Cinnamon – flavouring sweet and savoury dishes the world over
I RECENTLY visited a garden centre, where a plant with rust and green coloured glossy foliage caught my attention. It was of course the cinnamon plant. This particular specimen was so lovely I willingly spent RM100 to buy it for decorative purposes and, if successful, perhaps to harvest the spice from the bark, leaves and buds in future.
The tree also reminded me of my days in Penang, in the early 1970s, when cinnamon trees were commonly found around the island. Sometime back, there were actually many plans to plant cinnamon trees in the Samarahan area. However, it would seem that the plans did not succeed.
As Asians, we would definitely be familiar with cinnamon. Indeed, with the variety of cuisine available locally today, we would realise that cinnamon is widely used globally for both sweet and savoury dishes. Background This wonderful spice is mostly obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus Cinnamomum in the Lauraceous family. The name actually refers to the light brown colour of the cinnamon sticks. The best commercial species is the cassia or Cinnamomum verum.
There are records from 2000 BC of this valuable and expensive spice being used in Egypt. It was used during royal celebrations for various purposes such as burning it for its aroma and as a flavouring agent for wine.
As mentioned, the spice is usually extracted from the bark. The key ingredient of flavour would be the aromatic essential oil that is prepared by macerating the bark in water and then distilling this to get the golden yellow oil.
There are four classes of cinnamon that are well known in the spice trade world – the Alba, Continental, Mexican and Hamburg. Last year, the world’s main exporter of cinnamon was Sri Lanka, which dominated with 32.9 per cent of total cinnamon exports at a value of US$159.1 million. This was followed by Indonesia, China, Vietnam, the Netherlands, and the United States. Their cinnamon products differ in terms of texture and colour. Growing tips Cinnamon is a small semitropical evergreen shrub or tree with dark and leathery ovate to lanceolate leaves that are around six inches long. The leaves are actually aromatic.
This plant can extend to 20 feet in height if it is not pruned. The main stem can be cut back or pollarded to keep the tree at a controlled height. The tree can be cut back at ground level twice a year to encourage new shoots from the roots. These can be harvested later for the spice, while the sucker shoots that develop from the roots are kept for the slender bark that is of commercial value.
As long as the soil is kept slightly dry, the tree can thrive for years without special care. Cinnamon can also be planted in large containers or pots of around eight to 12 litres.
This plant needs plenty of direct sunlight and well-drained acidic soil. Remember that our soil in Sarawak is naturally acidic and therefore will not require any liming. Cinnamon trees can withstand our direct tropical sunlight. They will not have any problems with the scorching of leaves. Hence I have kept my new plant under no shade for more than a month now and it is thriving.
When the tree is over two years old, it can be cut at ground level to let it regenerate new shoots to produce harvestable bark for the spice. The cut stems with the bark on need to be processed immediately by scraping off the outer bark. This can also be done by beating them to loosen the inner layer for the spice. The material is then dried carefully for sale. Once dried, you should have your own home-grown cinnamon sticks. Uses Cinnamon leaves are used in tea as well as in traditional medicine for their carminative, antiseptic, and astringent properties.
Cinnamon contains many compounds such as eugenol, which is used mainly in the brewing industry, as a flavouring for alcoholic beverages including whisky. In the food industry, cinnamon is used as a condiment and flavouring agent for chocolates, buns, coffee, tea, cocoa, and liqueurs, besides to cook meat.
So would you like to add some fragrant spice to your garden? Do send me an email if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions.
Happy gardening.