Differences between cassia and cinnamon, the benefits and harms of spices. Ceylon cinnamon: characteristics and useful qualities

Real Ceylon cinnamon is able to fill the house with its aroma, making the evening cozy and calmer. This spice sounds great in various pastries, especially when next to apples and plums, complements coffee with its spicy taste, gives new original notes to meat dishes, etc. However, do you use cinnamon, and what can be in a small bag for this spice instead?

Real cinnamon and fake

Ceylon cinnamon (kinamon) is the bark of the Cinnamomumzeylanicyn plant, which grows in Western India and Sri Lanka. This spice is produced from a thin inner layer of bark cut from three-year-old shoots. The collected raw materials are laid out in an open area and dried in the sun.

Fake cinnamon (cassia) is made from the Cinnamomumaromaticum plant, which is native to Indonesia, China, and Vietnam. This seasoning is made from the bark of old shoots that are 8-9 years old. At the same time, not the tender inner part of the bark, but all of it is used as a raw material. As a result, a spice with much lower quality indicators is obtained.

Main differences

The following characteristics distinguish real Ceylon cinnamon from a fake.

Real Ceylon cinnamon is very fragrant and has high taste qualities, and therefore everyone who has tried it at least once will never forget what this spice should be like. But its main difference from a fake is a small portion of the coumarin content. And if in cassia this substance contains about 2 g / kg, then in kinamone only 0.02 g / kg.

On a note! Coumarin is a harmful substance, large doses of which can cause headaches, dizziness and disturbances in the digestive system. And at the same time, four small cookies with cassia will be dangerous for the health of a preschooler, six for a schoolboy and eight for an adult.

How can you tell if a spice is real?

First of all, you need to inspect the packaging. Usually the manufacturer there honestly indicates from what raw materials this product was produced - from the Cinnamomumaromaticum plant, if this is cassia, or from the Cinnamomumzeylonicum plant, if it is Ceylon cinnamon. But if such an inscription could not be found, then in this case you should look at the country of origin. Sri Lanka is written, which means that you have a real product in front of you, Indonesia, China or Vietnam are indicated - a spice that is more unhealthy.

It is very easy to check the authenticity of cinnamon when the seasoning was purchased in powder form. It is necessary to pour a small amount of it into a teaspoon and drip iodine. If the color of the seasoning turns dark blue, you have cassia, a less saturated shade indicates that you bought Ceylon cinnamon.

However, many experts are inclined to believe that it is better to purchase this seasoning in the form of sticks, since it will be much easier to find differences in this form. For Ceylon cinnamon:

• the sticks are painted in a light color evenly, and the shade is the same inside and outside;
• the walls are very thin, fragile, they are easy to break with a slight pressure;
• real Ceylon cinnamon is a thin sheet of bark rolled into a roll, which resembles papyrus with many curls.

Beneficial features

Ceylon cinnamon has long been used in folk medicine as a healing agent. Modern science is also talking about its beneficial properties. The use of this spice has a positive effect on the work of almost all organs and systems of our body. It contains tannins, minerals, vitamins, essential oils and dietary fiber.

First of all, it should be noted that Ceylon cinnamon, when used in moderation, is unable to harm a healthy person. An exception in this case is individual intolerance.

It will be contraindicated in the following cases:

• pregnancy - this spice, especially in large quantities, can provoke uterine contractions, which will lead to premature birth;
• breastfeeding period - when the cinnamon taste is transferred to milk, the child does not like it, in addition, this spice can cause allergies in the baby;
• cinnamon has the ability to thin the blood, and therefore it is highly discouraged for use with its low coagulability;
• spice must be excluded from the menu for acute peptic ulcer and diseases that are accompanied by increased acidity of the stomach;
• it has warming properties, and therefore its use at high body temperature can only worsen the condition;
• with excessive use, a rash on the skin and the development of puffiness may occur.

Where to find real cinnamon

Since a fake spice is harmful, you want, of course, to protect yourself from health problems. But where can you buy real Ceylon cinnamon? You can endlessly bypass stores, reading labels and trying to break the sticks sealed in them, or choose a spice in an online store. In the latter case, there is also a big risk of purchasing a low-quality product, for which no one will return the money to you after. Here you can be advised to shop in trusted stores with a good reputation.

