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Cinnamon

Ground spices

Cinnamon

Cinnamomum verum / C. cassia

Sweet, woody bark spice sold as sticks or ground; used in sweets, spice blends and savoury rice and meat dishes.

Also called: ground cinnamon, dalchini, tarçın, canela

  • Warm & sweet
  • No heat
Buying & storing223 recipes

Photo: Simon A. Eugster, via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-3.0)

Flavour and aroma

sweet, warm. Sweet, warm, woody.

Heat
No heat
Forms
whole, ground

How to use it

  • use raw

    Add a pinch to sweets, chai masala and spice rubs; in curries, add with the other ground spices and cook for a minute.

  • Whole sticks fried in ghee for biryani and pulao
  • Ground in cakes, cinnamon rolls and porridge
  • Garam masala and baharat
  • Moroccan tagines and Mexican hot chocolate
  • Mulled drinks and chai

Identifying good quality

Reddish-brown (cassia) to tan (true cinnamon) powder with a strong sweet smell.

Origin and history

Origin: Sri Lanka (true cinnamon) and southern China (cassia).. Grown and used: Used worldwide..

Ground cinnamon is the powdered bark described under cinnamon stick. In South Asia it is used mostly within garam masala and sweets rather than on its own.

Well documented

In masalas, pastes and sauces

Recipes with cinnamon

190 more