Did you know that there are different types of cinnamon?

There's nothing better than nibbling on a fluffy pastry or sipping on a delicious drink with the sweet, spicy flavor of cinnamon. Cinnamon is one of the most common spices used in baking and cooking around the world, and for good reason: it adds the perfect finishing touch. Whether it's a pinch of ground cinnamon or a cinnamon stick added to a drink or sauce for its aromatic flavor, cinnamon will brighten up any dish you prepare. And yet, with so many different types of cinnamon, deciding which cinnamon to buy can be quite confusing. How do you know what types of cinnamon are in the shakers at the store? Will the taste of your food change if you use Ceylon or Cassia?

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Here, we will delve into the different types of cinnamon, their taste and smell, and what is best used for cooking, baking, and making a delicious smoothie at home.

What is cinnamon?
Cinnamon is a spice used in a variety of foods and even some medicinal herbs, drinks, essential oils, and perfumes.

How does cinnamon grow?
Cinnamon comes from a bushy evergreen tree in the laurel family; The spice is made from the bark of the tree. The dried inner bark is brown, fragrant and sweet. Cinnamon trees grow in moist, well-drained soil and can grow to about 50 feet in height.

Where does cinnamon come from?
Cinnamon comes from a variety of places, most commonly from Sri Lanka, where it is native. Cinnamon trees also grow in other South Asian countries such as Myanmar and along the Malabar coast of India. Cinnamon can also be found in South America and the West Indies, as well as China.

How is cinnamon harvested?
To harvest cinnamon, growers must cut tree shoots from the ground. The shoots are scraped, loosened, peeled and left to dry for four or five days, then twisted, tied tightly and placed in subdued sunlight. Once completed, the cinnamon is bleached with sulfur dioxide to get rid of contaminants such as fungal diseases or pests, resulting in a lighter color. The cinnamon is then sorted into varieties for sale. Varieties are based on the diameter of the cinnamon sticks (known as feathers). For ground cinnamon, these sticks are then processed and packaged.

What are the types of cinnamon?
Different types of cinnamon can change the taste and smell of what you cook or bake. The two commonly available varieties are Ceylon and Cassia. So how do you know if your cinnamon is Ceylon or Cassia, and which is best for cooking? Here's how to tell them apart.

Ceylon

“Ceylon cinnamon has a much milder flavor and a much more fibrous feel,” says Chef Tony Reid, Executive Director of Culinary Innovation at Spiceology. “ is thin, smells very mild and tastes a bit sweeter. Ceylon is also known as Mexican cinnamon and/or real cinnamon."

Ceylon cinnamon is called Mexican cinnamon because it is commonly used in Mexican cuisine, but this type of cinnamon actually comes from Sri Lanka, where it is usually imported from. Cinnamon bark is thinner and softer, has a lighter color, and tastes milder and sweeter compared to the more popular cassia.

Cassia

There's a good chance the cinnamon currently in your pantry is cassia, given that it's the most common variety of cinnamon. According to Alice Baka, culinary director of Spicewalla, cassia is "very warm, spicy, a strong flavor and a dark brown color."

Although cassia is originally from China, you can see three different types of this cinnamon on store shelves. The slight differences in aroma and flavor between the three types of cassia cinnamon are related not only to where they are grown, but also to their levels of coumarin, the chemical responsible for cinnamon's sweet smell, Reed says.

Chinese: Compared to the other two species, cassia from China is less fragrant. The color of this cinnamon can vary depending on the type of bark from which it is derived: it can be light reddish brown from thin peeled bark or gray from thicker unpeeled bark. “Chinese cassia is used primarily in China as a cough medicine and to reduce phlegm,” Reid says. "Chinese cassia also tends to be sharper, less sweet, and slightly bitter due to wetter soil conditions."

Saigon (Vietnamese): Compared to Chinese cassia, Saigon cinnamon is lighter in color and generally has the brightest and strongest flavor, as it contains the highest amount of cinnamaldehyde, a naturally occurring flavonoid (antioxidant) that gives cinnamon its flavor and aroma. “Saigon cinnamon is more pungent and stronger, yet sweeter than other cinnamon,” Reed says. "It's slightly more expensive than other cassia, but it also contains the highest amount of coumarin."

