Time and Cinnamon

 

The sun stayed hidden today. It was not wet, just overcast. I admit to relishing this type of ordinary day. There was nothing of great importance to do and I was just fine with that.  I love that we've owned our own time since retiring nine years ago!  

Jay and I did drive to the uptown mall. After parking on the roof, we first visited the whole-food store, formerly known as Galloway's. It's on 6th Avenue and was sold. About the only thing that's changed has been the name which is now Goodway's. It is full of spices and things not available so easily elsewhere. We didn't buy cinnamon powder but I snapped a photo with its place of origin, Sri Lanka, front and center.

 

We'll be heading to Sri Lanka exactly four weeks from today.  It will be the primary base for our winter.  The island country produces 'real' cinnamon and has been prominently part of the spice trade for millennia. In order to explain why it has the preferred type, I simply typed cinnamon production into MS Windows 11 Copilot. I knew it'd spit out what I wanted to say but with much more detail and little effort.  I also know it'll cite sources.  Here goes:

Cinnamon production is the process of harvesting and processing the inner bark of several tree species from the genus Cinnamomum, which are used as a spice and flavouring agent in various cuisines and products¹

There are two main types of cinnamon: Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) and cassia cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia). Ceylon cinnamon is native to Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh and Myanmar, while cassia cinnamon is native to China, Indonesia, Vietnam and other parts of Southeast Asia¹

Ceylon cinnamon is considered to be the true cinnamon, as it has a sweeter and more delicate flavour than cassia cinnamon, which is more pungent and bitter. Ceylon cinnamon also has less coumarin, a compound that can cause liver damage in high doses. Cassia cinnamon, however, is cheaper and more widely available than Ceylon cinnamon¹

To produce cinnamon, the trees are cut down to stump size when they are about two years old, and then covered with soil. This causes them to grow new shoots from the sides, which are harvested after a year. The shoots are then stripped of their outer bark and the inner bark is peeled off in long strips. The strips are dried in the sun, where they curl up into quills or sticks. The quills are then sorted by size and quality, and packaged for sale or further processing²

Cinnamon is used for various purposes, such as baking, cooking, flavouring beverages, making essential oils, supplements, cosmetics and perfumes. Cinnamon has also been used for medicinal purposes since ancient times, as it has anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-diabetic and antioxidant properties¹

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the world production of cinnamon in 2021 was 226,753 tonnes, with China being the largest producer with 97,500 tonnes, followed by Indonesia with 85,500 tonnes, Vietnam with 29,500 tonnes and Sri Lanka with 14,250 tonnes¹³