island in and protected their control over this valuable commodity for over a hundred years.
During the 17th century, the Dutch took control of the island of Ceylon and the monopoly of the trade. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights.
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The powder started out as part of a tree, most likely growing in an Asian country such as Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India or Vietnam. Only after careful harvesting, stripping, drying and milling can it end up in your spice cabinet. Cinnamon comes from a group of trees a genus with the latin name Cinnamomum.
There are several hundred trees that belong to this group with just a few that make up the majority of the cinnamon available worldwide. The other major type of cinnamon is the cassia cinnamon, which can be Cinnamomum cassia , or C. Whether or not this type is called cinnamon or cassia, depends on the country you live in. Regulations and customs differ between Europe, America and Asia. Only, when it is mentioned explicitly will you have the other variety, simply because it is the more expensive of the two.
If you look closely at a stick of cinnamon you will notice that it is curled up. Cinnamon is the bark of the tree Cinnamomum.
In the countries where cinnamon grows well the trees are left to grow for about 2 years, until the shoots of bark are suitable for harvest. Instead of having to harvest the whole tree, the bark is harvested by cutting of the shoots of the tree a few centimeters above ground. Once the shoots of the cinnamon tree have been harvested it is time to remove the outer layer of bark from the shoot. This outer layer is not useful for the cinnamon and quite hardy.
Once the outer layer has been removed the workers, because most of this work is still done by hand, carefully removed the inner bark layer. This is what will become your cinnamon stick!
These layers of inner bark then need to dry during which they harden out and become shelf stable.
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