Cinnamon, Stick 3ʺ

Cinnamon Sticks

Famed for lending natural sweetness and savory warmth to baked goods, cinnamon can do more than spice up dessert courses and breakfast sweetmeats. Consider adding cinnamon sticks to slow-cooked stews, curries and chili. Use the stick as both flavoring agent and stirrer for cocoa, cider and mulled wine. Pair cinnamon with turmeric, ginger and coconut milk to make the soothing nightcap, “golden milk,” revered as an Ayurvedic tonic.

In stick form, cinnamon retains its flavor for a long time in storage. Those sticks are the sun-dried inner bark of an evergreen tree in the laurel family. When the tree reaches the age of two, growers cut it down to ground level, to stimulate multiple new shoots. One year later, cultivators harvest those shoots and strip them of their outer bark. The whole inner bark curls up into “quills” while drying under the sun. Sri Lanka, Indonesia and China are top producers of cinnamon today.

Cinnamon has been in use as a spice, food preservative, embalming agent and medical treatment for nearly 5,000 years. Arab traders introduced cinnamon to Europe in the Middle Ages, but closely guarded the spice’s Asian origins to maintain a monopoly on its trade. The quest for cinnamon figured in Portugal’s exploration of far-flung shores in the 16th century, a quest that bore fruit in Ceylon (Sri Lanka).

Cinnamon not only tastes great; it’s great for you. One medical study from 2003 showed that regular use of cinnamon reduced blood glucose levels in Type II diabetics. Another study credited cinnamon with reducing LDL cholesterol in diabetics. The spice’s anti-inflammatory properties can ease arthritis symptoms, while its antioxidants help combat disease-triggering free radicals.

Mount Hope Wholesale welcomes bulk buyers and individual shoppers. Our 3″ cinnamon sticks are available in 1-pound bags.