Cinnamon Varieties: Cassia, Ceylon, and Others

[butter]

A friend of mine has been noticing cassia as a common ingredient in some Australian written recipes. According to my food dictionary, cassia is what we call cinnamon and can buy in any store. The other cinnamon is called Ceylon. My friend says cassia is not the run of the mill cinnamon. Is this a misprint in my book? Is my friend wrong? I tried doing a search here, but it takes too long to go through all the threads. E-gullet to the rescue please.

[ScorchedPalate]

It's my understanding that the stuff we call cinnamon is indeed cassia, whereas "mexican cinnamon" -- a dusty brown, soft-textured bark-like spice -- is actually true ceylon cinnamon.

[Wolfert]

Penzeys does a good job of breaking down the different types of cinnamon and cassia.

http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-p...yscinnamon.html

[eje]

Depending on your interest in the, uh, botanic component, Gernet Katzer's spice pages may or may not be of interest.

http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/

Short answer is, most things considered cinnamon are from the same Genus.

Slightly longer or more complicated answer is for various reasons different cultures "default" cinnamon may be a different species in that Genus.

Fer example, in America, Cinnamomum cassia is most apt to be considered cinnamon. However in Mexico, what they call "Canela" is probably going to be Cinnamomum burmannii or Indonesian cinnamon.

To me, Cinnamomum cassia is a little harsher and more like clove in its flavor. Indonesian cinnamon is mellower and more complex.

[budrichard]

The 'Ceylon' that Penzy's sells is a subtler cinnamin than the Cassia. We use both in various forms. For a strong cinnamin, the Cassia is the way to go. For a milder and floral taste, 'Ceylon' is superb. -Dick

[Episure]

Cinnamon (Left) and Cassia (Right)

Edited November 12, 2005 by Episure (log)

[Adam Balic]

Cinnamon (Left)                  and                  Cassia (Right)

←

Have you got three types of cinnamon here? The shards of the far right look like Vietnamese cinnamon (Cinnamomum loureirii), were as the middle stick looks like cassia (Cinnamomum cassia) and the left sticks look like true/Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum).

[Episure]

Cinnamon (Left)                  and                   Cassia (Right)

←

Have you got three types of cinnamon here? The shards of the far right look like Vietnamese cinnamon (Cinnamomum loureirii), were as the middle stick looks like cassia (Cinnamomum cassia) and the left sticks look like true/Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum).

←

Adam, I'm reasonably certain that the one on the right is an Indian subspecies - Cinnamomum Tamala. I have seen the bark being harvested from this tree which also yields the Indian Bay leaf aka Tamal Patta.

The left one is unmistakably Cinnamomum zeylanicum (Concentric Quills). Extreme left are the inner quills of the same.

There is a lot of confusion about Indian spice names, the sub species and the regional languages dont help either.

Hope this helps.

[Adam Balic]

It helps a great deal thank you and you have solved a minor mystery for me. I have a Anglo-Indian cookbook published in Calcutta, 1900 and in some of the curry recipes it refers to the use of bay leaves, which seemed a little odd as most other ingredients were local. Cheers

I have some photos of some other Cinnamon species which I will post when imagegullet is up.

[helenjp]

I think an Australian book would specify "cassia", because Australia and NZ follow the UK practice of using C. zeylanicum as "cinnamon", whereas the typical "cinnamon" flavor of US baked goods is definitely cassia.

I used to work in a Chinese grocery, where we sold cassia bark in big chunks with red paper labels pasted on. It looked very like the RH photo, except that possibly the bark was even rougher. Hard to tell when comparing a small photo with a 20 year old memory, anyway!

[JaclynM]

This may seem like a strange question, but is there more than one type of food product called "cinnamon"? It seems that things flavored with cinnamon seem to come in two tastes:

"sweet" cinnamon - graham crackers, donuts, cinnamon raisin bagels, cereal, french toast, the coating on fried ice cream

"hot" cinnamon - chewing gum, those cinnamon flavored heart candies

To me, the two tastes are nothing alike.

I first noticed this difference 2 years ago when I was at an ice cream parlor that advertised a cinnamon ice cream flavor. This sounded good to me, since I was assuming it was a sweet cinnamon flavor. When I tasted a sample, it turned out to be a hot cinnamon flavor, and since I'm not crazy about Dentyne flavored ice cream, I ordered something else.