By the way, today many users recommend Iherb.com. This is an American online store with a positive reputation. In it you can find many natural products, including real Ceylon cinnamon. Moreover, despite the fact that the store is American, as evidenced by the reviews, the prices are quite affordable, and the delivery is cheap.

It’s not worth saving on health, and if you still haven’t managed to get Ceylon cinnamon, then it’s better to completely refuse to use its analogue.

But in the chemical composition between them there is a significant difference. Knowing what the benefits and harms of cassia are, you can get a therapeutic effect from using the product. The main thing is to understand what kind of product you have to deal with. To do this, you should learn a few tricks that will allow you to distinguish between two such similar seasonings.

Cassia - description and features

Cassia is also known as Chinese cinnamon. This is a product obtained from the bark of Chinese cinnamon, which is not found in the wild, but is cultivated in Indonesia, China, and Vietnam. Preparations are collected from trees that have reached the age of 7 years. At this time, the bark is already separated from the trunk without any problems. The upper unnecessary layer is removed from it, and the lower one is cut into strips and slightly dried. Cassia has a red-brown hue and flexes slightly under pressure.

Pieces of cassia are not twisted into tubules and are covered with roughness and irregularities due to the peculiarities of processing. Even when rolled, it is visually coarser than Ceylon cinnamon. It is difficult even for a professional to distinguish cassia from real cinnamon by taste and aroma, but these spices should not be confused. Cassia has a much higher content of coumarin than cinnamon, which can harm humans.

Where is spice used?

The taste of cassia is tart, slightly sweet. The spice has astringent properties and leaves a slight burning sensation on the tongue. For these characteristics, it was included in the world-famous Chinese mixture of "five flavors". Chinese chefs also use it as an independent seasoning, adding it to fried pork dishes.

Cassia is often added to baked goods and pairs well with other seasonings:

• With the help of Chinese (Indonesian) cinnamon, cooks enhance the taste of cookies, gingerbread, pies,. But it is rarely added to cakes and pastries.

Advice
Before adding Chinese cinnamon to a dish, it can be slightly warmed up in a dry hot pan. Then the aroma of the spice will be fully revealed.

• Cassia goes well with, orange, and. The proportions can be different, but the ratio of 1:1 is considered optimal.
• Taken in minimal amounts, cassia improves the taste of English puddings, cocktails, mulled wine, charlotte.
• Good results are given by culinary experiments with the addition of spices to sweet pilaf, fruit salad, jam, and even.
• Chinese cinnamon enhances the flavor of chicken and red meat. It is actively used in Indian and Caucasian cuisines.

Such a wide range of uses for cassia does not mean that it can be added to all meals served throughout the day. Quite the contrary, it is better to immediately decide in which case the use of seasoning will be most appropriate and limit yourself to 1-2 dishes.

The composition of cassia and its beneficial properties

Aromatic seasoning has an impressive calorie content and a high content of carbohydrates. But its energy reserve is so quickly spent by the body that the use of the product does not lead to the appearance of body fat. In addition, the following substances can be distinguished in the composition of cassia:

• Vitamins (A, B, C, E, K, PP). Seasoning is used in cooking in small quantities, but they are enough to supply the body with the listed elements in amounts close to therapeutic.
• Minerals (sodium, potassium, magnesium, zinc, calcium, iron and others). They act as stimulants of metabolic processes, participants in the synthesis of substances necessary for the body. Minerals strengthen bones and muscles, improve the functioning of internal organs.

Cassia is also indispensable if you need to lose weight. The stimulating and cleansing properties of spices come to the fore. You can limit yourself to tea with the addition of honey and cinnamon, but it is better to prepare a more effective composition. In a glass of kefir, stir half a teaspoon of cassia and a quarter teaspoon of ginger and red hot pepper. The mass is infused for an hour and drunk at a time.

Cassia harm and how to avoid it

In some cases, real, that is, Ceylon cinnamon can harm the body, and in the case of cassia, this risk increases several times. This is explained by the large amount of coumarin contained in Chinese cinnamon. This substance can accumulate in the body if it enters it in large volumes. The consequences can be very different - from disruption of the liver and pancreas to a violent one-time reaction.

