Cinnamon is native to Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka), but is already used in the Mediterranean since thousands of years. In Ancient Egypt, cinnamon was used to embalm mummies. Nowadays, Indonesia and China produce75% of the world's supply of cinnamon.

 

Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the Genus Cinnamomum. The stems must be processed immediately after harvesting while the inner bark is still wet. The cut stems are processed by scraping off the outer bark, then beating the branch evenly with a hammer to loosen the inner bark, which is then pried off in long rolls. Only 0.5 mm of the inner bark is used,  the outer, woody portion is discarded, leaving metre-long cinnamon strips that curl into rolls on drying.

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Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakfast cereals, snackfoods, tea and traditional foods.

Cinnamon is very aromatic, refined, and sweet but tastes bitter at the same time. In Asia Cinnamon is often used in savoury dishes with meat, chicken, fish, lamb and in curry’s.