I recently started taking cinnamon pills, which seem to be the actual herb/spice ground up and put in a capsule. When I take the pills I get a little taste of cinnamon and it's definitely more like the "sweet" flavor than the "hot" flavor.

So my question is, are there two types of cinnamon, which account for the two different flavors? Or is it a case of there being more than one plant that goes by the same "common" name, and one is being used incorrectly? It's not a big deal, but it's one of those little mysteries of everyday life that has me curious.

[guzzirider]

Yes, there are 2 (or more) substances that are commonly referred to as "cinnamon". Check this out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamon#Cinnamon_and_cassia

I'm not sure either of them would really be considered "hot", though... I always thought that "hot cinnamon" was a creation of the candy companies. Not sure though...

__Jason

[aguynamedrobert]

They are probably just adding a certain spice or spicy essential oil the mix when you are tasting the Spicy Cinnamon. They might call the flavor of it cinnamon but they might add other flavors to get the heat in it...

[tammylc]

"Hot" cinnamon flavor comes from cinnamon oil, whereas the sweet cinnamon flavor comes from the whole bark, either in sticks or powder, so it may just be an issue of the concentration of flavor to just those that are carried in the oil. Or maybe a different variety of the plant is used to produce the oil vs the powder?

[cdh]

I don't agree that cinnamon gets its heat from other oils. I have distinct memories of very hot cinnamon flavor coming from a bottle of pharmacist's cinnamon oil. It's also the stuff that tipped me off to my allergy to cinnamon, so I'm not much of an expert... but I do know that pure cinnamon is hot.

[nduran]

Very little of what is sold as cinnamon in this country is actually cinnamon, it's cassia, and yes there are many different varieties. Alton Brown's got a whole show about it if I recall correctly. Whether a given cinnamon based product will be sweet or hot depends largely on the ratio of oil to sugar and other ingredients.

Edited March 13, 2007 by nduran (log)

[enurmi]

There are two different things referred to as cinnamon-- 'real' cinnamon and cassia, which is what most Americans know as cinnamon. However, I doubt this would have much bearing on the topic at hand because 'real' cinnamon is milder not spicier than cassia, and has a gentler sweetness. I would go with cassia/cinnamon oil, as others have said, as the culprit for 'spicy' cinnamon.

[ludja]

They are probably just adding a certain spice or spicy essential oil the mix when you are tasting the Spicy Cinnamon.  They might call the flavor of it cinnamon but they  might add other flavors to get the heat in it...

←

"Hot" cinnamon flavor comes from cinnamon oil, whereas the sweet cinnamon flavor comes from the whole bark, either in sticks or powder, so it may just be an issue of the concentration of flavor to just those that are carried in the oil.  Or maybe a different variety of the plant is used to produce the oil vs the powder?

←

Similar to what's already been mentioned maybe there is an artifical cinnamon flavor that has that extra burn. Also, I ran across the ingredient for cinnamon altoids (which have that "hot" flavor) in the wikipedia article: click

Cinnamon: Sugar, gum arabic, artificial flavor, gelatin, corn syrup, red 40 lake, peppermint oil, natural flavor.

Maybe peppermint oil is added to "hot" cinnamon candies? And/or maybe it is just artificial cinnamon oil. F did find that there is an artificial cinnamin oil (i.e. a compound that has a similar taste to cinnamon and is synthesized in the lab rather than extracted from actual cinnamon.) and comments on the web say that it tastes quite a bit different than natural cinnamon.

So, I'd guess things like "fire balls" or "cinnamon red hots" are flavored wtih artificial cinnamon oil and may also be pumped up with hotness by adding peppermint oil as in the case with the cinnamon altoids.

[ludja]

I don't agree that cinnamon gets its heat from other oils. I have distinct memories of very hot cinnamon flavor coming from a bottle of pharmacist's cinnamon oil.  It's also the stuff that tipped me off to my allergy to cinnamon, so I'm not much of an expert... but I do know that pure cinnamon is hot.

←

Just reread your post, cdh. So, I guess the oil you had was natural and not artificial cinnamon oil?

[cdh]

I don't agree that cinnamon gets its heat from other oils. I have distinct memories of very hot cinnamon flavor coming from a bottle of pharmacist's cinnamon oil.  It's also the stuff that tipped me off to my allergy to cinnamon, so I'm not much of an expert... but I do know that pure cinnamon is hot.

←

Just reread your post, cdh. So, I guess the oil you had was natural and not artificial cinnamon oil?

