Cinnamon, my allrounder

Since my trip to Sri Lanka, at the beginning of this year, I’m totally obsessed with cinnamon and its effects!!! One could say I’m a cinnaholic!?

Cinnamon just used to be my favorite winter spice ( I mean it already smells like Christmas) which I put every now and then in my coffee. But the Sinhalese taught me better than just spicing up the morning Joe. It’s their number one spice and they use it for EVERYTHING.

It’s obviously good in sweets but I can tell you it works amazingly well in savory dishes, too.

For instance in curry, lentils, rice, to marinade your meat, potatoes, etc. - it’s an allrounder!

But if you like to be creative, you’ll find loads of other ways to use it and create the ultimate taste experience!

So far my favorite experiments are: cinnamon popcorn and apple with lemon and cinnamon.

Both are perfect alternatives to unhealthy, grease chips or whatever you starve for while watching Netflix!!!

Further, locals swear by basic cinnamon tea or hot water with half of a teaspoon. Optionally with a slice of ginger, for those who want to live until they’re 100y. Well, I was so impressed when I first tried the hot cinnamon water, that it now became one of my everyday essentials.

It’s so easy to make and so hard to dislike- so try it!!

But as already indicated before, cinnamon does more than just make food/beverages taste awesome, it has incredible effects on our health, it’s a true remedy!

So here I’ll present you the most important and beneficial ones of first-hand!

1. rich in polyphenol antioxidants

2. anti- inflammatory properties, lower risk on inner inflammations

3. reduces risk of heart disease (the world's most common cause of premature death) by beneficial effects on type 2 diabetes and decreasing levels of „bad“ LDL cholesterol and blood pressure

4. good for the structure and function of brain cells and thereby improves neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

5. antifungal and antibacterial, prevents tooth decay and bad breath

6. cures the common cold!!! ( the most important to me, bc I always feel cold!)

7. may has protective impacts against cancer

What’s extremely important to know is that there’re two different types of cinnamon:

Ceylon cinnamon (Sri Lanka) and Cassia cinnamon (China).

However it’s advised to use the true cinnamon, grown in the highlands of Sri Lanka- former Ceylon- because it is scientifically proven that the Chinese variety contains significant amounts of coumarin which could prove harmful in large doses. This difference in quality is also noticeable in the price difference, wherefore mostly cassia cinnamon is found in supermarkets…

So make sure to get the right one!

All in all cinnamon is sweet, tasty and a panacea but unfortunately it doesn’t officially count as medicine yet. :/ Still that’s not stopping us from working it into as many recipes as possible :)

Bisous,

Lou