Advice
Do not abuse ready-made confectionery with the taste and aroma of cinnamon. Most often, cassia is used in their manufacture, because it is several times cheaper than the original spice. In excessive amounts, such products can significantly harm the body.


Based on this, you need to remember a few rules for the use of spices:

1. With problems with the liver and pancreas, cassia should generally be abandoned.
2. Pregnant women are forbidden to consume all types of cinnamon, including cassia. Substances in the spice can cause miscarriage due to stimulating the activity of the uterus.
3. Even in the absence of contraindications, cassia should be added to dishes little by little, 1-2 dishes with cassia per day are enough, and you should not use Chinese cinnamon every day.

If you follow these rules, there will be no harm. Food with cassia, on the contrary, will help to establish metabolic processes and strengthen the body's defenses.

Differences between cassia and cinnamon

If you do not learn to distinguish between cassia and ordinary, Ceylon cinnamon, this can lead to negative consequences. Firstly, Chinese cinnamon contains many times more coumarin than Ceylon cinnamon. Secondly, the density of cassia sticks is much higher, so they must first be chopped, otherwise you can simply break the coffee grinder. Finally, the cost of cinnamon is 10 times the cost of cassia, and there is no point in overpaying.

• If the tubes are twisted, and their surface is clean and uniform, then this is real cinnamon.
• Chinese cinnamon is much darker than its noble and expensive counterpart.
• A real spice crumbles easily even with your hands, cassia is more like a dense bark that is difficult to break.
• If Ceylon or Sri Lanka is listed as the country of manufacture on the product packaging, this is a real spice. If Vietnam, China or Indonesia is cassia.
• To check the quality of the spice at home, you need to drop a little iodine on it. Ceylon cinnamon will not change color, cassia will turn dark blue due to the presence of starch in its composition.

With the right approach, dishes with cassia can not only improve health, but also cheer you up, relieve depression. And they can also act as appetizers, preparing the body for eating.

In cooking and folk medicine, cinnamon and cassia are constantly used. They have unique taste and medicinal qualities. However, even modern housewives, hardened by television and the Internet, do not always determine the difference between these two representatives of oriental spices. How not to get lost in search of the best option? Are there significant differences between them?

In fact, cassia is also cinnamon, but its least useful and tasty variety. The spice is obtained by cutting the inner thin layer of bark from the shoots of an evergreen tree called Cinnamon. Cinnamon bark is dried and rolled into tubes, then cut and crushed. In shops and markets, consumers can choose either straws or powder.

The first option is considered more preferable - it retains aroma and taste longer, has a rich chemical composition and, for this reason, is successfully used in traditional medicine. The powder may already be old, in the crushed form the spice loses its consumer qualities very quickly, plus the type of cinnamon in the powder is difficult to determine.

So, the most common types of spices on our shelves:

• natural Ceylon cinnamon from Sri Lanka or Western India, Cinnamomum zeylanicyn, which is usually called "cinnamon";
• "fake", cheap cinnamon or cassia, Cinnamomum aromaticum from China, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Ceylon spice is considered to be of higher quality, because it uses the inner valuable layer of young shoots up to 3 years of age, and for cassia, the entire bark is cut off from old shoots aged 7-10 years. The “fake” spice contains a lot of fragrant, but toxic coumarin, popularly nicknamed “rat poison”, which is harmful to children and not very useful for adults.

Therefore, cassia can be dangerous if eaten in significant dosages, and spices are often used in the preparation of cookies or buns, eaten quickly and in large quantities by babies. Moms should know how to choose the right cinnamon so that homemade treats do no harm to anyone.

Differences in the types of spices are no less significant if you want to make a tincture, rubbing, or just drink a cup of hot milk with spices at night for a cold.

Real and not real spice

How to understand the difference between cinnamon and cassia when buying? Probably, often each of us bought spice powder in the store. Manufacturers do not always indicate what the raw materials were, so take the spice in the form of tubes in specialized stores.

• The structure of real Ceylon cinnamon sticks is multi-layered, it resembles a roll of paper towels in miniature, in a soft brown hue.
• Real cinnamon breaks and crumbles like shortbread cookies, has a delicate aroma and taste.
• The cassia tube looks like a ram's horn, it has few layers inside, the color is rich brown, the texture is rough, there may be growths, the walls are thick. Smell and taste with unpleasant bitterness, sharp.
• The price of real cinnamon is three to four times higher than that of cassia.
• In general, Ceylon cinnamon has a more natural look, smell and taste, while cassia has these parameters reminiscent of artificial ones.