←

All I know is that the stuff I encountered was purchased from a pharmacy and called cinnamon oil. Whether pharmacists are into deceptive marketing and mislabeling, I don't know. The 1 dram bottle was labelled cinnamon oil.

[BarbaraY]

I believe the hot cinnamon flavor is from cinnamon oil. I can't bear the taste of things like Red Hots, etc.

I love regular (cassia) cinnamon and also true cinnamon. In this area true cinnamon is found in the Mexican spice rack and is absolutely delicious. I always use it in my Mexican dishes that call for cinnamon. Much more mellow.

[hummingbirdkiss]

I am fascinated by the types of cinnamon out there I just went to China Town in Vancouver BC and bought HUGE pieces of cinnamon bark..I also have pieces of what I think is Cassia? but am not very sure ..

I have collected so many types of what is called cinnamon I am not sure really what I do have .. they are distinctly different in taste ...and aroma ...many times I just mix them and grind them together to get what I love for baking ....

I am not at all sure how I am going to grind this huge piece of bark I bought any ideas? sorry if this is off topic ...I just love this subject and would love to learn more about this spice I thought I knew it all about!

[Kerry Beal]

I am fascinated by the types of cinnamon out there I just went to China Town in Vancouver BC and bought HUGE pieces of cinnamon bark..I also have pieces of what I think is Cassia? but am not very sure ..

I have collected so many types of what is called cinnamon I am not sure really what I do have .. they are distinctly different in taste ...and aroma ...many times I just mix them and grind them together to get what I love for baking ....

I am not at all sure how I am going to grind this huge piece of bark I bought any ideas? sorry if this is off topic ...I just love this subject and would love to learn more about this spice I thought I knew it all about!

←

The only thing I have found that will grind the siagon cinnamon bark that I have (which is about 2 feet long and 3 to 4 inches in diameter)in any quantity, is my sumeet spice grinder. It will also grind dried turmeric root to a powder, which is apparently the hardest spice to grind.

By the way, the slivers of siagon cinnamon that I like to chew on have quite a nice heat.

[paulraphael]

the point might be academic, but Harold McGee's book On Food and Cooking considers Cassia to be a variety of cinnamon, not a substitute.

[Art]

There are two basic types of cinnamon. Ceylon or true cinnamon and Cassia which is not actually real cinnamon but comes from a related tree. The bark of the cassia tree is thicker and the flavor is hotter and less complex.

Ceylon cinnamon is typically made from the inner bark of the real cinnamon tree. The bark is thinner, the flavor lighter with less heat, and more complex with perhaps some fruity and/or floral notes.

Most of what is sold today as cinnamon is Cassia and not Ceylon. The classic "red hot" flavor is cassia and in particular that of cassia with Chinese origins. Yes, the flavor of cinnamon varies depending on origin just like wine -- or my favorite -- cocoa / chocolate.

The typical flavor that we are used to from companies such as Schilling stems from cassia from Indonesia. Vietnamese cinnamon is particularly strong having about twice the amount of cinnamon oil in it as regular varieties. China as I mentioned earlier grows a cassia that has the classic "red-hot" flavor.

Ceylon cinnamon is used in Scandinavian cooking as well as traditional Mexican cooking. Ceylon incidentally is the former name of Sri Lanka.

Some manufacturers use a blend. CinnaBon from what I understand uses a blend for their cinnamon that they sell at a premium at their stores. This is also the reason why they are the only one with their "kind" of cinnamon that and it is a trademarked name so nobody else could "have it" even if they had the same blend.

Here is a picture that I took of a Ceylon cinnamon tree that I found on one of my cocoa bean hunting travels.

There is both natural and artificial cinnamon oils that you may purchase. When I was in high school, I'd use natural cinnamon oil to make cinnamon toothpicks which were all the rage back then. (I was known for having the hottest and so it made good for some good bargaining at school.)

As a side note, while in Jr. High, our English teacher stepped out of class and so I handed out cinnamon toothpicks to everyone in the class. They were of course, against the rules and when the teacher came back the room reeked of cinnamon. Our teacher Mr. Faubus said: "I smell cinnamon ... who has cinnamon toothpicks?" He then called on this kid in the back row, and said : "Mark, go to the office for the rest of the period." Mark went and we all looked at each other with cinnamon toothpicks hanging out of our mouths....

Back to point: The artificial cinnamon oil is well ... artificial. I'd guess it is used for Potpourris and similar I've never looked into it particularly far since there is obviously something much better on the market.

Hope this helps,

-Art