What is the difference between cinnamon and cinnamon bark? Are cinnamon and cinnamon bark the same thing? Often people have this question, and not a few. There is quite a difference between the two, even though they look similar and taste similar.
Cinnamon and cinnamon bark from where:
Cinnamon is the camphor plant cinnamon dry bark, usually peeled in the fall, in China's Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian and other places have, the appearance of grayish-brown, inside reddish-brown, oily is relatively large, with the fingernail scratching will be the oil marks, the meat is thicker, showing the rolled cylinder.
Cinnamon bark is camphoraceae tree plant geranium, Yinxiang, etc. bark, China's Guangdong, Zhejiang, Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan and other places have, Guangxi production is the largest, the highest quality, is one of the components of the five spice powder, the surface is rough with irregular wrinkles color is dark brown, inside smooth reddish-brown and black-brown, the thickness of the thinner, presenting the flake and rolled.
The flavor and use of cinnamon and cinnamon bark:
Cinnamon aroma is relatively strong, gives a person the feeling of freshness, smells very comfortable, tastes a little sweet, and with a little bit of spicy and a little bit of numbness. Now the common cinnamon on the market is divided into Chinese cinnamon and Ceylon cinnamon, Ceylon cinnamon shows yellowish brown, almost no bitter flavor, compared to Chinese cinnamon, Ceylon cinnamon has a very special flavor, with the development of Western food, this cinnamon in the country is also slowly began to use .
Cinnamon is a little lighter than cinnamon and tastes sweet and a little astringent. Mainly used as a spice seasoning, is one of the very common spices in Chinese food, has to give dishes to remove the effect of unctuous flavor, common brine cinnamon is essential. And star anise, peppercorns, cloves, cumin with the production of five-spice dried beans, tea eggs and other delicacies.
Cinnamon and cinnamon medicinal effects:
Cinnamon has a warm through the meridians, tonic fire to help Yang, lead fire to the origin, dispersal of cold pain, often used for lumbar and knee cold pain, renal deficiency for asthma, cold pain in the heart and abdomen, bleeding tendency and pregnant women should be cautious, do not fish with the red stone together.
Cinnamon hot, so don't use too much in the summer, has the function of warming the stomach and removing dampness, blood and tendon relief, pain and diarrhea, mainly used for abdominal cold chest, vomiting and choking, rheumatism and paralysis, etc., because of its role in activating the blood, so pregnant women should also eat less.
The method of selecting cinnamon and cinnamon bark:
Cinnamon is more oily, so the higher the quality of the oil, the better, with a finger to scrape the inner surface, you can see the purple color of the oil, and if there is no oil color, it is an indication of poor quality cinnamon. Good cinnamon shape integrity, no mold, the color is reddish brown, better, generally regular manufacturers out of the cinnamon, look will be more consistent and beautiful.
The most important thing about cinnamon is the degree of dryness, good cinnamon is dry and brittle, very easy to break by hand, no white spots and insect mold. The bad cinnamon is not uniform in thickness, the surface has insect and mold spots, and the inside is lighter in color.