If you don’t have to choose, the product is already on your shelf, and you want to determine the quality of the spice in powder, then a medical assistant will help you with wounds and suppuration. Dissolve a little powder in water and drop ordinary iodine there. The solution turned blue or black - in front of you is cassia. Color brown - natural spice. Another way is to brew the powder with boiling water. A quality product will not cloud the water too much, but cassia will make the water very cloudy, because the starch content in it is higher than in natural cinnamon.

Is cassia useful

Cassia is mostly scolded, and objectively, in large doses and regular use, it has more harmful than positive effects on the body. However, some peoples use the “fake” cinnamon to treat a variety of ailments. For example, in Chinese folk medicine, it is used to treat malfunctions in the gastrointestinal tract with a tendency to constipation, glaucoma, swelling, and headaches. Cassia improves blood flow and disinfects, so it is brewed and washed with infusion of wounds, eyes with conjunctivitis, skin with eczema and acne.

Cinnamon and cassia are similar in composition, action, and appearance, but it is much preferable if you are using the spice as a medicine or adding it to your meals often, to buy only the real kind. This is a more expensive, but high-quality and useful option for you and your loved ones.

Ecology of life: It is now hard to imagine that wars were fought over this fragrant spice, and the cinnamon trade enriched or ruined countries. The aroma of cinnamon was known in ancient China and Egypt long before the appearance of the famous pyramids.

Real cinnamon and cassia

Now it is hard to imagine that wars were fought because of this fragrant spice, and the cinnamon trade enriched or ruined countries. The aroma of cinnamon was known in ancient China and Egypt long before the appearance of the famous pyramids.

Even during the trade of the Phoenicians with the Egyptians, two main types of cinnamon were distinguished: real cinnamon(Cinnamomum zeylonicum/Cinnamomum ceylanicum Bs.) and cassia(Cinnamomum aromaticum/Cinnamomum Cassia Bl.) or Chinese cinnamon tree.

Real cinnamon has a dark brown color, bright and strong aroma, sharp taste, thin and fragile walls of cinnamon sticks.

Cassia, on the other hand, has a light color, not such a bright aroma and taste, the structure of cinnamon sticks is dense, it breaks hard.

Both types of cinnamon differ not only in aromas, but also in chemical composition.

Cassia contains a large amount of starch and the substance coumarin (lat. Cumarin), dangerous to health. True cinnamon also contains both substances, but in very small quantities.

In addition to these two main types, there are also Malabar and spicy types of cinnamon, which are of less value and worse taste, but which are often used in mixtures of ready-made cinnamon powder in small packages.

real cinnamon(Cinnamomum ceylanicum Bs.) is obtained from bark cut from cinnamon trees that grow in subtropical climates in India and Ceylon at an altitude of 1000 meters above sea level. In places of active collection, cinnamon trees look like a dense undersized shrub with many shoots.

Cinnamon pickers work only with copper knives, and this has not only an ancient sacred meaning, but also a practical meaning - the bark of the cinnamon tree contains a lot of tannins, and other metals (except gold and silver) are oxidized.

The bark is cut in August-September, when the rainy season ends and the bark is easily removed from the branches. Humidity makes the bark more fragrant, and cinnamon picked just after the rains are over is especially prized.

Distinguish between outer and inner bark. The inside is cut into strips, the skin is scraped off and dried in the shade until it curls up and darkens. The outer layer is dried most often in the shade to a golden brown color. After drying, the thickness of the outer bark can be less than a millimeter. The best grades are similar in thickness to a sheet of paper.

Real cinnamon, that is, the dried bark of cinnamon trees, grown in Ceylon or southern India, looks like tubes with concave edges, light brown or yellow-brown on the outside and dark brown hues on the inside. Real cinnamon is very thin, often the tubes are put one into the other. Another important difference is fragility. Ceylon cinnamon is brittle, breaks easily and has a delicate, delicate and refined aroma. The smell of real cinnamon is fresh, you can catch fruity notes or shades of dried fruits in it with a predominance of cinnamon aroma. The taste is sweetish, slightly pungent.

