CINNAMON
A widely known
condiment of pan continental acceptance and adoration is cinnamon. Its mild aroma must be the reason for its
wider appeal and has just a few ‘like- competitors’ for a place of pride.
Cinnamon is primarily
of Sri Lankan origin though had its presence in Kerala for so long that it has,
also- the name ‘Malabar cinnamon’. Some hold that those of Sri Lanka and
Malabar are different –though either enjoy acceptance for their value as a
culinary additive.
The plant is an Ever
green tree about 12 feet or more in height and botanically named Cinnamomum zeylanicum. Though leaves are
also used in certain preparations, it is the bark that has a huge market. In
Tamil the nature of the plant part is vivid from the name –popular as ‘Pattai’
/ ‘Lvangappattai’[பட்டை/
லவங்கப்பட்டை]
The aroma of the bark
is ascribed to Cinnamyl aldehyde and Eugenol. There are over 80 different
aromatic compounds of which Eugenol is one.
Harvesting of barks has
to wait for at least 2 years before a tree is ready to have bark. The bark is
dried for about 6 hours ; we barks are prone to fungal pest attack.
About 12-143 mg
[Coumarin –a phenolic product] per Kg of bark is derived. The spice is added to
food items, beverages, Chocolates and varied delicacies across continents.
Cinnamon is claimed to promote digestion. Being a biological derivative
degradation and oxidation are common in Cinnamon .
Cinnemaldehyde gets
degraded to Styrene and the latter-oxidised to resinous compounds .
100 g of Cinnamon has
over 80.0 g of Carbohydrates, Water =10.5 g , Sugar= 2.3g
Fibre = 53.0 g Protein
4.4 g fat 1.2 g .
An apparent dry stuff
[Cinnamon] has so much to offer. No wonder it is a condiment of
continents. There are about 4 or 5 grades
of Cinnamon on global rating.
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