In This ArticleView AllIn This ArticleWhat Is It?Different TypesThe BestCinnamon SticksShelf-LifeHealth Benefits
In This ArticleView All
View All
In This Article
What Is It?
Different Types
The Best
Cinnamon Sticks
Shelf-Life
Health Benefits
Close
Photo: Getty Images
There’s nothing quite like biting into afluffy baked goodor sipping on a cozy drink that’s fragrant with the sweet, spicy aroma of cinnamon. Cinnamon is one of the most common spices used in baking and cooking worldwide, and for good reason: It adds theperfectfinishing touch. Whether it’s a dash of ground cinnamon or a cinnamon stick infused in a drink or sauce for its fragrant aroma, cinnamon elevates any dish you make. And yet, deciding whichcinnamonto buy can get rather confusing with so many different types of cinnamon. How do you know what types of cinnamon are in those shakers at the store? Will your food taste different if you use Ceylon or cassia? Here, we dive into the different types of cinnamon, what they taste and smell like, and what is best used for cooking, baking and shaking up a tasty cocktail at home.
I Just Found Out My Cinnamon Might Not Be “Real” Cinnamon—Here’s How to Tell If Yours Is
What Is Cinnamon?
Cinnamon is a spice used in a variety of foods and even in some herbal medicines, drinks, essential oils and perfumes.
How does cinnamon grow?
Cinnamon comes from a bushy evergreen tree of the Lauraceae family; the spice is produced from the tree’s bark. The dried inner bark is brown, fragrant and sweet. Cinnamon trees grow in moist, well-drained soil and can reach around 50 feet in height.
Where does cinnamon come from?
Cinnamon comes from a variety of places, most commonly from Sri Lanka where it is native. Cinnamon trees also grow in other South Asian countries such as Myanmar, and along India’s Malabar Coast. Cinnamon can also be found in South America and the West Indies, as well as China.
How is cinnamon harvested?
To harvest cinnamon, the growers have to cut the shoots of the tree from the ground. The shoots are scraped, loosened, peeled and left to dry for 4 or 5 days, then rolled and tied tightly and placed in subdued sunlight. Once finished, the cinnamon is bleached with sulfur dioxide to get rid of contaminants like fungal diseases or pests, which result in a lighter color. Then the cinnamon is sorted into types of grades for selling. Grades are based on the diameter of the cinnamon sticks (known as quills). For ground cinnamon, those sticks are then processed and packaged.
What Are the Different Types of Cinnamon?
Different types of cinnamon can change the taste and the smell of what you are cooking or baking. The two commonly available types are Ceylon and cassia.
So how do you know if your cinnamon is Ceylon or cassia, and which is better to use for cooking? Here’s how to differentiate the two.
Ceylon
“Ceylon cinnamon has a much more mild flavor and a much more fibrous look,” says Chef Tony Reed, executive director of culinary innovation at Spiceology. “[It] is subtle, smells very mild, and is slightly sweeter in taste. Ceylon is also known as Mexican cinnamon and/or true cinnamon.”
Ceylon is referred to as Mexican cinnamon because it is commonly used in Mexican cuisine, but this type of cinnamon is actually native to Sri Lanka where it is commonly imported from. The cinnamon bark tends to be thinner and softer, has a lighter color, and the flavor is milder and sweeter compared to the more popular cassia.
Cassia
There’s a good chance that the cinnamon currently sitting in your pantry is cassia, given that’s the most common cinnamon variety out there. According to Alyse Baca, culinary director at Spicewalla, cassia is “significantly warm, spicy, [has a] strong flavor and is dark brown in color.”
While cassia is originally native to China, you may see three different types of this cinnamon on store shelves. According to Reed, the slight differences in aroma and flavor between the three types of cassia cinnamon have to do not only with where they’re grown, but also with their levels of coumarin—a chemical responsible for cinnamon’s sweet smell.
Which Type of Cinnamon Is Best?
Now that you know the differences between cinnamons, you’re likely wondering which type is best to use while cooking at home. Should you stick to your grocery brand, which is likely Korintje from Indonesia? Or should you splurge on a Saigon cassia cinnamon or a Ceylon?
According to Baca, it depends on what you are whipping up in the kitchen.
“If you are using cinnamon in baked goods or in a marinade or rub, I would recommend cassia so the bold flavor of cinnamon comes through in the final dish,” she says. “If you are freshly grating a cinnamon stick as agarnish on a cocktailor sprinkling cinnamon powder on a latte, then the delicate, sweet flavor of Ceylon cinnamon would be the best choice.”
How to Use Cinnamon Sticks
Cinnamon sticks can be used to flavor a dish instead of simply mixing in a powder, which can fare nicely depending on the type of dish you are making at home.
According to Baca, anything that has to soak to get the flavor should use a cinnamon stick instead of ground powder, which should only be used if the recipe you are cooking needs a more evenly distributed flavor.
Baca also enjoys burning a cinnamon stick like incense tomake a room smell good, and Reed says cinnamon sticks are his go-to when mixing together a drink—like thisApple-Ginger Moscow Mule Mocktail.
“I love using whole cinnamon sticks in my cocktails,” he explains. “I take a kitchen torch and scorch it to activate the oils and stir it into my drink of choice.”
Slow-Cooker Mulled Wine
How Long Does Cinnamon Last?
While spices technically never “go bad,” Baca does point out that spices can lose their potency and freshness over time. So be sure to keep your purchase date in mind when you buy cinnamon. “My advice for the best flavor of cinnamon sticks and powder is to use them within a year of buying them,” she says.