Cassius(Cinnamoum Cassia Bl. - Chinese cinnamon) or as it is also called, simple cinnamon is harvested by cutting the bark from 8-10 year old trees. The procedure is repeated after 7-10 years. Dry cassia in the shade in the same way as Ceylon or Indian cinnamon. When dried, cinnamon is short, thick-walled tubes with a rough red-brown outer surface with a smooth brown inner surface. Cassia is much more resistant to fracture due to its structure and wall thickness, which can be from 2 to 4 mm. The aroma of cassia is less refined, but bright and simple. The taste is more pronounced, tart, spicy-sweet, a little astringent and even a little burning. Supermarkets usually sell cassia. At best, this is a high-grade, thin-walled cassia from China.

Malabar cinnamon(Cinnamomum Tamala Nees) is otherwise called cinnamon tree, brown cinnamon, tree cinnamon, or cassia vera. This type of cinnamon grows in the southern regions of India and Burma. The structure, taste and aroma are rougher than those of cassia, a dirty brown hue. The aroma is not strong, the taste is sharply astringent with bitterness.

cinnamon(Cinnamomum Culilawan Bl.) or spicy cinnamon is grown in Indonesia. When dried, cinnamon is small pieces of concave, thin bark, beige on the outside and yellow-red on the inside, with a sharp-spicy aroma and spicy-burning taste.

On sale you can find two types of cinnamon - in the form of tubes and powder. For those who want to be sure what they are buying, we can recommend buying cinnamon only in tubes, having the opportunity to clearly see the goods. Cinnamon in opaque packaging is better to buy, produced in Ceylon, China or Laos. You can count on a good quality product when buying cinnamon of well-known brands or countries, former owners of colonies, for example, England, France, Holland. Cinnamon produced in the USA, Israel and Germany should be avoided - they do not have their own production facilities or traditional ties with producing countries.

The main use of cinnamon is in the confectionery industry. for flavoring cookies, chocolate, gingerbread and pies. Cinnamon is a part of traditional English puddings, mulled wine, various cocktails, chocolate drinks, jams, sweet pilafs, curd masses, charlotte, fruit salads and cold soups.

Cinnamon is very popular in Indian and Transcaucasian cuisines, where it is used in the preparation of poultry meat (chicken, turkey). In Chinese cuisine, cinnamon is used in roasting pork, which greatly improves the taste of meat. In Europe, cinnamon is added to some beers. Without cinnamon, the famous French muffins from Bordeaux are inconceivable. Cinnamon can be used in spice mixes for marinades. Vegetables, fruits, mushrooms and meat are pickled with cinnamon.

Ceylon (real) cinnamon is used mainly in sweet dishes. Its subtle aroma goes very well with pastries, chocolate, fruits, vegetables and cocktails.

Chinese cinnamon is often used in meat dishes, as part of spice mixtures and marinades.

In Russia, cinnamon has long been used as a condiment for cold soups, fritters, porridges, and jellied fish.In Belarus, cinnamon is added to the marinade for lingonberries, and in Ukraine, when pickling cucumbers and pickling watermelons. In Caucasian cuisine, cinnamon is one of the essential seasonings for meat and soups, zucchini and eggplant dishes. In Greece, lamb stew is not prepared without cinnamon, and in Italy, true connoisseurs do not drink cappuccino coffee without a pinch of cinnamon.

Cinnamon is an amazing spice that has captivated people with its properties since ancient times. An evergreen tree gives us bark, which is dried in the sun, rolled up into sticks, and only then eaten. People kept and passed on their knowledge of how to prepare cinnamon from the bark of a young cinnamon tree from generation to generation. It took a lot of effort to make real cinnamon. Spice was expensive and not everyone could afford it. It was used in cooking, medicine, as a flavoring agent.

To date, cinnamon has not become less popular, but it has become more affordable. Buying this spice is not difficult now. It is sold in shops, markets, online stores, supermarkets, in any grocery store. However, not everyone realizes that there are four types of cinnamon and only one of them is a really valuable spice.

Types of cinnamon

Such a variety of cinnamon on the shelves that you do not know how to decide on a purchase.

