Ground Vietnamese Cinnamon: A Love Story

Vietnamese Cinnamon: It was love at first bite.

Cinnamon [SIH-nuh-muhn] Once used in love potions and to perfume wealthy Romans, this age-old spice comes in two varieties — Cinnamomum zeylanicum (Ceylon cinnamon) and Cinnamomum cassia (cassia). Cinnamon is the inner bark of a tropical evergreen tree. The bark is harvested during the rainy season when it's more pliable. When dried, it curls into long quills, which are either cut into lengths and sold as cinnamon sticks, or ground into powder. Ceylon (or tree) cinnamon is buff-colored and mildly sweet in flavor; cassia cinnamon is a dark, reddish brown color and has a more pungent, slightly bittersweet flavor. Cassia cinnamon is used and sold simply as "cinnamon" in many countries (including the United States). Cinnamon is widely used in sweet dishes, but also makes an intriguing addition to savory dishes such as stews and curries. Oil of cinnamon comes from the pods of the cinnamon tree and is used as a flavoring, as well as a medicinal. Source: Food Dictionary

I have fallen head over heals for this spice. I didn’t want to, skeptic that I am I wanted it to disappoint me, but instead, it charmed me right from the beginning almost knocking me over by its intense aroma and lovely sweet taste. Stupid Vietnamese cinnamon, why did you have to be so alluring, so damn pungent and flavorful, so dark and pretty, so damn sexy!

I recently purchased some of this manna after (reluctantly) giving in to the hype I've read and heard about it over the years. It was an impulse purchase because the last thing I need in my spice cabinet is another jar of cinnamon, but I wanted to see for my self if this was in fact "The Best." I have to confess that I often disregard blanket statements like that, especially when it comes to food. I find that all too often whatever is considered "the best" on whatever "it" list is hot at the moment is often way off the mark with what I would consider the best to be. So, in the interest of keeping it real I decided to try it out and draw my own conclusions. The first recipe I used it in was a loaf of Cinnamon Raisin bread (which I will blog about in the next day or two) the way the cinnamon performed in that recipe alone was enough to hook me in. I hope to get a few more chances in the next few weeks to try a few other recipes that feature this cinnamon, you know, to see how it holds with my new higher expectations of it. Has anyone else used it and if so in what dish and what were some of your thoughts?

Online retailers that sell Vietnamese Cinnamon:

Kalustyans

Penzeys Spices

The Spice House

Written by Deb on March 21, 2005 02:15 AM