“Cinnamon sticks, being the ‘whole’ version of cinnamon, are probably safe to keep in a dark and cool space before it starts to lose the oils that give it its flavor, color and aroma,” says Reed.
Health Benefits of Cinnamon
Michalczyk also points out how cinnamon can help to regulate blood sugar levels. A 2021 review published inFood & Functionsuggests that cinnamon can improve insulin sensitivity, which helps to control a person’s glucose levels. “By slowing down the breakdown of carbohydrates and enhancing insulin signaling, cinnamon can help prevent blood sugar spikes and crashes,” she says.
On the other hand, because some versions of cassia cinnamon have a high amount of coumarin, consumers should be careful. Overconsumption of coumarin has been linked to liver damage, and thus cassia should only be consumed in small quantities. The tolerable daily intake of coumarinis around 0.05 milligrams per pound of body weight, so keeping cassia consumption to under a teaspoon a day is safest.
The Bottom Line
Cinnamon is a spice that’s made from tree bark, typically in South Asian countries. There are two types of cinnamon: Ceylon (native to Sri Lanka, commonly found in Mexican cuisine) and cassia (typically grown in China, Vietnam and Indonesia). Korintje, grown in Indonesia, is the most common type of cinnamon sold in the United States and tends to have a sweeter and smoother taste. Cinnamon is commonly used in cooking as well as in some herbal medicine treatments. The spice’s potential health benefits derive from its antioxidant properties that may help lower the risk of disease, reduce stress and inflammation and even benefit blood sugar levels.
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SourcesEatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.Chen P, Sun J, Ford P. Differentiation of the four major species of cinnamons (C. burmannii, C. verum, C. cassia, and C. loureiroi) using a flow injection mass spectrometric (FIMS) fingerprinting method. J Agric Food Chem. 2014 Mar 26;62(12):2516-21. doi: 10.1021/jf405580c. Epub 2014 Mar 17.PMID: 24628250; PMCID: PMC3983393Shang C, Lin H, Fang X, Wang Y, Jiang Z, Qu Y, Xiang M, Shen Z, Xin L, Lu Y, Gao J, Cui X. Beneficial effects of cinnamon and its extracts in the management of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Chem Sci.doi: 10.1039/D1FO01935JAbraham K, Wöhrlin F, Lindtner O, Heinemeyer G, Lampen A. Toxicology and risk assessment of coumarin: focus on human data.Mol Nutr Food Res. 2010;54(2):228-239.doi:10.1002/mnfr.200900281
Sources
EatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.Chen P, Sun J, Ford P. Differentiation of the four major species of cinnamons (C. burmannii, C. verum, C. cassia, and C. loureiroi) using a flow injection mass spectrometric (FIMS) fingerprinting method. J Agric Food Chem. 2014 Mar 26;62(12):2516-21. doi: 10.1021/jf405580c. Epub 2014 Mar 17.PMID: 24628250; PMCID: PMC3983393Shang C, Lin H, Fang X, Wang Y, Jiang Z, Qu Y, Xiang M, Shen Z, Xin L, Lu Y, Gao J, Cui X. Beneficial effects of cinnamon and its extracts in the management of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Chem Sci.doi: 10.1039/D1FO01935JAbraham K, Wöhrlin F, Lindtner O, Heinemeyer G, Lampen A. Toxicology and risk assessment of coumarin: focus on human data.Mol Nutr Food Res. 2010;54(2):228-239.doi:10.1002/mnfr.200900281
EatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.
Chen P, Sun J, Ford P. Differentiation of the four major species of cinnamons (C. burmannii, C. verum, C. cassia, and C. loureiroi) using a flow injection mass spectrometric (FIMS) fingerprinting method. J Agric Food Chem. 2014 Mar 26;62(12):2516-21. doi: 10.1021/jf405580c. Epub 2014 Mar 17.PMID: 24628250; PMCID: PMC3983393Shang C, Lin H, Fang X, Wang Y, Jiang Z, Qu Y, Xiang M, Shen Z, Xin L, Lu Y, Gao J, Cui X. Beneficial effects of cinnamon and its extracts in the management of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Chem Sci.doi: 10.1039/D1FO01935JAbraham K, Wöhrlin F, Lindtner O, Heinemeyer G, Lampen A. Toxicology and risk assessment of coumarin: focus on human data.Mol Nutr Food Res. 2010;54(2):228-239.doi:10.1002/mnfr.200900281
Chen P, Sun J, Ford P. Differentiation of the four major species of cinnamons (C. burmannii, C. verum, C. cassia, and C. loureiroi) using a flow injection mass spectrometric (FIMS) fingerprinting method. J Agric Food Chem. 2014 Mar 26;62(12):2516-21. doi: 10.1021/jf405580c. Epub 2014 Mar 17.PMID: 24628250; PMCID: PMC3983393
Shang C, Lin H, Fang X, Wang Y, Jiang Z, Qu Y, Xiang M, Shen Z, Xin L, Lu Y, Gao J, Cui X. Beneficial effects of cinnamon and its extracts in the management of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Chem Sci.doi: 10.1039/D1FO01935J
Abraham K, Wöhrlin F, Lindtner O, Heinemeyer G, Lampen A. Toxicology and risk assessment of coumarin: focus on human data.Mol Nutr Food Res. 2010;54(2):228-239.doi:10.1002/mnfr.200900281