1. Kinamon or Ceylon cinnamon - this spice comes first, as the most valuable and therefore always expensive (if the price is low - do not believe the manufacturer, this cinnamon cannot be cheap);
2. Indonesian or Chinese cassia is the most common spice sold under the guise of real cinnamon;
3. Spicy cinnamon or cinnamon;
4. Cassia-vera or woody or Malabar brown cinnamon;
5. cinnamon bay (cinnamon substitute);
6. Burmese cinnamon (surrogate);
7. Cinnamon extract (cinnamon substitute).

Let's take a closer look at a very popular spice often passed off as cinnamon - Chinese or Indonesian cassia. Many sellers take advantage of our ignorance and offer to buy cassia instead of real cinnamon. And this is not only offensive, but also very dangerous for health.

Cassia.

I also call it Chinese or fake cinnamon - also a spice, very similar to Ceylon cinnamon, it has a sharper aftertaste.

It is made from the bark of mature trees, Chinese cinnamon, or rather most of the bark is taken. Therefore, Chinese cinnamon sticks are hard and coarse-fibred, and difficult to roll into a tube (which is why cassia sticks are wrapped on one side or slightly rounded). They are very difficult to crush by hand. The bark is thick up to 3 mm. At home, it is very problematic to grind this spice into powder. Accordingly, the seasoning turns out to be tough, with a tart aroma and a sharp bitter taste. It is these characteristics that are typical of cassia and make it possible to recognize it from real cinnamon.

And what is the problem, you say. Yes, it is not as delicate and does not have such a subtle aroma as Ceylon cinnamon, but it is fragrant and spicy in its own way. And it has its own unique properties only for its inherent spice. Everything would be fine, only if conscious manufacturers and sellers honestly indicated on the packaging that this is cassia, there would be no questions. But cheap cassia is sold as high quality cinnamon. External similarity, in fact, is not so simple and harmless. Very similar products, but one spice is extremely beneficial, and the other is not entirely safe for health (because it has a different chemical composition).

Why is cassia dangerous, why is it so afraid?

The harm of cassia in its chemical composition.

This spice contains a lot of tannins and unsafe coumarin, also called rat poison. Its content in spices exceeds the norm by 1200 times. A toxic substance that causes headaches, dizziness and indigestion. Coumarin is especially dangerous for children. Currently, various diets using cinnamon are very popular. For those who want to lose weight, it is very dangerous to use cassia instead of cinnamon. With frequent use, cassia tends to accumulate in the body and disrupts the functioning of the liver and kidneys.

What is the difference between cinnamon and cassia.

What are the main differences between cinnamon and cassia? For most people, these two seasonings are no different from each other. To understand their differences, you just need to understand how they differ from each other.

How to distinguish between these two seasonings?

Quality of cinnamon

How to check the quality of cinnamon bought in powder at home. It is necessary to compare the color, smell, taste. Real cinnamon has a light brown yellowish color, tastes sweet and spicy, with a delicate aroma. Cassia is a spice of dark brown color, slightly bitter and pungent in taste and with a sharp tart smell. The most common way to test cinnamon is to put a drop of iodine on the powder. High-quality Ceylon cinnamon will retain its color almost unchanged, but cassia powder will turn dark blue.

cinnamon sticks

Ground cinnamon is more practical and easier to use, that's for sure. Especially in weight loss diets, the powder is used much more often and more readily. But it is better to buy cinnamon spice with sticks. Cassia and cinnamon sticks are visually easily distinguished from each other, it is easier to compare them and make sure that you make the right choice when buying. It can be twisted from several thin layers of bark into a tube or be a stick twisted on both sides (cassia, due to its roughness, twists only on one side or can even be simply curved). Cinnamon in the form of sticks retains its beneficial properties and fragrantness longer. Sticks are easy to distinguish by color and texture. Real cinnamon sticks are always a light brown color both inside and out and crumble easily with your hands. In cassia, the color of the sticks is dark red-brown, the color is always uneven and they are always very hard.

Now you know how to tell the difference between these two spices, cassia and cinnamon, so buy and add it to your diet, seasoning or flavoring with ease and confidence. Use it like anti-aging agent. Don't forget that it lowers blood pressure and lowers sugar! It can also be used as an antipyretic or antimicrobial agent. Cinnamon is a wonderful spice!