Korintje (Indonesian): According to Reid, blackcurrant cinnamon actually makes up 70% of the cinnamon consumed in the US, and Indonesia is the largest supplier of cinnamon to the domestic market, making Korintje one of the most popular types of blackcurrant cinnamon you can buy. see on the shelves. This is because Corinthier is much cheaper and easier to harvest than Ceylon, which is harvested by hand rather than in a factory. Corintier bark is light in color and is usually the stick you see at your local grocery store. It is sweeter than other varieties and contains less volatile oils compared to Saigon, giving it a smoother and less pungent finish.

What kind of cinnamon is best?
Now that you know the difference between cinnamon, you're probably wondering which is the best type to use when cooking at home. Should you stick to your product brand, which is probably Korintje from Indonesia? Or should you splurge on Saigon cinnamon or Ceylon cinnamon?

According to Buck, it depends on what you cook in the kitchen.

“If you are using cinnamon in baking, marinade or rubs, I would recommend cassia to bring out the bold cinnamon flavor in the finished dish,” she says. "Whether you're rubbing a fresh cinnamon stick as a cocktail garnish or sprinkling cinnamon powder on a latte, the delicate, sweet flavor of Ceylon cinnamon is the best choice."

How to use cinnamon sticks?
Cinnamon sticks can be used to flavor a dish rather than simply mixed with powder, which can work well depending on the type of dish you're making at home.

Anything that needs to be soaked to get flavor should use a cinnamon stick instead of ground powder, which should only be used if the recipe you're making calls for a more even distribution of flavor, according to Buck.

“I love adding cinnamon sticks to wet pickles, pickle liquid, ice cream or custard, anything that has time to absorb the flavor of the bark,” she says. Reid does the same, mixing cinnamon sticks into soups and sauces, like cranberry sauce on holidays.

Baka also likes to burn cinnamon sticks like incense to keep the room smelling good, and Reed says that cinnamon sticks are his favorite thing when he mixes drinks like the apple-ginger Moscow Mule soft drink.

“I love using whole cinnamon sticks in my smoothies,” he explains. “I take a kitchen burner and light it to activate the oils and add them to my favorite drink.”

How long does cinnamon keep?
While spices never technically "go bad," Baka points out that spices can lose their potency and freshness over time. Therefore, when buying cinnamon, be sure to remember the date of purchase. “My advice for the best tasting cinnamon sticks and powder is to use them within a year of purchase,” she says.

"Cinnamon sticks, being the 'whole' version of cinnamon, are probably safe to store in a dark, cool place before they start to lose the oils that give it its flavor, color, and aroma," Reed says.

Health benefits of cinnamon
“Cinnamon is rich in antioxidants that protect our body from harmful free radicals,” says Maggie Michalczyk, RDN, cookbook author and founder of Once Upon a Time in a Pumpkin. "These antioxidants help fight inflammation, reduce oxidative stress, and support our defenses against chronic disease."

Michalczyk also points out how cinnamon can help regulate blood sugar levels. A 2021 review published in the journal Food & Function suggests that cinnamon may improve insulin sensitivity, which helps control a person's glucose levels. “By slowing down the breakdown of carbohydrates and enhancing insulin signaling, cinnamon can help prevent blood sugar spikes and drops,” she says.

On the other hand, since some varieties of cassia cinnamon are high in coumarin, consumers should be careful. Excessive consumption of coumarin has been linked to liver damage, so cassia should only be consumed in small amounts. The allowable daily allowance for coumarin is about 0.05 milligrams per pound of body weight, so it is safest to limit blackcurrant intake to a teaspoon per day.

Is one type of cinnamon healthier than another? Considering that Ceylon cinnamon contains virtually no coumarin, it is considered to be the healthiest type of cinnamon if you plan to consume it regularly, compared to cassia. Research suggests that cinnamon may be beneficial for people with diabetes by helping increase insulin sensitivity for more stable blood sugar levels, but it should still be consumed with caution. If you're considering adding cinnamon to your daily routine to help control your blood sugar, be sure to talk to your doctor about safe amounts.

Cinnamon is a spice made from the bark of trees, usually found in South Asian countries. There are two types of cinnamon: Ceylon (originally from Sri Lanka, commonly found in Mexican cuisine) and Cassia (commonly grown in China, Vietnam, and Indonesia). Korintje, grown in Indonesia, is the most common type of cinnamon sold in the United States and has a sweeter, milder flavor. Cinnamon is commonly used in cooking and also in some herbal medicines. The spice's potential health benefits stem from its antioxidant properties, which can help reduce disease risk, reduce stress and inflammation, and even improve blood sugar levels.