A staple spice in cupboards around the world, cinnamon is widely used in cooking anything from curries to cakes, drinks right through to scented candles! But what else is there about cinnamon that we might not know?
Barking up the wrong tree!
Cinnamon sticks are actually the dried inner bark from an evergreen tree. When harvest season arrives, the outer bark is taken off to reveal the inner bark - cinnamon! This is then dried and, during the drying process, it curls up to form the ‘quills’ we all know and use! Ground cinnamon is (yes, you guessed it) simply ground cinnamon quills!
As Old As The Trees
One of the oldest spices, Cinnamon was actually used in ancient Egypt! They weren’t content with using it merely as a flavouring - they went as far as using it as an embalming agent…!
Cute!
Cinnamon is used for cosmetic purposes too! It’s been known to behave as a lip ‘plumper’ and a skin scrub - a nice added benefit to walking around smelling nice!
Don’t do it!
It’d have been almost impossible for you to miss it but ‘The Cinnamon Challenge’ took the internet by storm in recent past. Despite our love for the spice - don’t do it!
Tasty!
It makes food taste really good! Not only in cakes and biscuits, but granola too! We use cinnamon in our Pecan Maple Twist too - it’s a winner!