Everytime I think of cinnamon, it reminds me of a friend from college who loves cinnamon so much that she carries a to-go container of cinnamon.

Latin: Cinnamomum Zeylancium

Native: Sri Lanka

Now grown mostly in hot, wet tropical regions.

Form(s): Rolled sticks, quillings, ground

How to Store: In airtight containers kept in a cool, dark place

Ground versus Sticks

Grounded cinnamon is added to stews to enhance the flavor. Pair it with dried fruit, i.e. apricots or prunes.

The sticks are better to add to drinks: hot drinks, mulled wine, hot chocolate, coffee

Historical background:

One of the oldest spices.

Often confused with cassia

• Both come from evergreen laurellike trees.
• Cassia: larger and coarser quills; sweet and aromatic flavor; the leaves can be used for flavoring like bay leaves; the buds can be used; ground cassia is darker red; cassia has stronger flavor- use less if substituting cinnamon; it is less expensive than cinnamon
• Cinnamon: smaller and quills; similar flavor to that of cassia; deeper earthy brown color
• Difference: SIZE + PRICE + COLOR + TASTE
• Cassia seems like the winner here! More taste for less (quantity and price!)
• But cassia doesn’t have sticks. Cinnamon sticks make your hot drinks look cool 😉

If I don’t have cinnamon sticks on hand, I use grounded version for my drinks. I like to add ground cinnamon to my coconut macaroons. Besides Love, cinnamon is what kicks a$$ in my macaroons.;)