Cinnamon

This article is about the spice. For the genus of trees where cinnamon originates, see Cinnamomum. For other uses, see Cinnamon (disambiguation).

Dried bark strips, bark powder and flowers of the small tree Cinnamomum verum

Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus Cinnamomum. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakfast cereals, snack foods, bagels, teas, hot chocolate and traditional foods. The aroma and flavour of cinnamon derive from its essential oil and principal component, cinnamaldehyde, as well as numerous other constituents including eugenol.

Cinnamomum verum, from Koehler's Medicinal-Plants (1887)
Close-up view of raw cinnamon bark

Cinnamon is the name for several species of trees and the commercial spice products that some of them produce. All are members of the genus Cinnamomum in the family Lauraceae. Only a few Cinnamomum species are grown commercially for spice. Cinnamomum verum (alternatively C. zeylanicum), known as "Ceylon cinnamon" after its origins in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon), is considered to be "true cinnamon",[1] but most cinnamon in international commerce is derived from four other species, usually and more correctly referred to as "cassia": C. burmanni (Indonesian cinnamon or Padang cassia), C. cassia (Chinese cinnamon or Chinese cassia), C. loureiroi (Saigon cinnamon or Vietnamese cassia), and the less common C. citriodorum (Malabar cinnamon).[1][2][3]

In 2021, world production of cinnamon was 226,753 tonnes, led by China with 43% of the total.[4]

  1. ^ a b "Encyclopaedia Britannica article on Cinnamon, plant and spice". Archived from the original on 18 August 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  2. ^ Iqbal, Mohammed (1993). "International trade in non-wood forest products: An overview". FO: Misc/93/11 – Working Paper. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Archived from the original on 16 March 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  3. ^ Bell, Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat (2009). A history of food. Translated by Anthea (New expanded ed.). Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 978-1405181198. Cassia, also known as cinnamon or Chinese cinnamon is a tree that has bark similar to that of cinnamon but with a rather pungent odour
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference faostat was invoked but never defined (see the help page).