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Product Introduction: Ceylon Cinnamon
Imported Ceylon cinnamon is a spicy aromatic, the inner bark of Sri Lankan Ceylon cinnamon, often rolled into long thin tubes or double tubes in overlapping layers, each about 0.5mm thick. The outer surface is yellow-brown, smooth, with wavy longitudinal lines. The main chemical components of Ceylon cinnamon include cinnamaldehyde, limonene, and eugenol. It is widely used in seasoning and food industries.
Characteristics:
This product is in a rolled or grooved shape, about 5mm thick, with a brown outer surface featuring irregular fine longitudinal wrinkles and raised lenticels. The inner surface is brown, flat, and produces an oily trace when scratched. It is brittle and easy to break with an uneven fracture. It has a fragrant aroma and a slightly spicy taste.
Types and Identification of Ceylon Cinnamon
Types of Cinnamon: Ceylon Cinnamon, Indonesian Cinnamon, Vietnamese Cinnamon, Chinese Cinnamon
Differences Between Ceylon Cinnamon and Vietnamese Cinnamon:
- Appearance and color: Ceylon cinnamon is smaller and thicker, with a tan-brown color, while Vietnamese cinnamon is slightly larger with a purplish hue.
- Aroma: Ceylon cinnamon has a mild, sweet aroma, whereas Vietnamese cinnamon has a strong "cinnamon" smell with a rich sweetness. Vietnamese cinnamon has a stronger taste than Ceylon cinnamon.
- Coumarin content: Ceylon cinnamon contains only 0.017g/kg of coumarin, while Vietnamese cinnamon has up to 6.97g/kg.
Main Value
- Economic:
The bark and cinnamon oil of Ceylon cinnamon have a unique and long-lasting fragrance, making it an important ingredient for flavoring in daily products and foods, such as perfumes, toothpaste, soaps, and even in the tobacco industry. Eugenol from the leaf oil can be used to synthesize vanillin, and benzyl benzoate serves as a natural fixative, also used as a solvent for various fragrances, particularly artificial musk.
- Medicinal:
In medicine, it is used as an antiseptic, stomachic, astringent, bactericide, and tonic. The bark is pungent, sweet, and warm with an aromatic scent, having effects of warming the center, tonifying the kidneys, dispelling cold, and relieving pain. The branches are pungent, sweet, and moist, with the function of promoting sweating, relaxing muscles, and warming the meridians. The fruit strengthens the heart, promotes urination, and stops sweating.
- Ecological:
The tree, with its lush branches and leaves and fragrant aroma, is often used as an ornamental plant for greening in China.
Applications: Seasonings, Food
Spice. Commonly used to enhance the flavor of meats, as well as in pickling, soaking in alcohol, and in baking bread, cakes, and pastries. It is also used to extract essential oils. The powdered form is a main ingredient in five-spice powder or can be used directly as a seasoning.
Ceylon cinnamon is widely used in Eastern and Western cuisines, with the highest usage frequency in India and Southeast Asia. Overall, Eastern consumers tend to favor Ceylon cinnamon more than Western consumers. Ceylon cinnamon is ideal for meat dishes, especially those involving stewing or boiling, such as beef, lamb, pork, sausages, liver sausages, and hams. It is also used in flavoring baked goods, like how Americans add it to bread for a distinct flavor, as well as in various pies and pastries. Additionally, it enhances the taste of both meat and vegetable dishes, such as carrots, eggplants, pumpkins, tomatoes, beets, sweet potatoes, and onions. Ceylon cinnamon is also used in soups, such as in instant noodle seasoning, and as a pickling spice. Ceylon cinnamon essential oil and oleoresin are often used in beverages, particularly fruit-flavored drinks like lemon, orange, and grape. It is also used in candies, like the Mexican chocolate that incorporates Ceylon cinnamon.
Original Plant
An evergreen tree growing up to 10m tall with dark brown bark. The inner bark has a strong fragrance. Young branches are slightly quadrangular and gray. Leaves are typically opposite, leathery, oval or ovate-lanceolate, 11–16cm long, and 4.5–5.5cm wide, with a pointed tip, wedge-shaped base, dark green and glossy on top, pale greenish-white below, and hairless on both sides. The leaves have 3 basal veins, with the midrib and lateral veins raised on both surfaces. The reticulated veins create small honeycomb-like pits underneath. Leaf stalks are about 2mm long, stout, and hairless. The inflorescence is 10–12cm long, axillary or terminal, with both peduncles and pedicels covered in silky fine hairs. The flowers have six pale yellow tepals, almost equal in length, with grayish fine hairs on the outside. There are 9 fertile stamens in 3 whorls, with the third whorl’s stamens having glandular appendages. The ovary is spherical and hairless. The fruit is ovoid, 10–15mm long, black when ripe, with a cup-shaped calyx that enlarges with toothed margins. Flowering and fruiting occurs from August to October.
Growing Environment
Ceylon cinnamon thrives in sandy loam to brick-red soil with deep, fertile layers that are not overly clayey. Wild Ceylon cinnamon grows in tropical rainforests, where the climate is warm and humid. The annual average temperature is around 27°C, with a low of 22°C and a high of 31°C. There is no cold wave influence, and annual rainfall is between 2000-4000mm, with about 200 rainy days per year. The soil is mostly brick-red or yellow-red, and the best quality Ceylon cinnamon is produced from fertile, fine-grained quartz soils. Cinnamon grown in marshy areas has a bitter and mild taste. Although native to tropical regions, young plants can tolerate temperatures as low as 0°C. However, during the flowering period, flower buds fall off easily at 15.5-16.1°C, and absolute lows of 1°C cause flower clusters to freeze and wither. Ceylon cinnamon is a sun-loving species but can tolerate some shade during its early growth. It has strong adaptability and cold resistance, making it suitable for cultivation in southern China, with the best areas being Hainan Island and parts of Xishuangbanna in Yunnan. Growth rate, vigor, and flowering/fruiting performance are superior in these areas compared to other regions.
Distribution
Native to Sri Lanka and the western coast of India. Cultivated in Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Fujian, and Zhejiang provinces of China, as well as in various tropical Asian countries.
Ceylon cinnamon originated in Sri Lanka and the western coast of India. In Sri Lanka, it is mainly found in the Colombo District of the Western Province, as well as Galle and Matara in the Southern Province. In India, it is primarily distributed in southern states such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, small amounts were introduced for trial planting in Guangdong (Guangzhou) in the 1950s. Seeds and seedlings were gradually introduced after 1960 for expanded trial planting in Zhanjiang, Hainan Island, and several regions. Since 1971, seeds and seedlings have been further introduced to Xishuangbanna, Nanning, Xiamen, Zhangzhou, and Zhejiang's Pingyang from Hainan Island trial planting areas. The distribution of Ceylon cinnamon in China ranges from Hainan Island at 18°40′N latitude to Pingyang in Zhejiang at 27°4′N latitude.
Harvesting and Processing
The bark is peeled off and rolled into bundles after cutting, allowed to naturally ferment for 24 hours, then the rough outer layer is shaved off before drying and cutting into smaller pieces or grinding into powder.
Storage and Preservation
Store in a dry place, protect from mold and pests.
