to be confused about cinnamon?

[notfornothing]

Can somebody explain this? The cinnamon sold in supermarkets is not really cinnamon and might actually bot be good for you at all. So why is it labelled as cinnamon FFS?
I use it every day on my porridge and always thought it was a healthy thing.
Is this common knowledge that shops sell "fake" cinnamon and i've been living under a rock?
Where can i buy the real stuff? And how will I know it's the real stuff?

[TattyDevine]

Whaaaaaat really?

[WeDoNotSow]

I have no idea what you're talking about?!? I must be eating pretend cinnamon as well I presume?

[MachiKoro]

If it's labeled cinnamon, it's cinnamon. Food labelling is quite controlled. Why do you think it's not?

[MaltyCocoa]

Don't worry op. It's more "cinnamon snobbery" that fake or real cinnamon.

It's common in the states to have cinnamon made from the cassia plant- which is still cinnamon! - but purists say no no, only Ceylon cinnamon counts

The stuff you get in bottles from Swartz or sainsburys etc is cinnamon

[AnchorDownDeepBreath]

Do you mean the difference between ceylon and cassia cinnamon?

There's a line of thought that Cassia cinnamon, or Chinese cinnamon, isn't "real" although it has the same Heath benefits (anti microbial, anti fungal, blood regulation etc). It just contains a higher level of coumarin, which some people find risky, although it's obviously been cleared to be sold!

Ceylon cinnamon is considered "real", and comes from a specific plant in Sri Lanka. It's sweeter and contains less coumarin.

As the Heath benefits are the same and the level of coumarin in either variety is so far below what is considered to be risky, it really makes no difference. It's one of those weird things that doesn't really matter.

I wouldn't be throwing out your current cinnamon personally.

[MaltyCocoa]

explanation

[justabigdisco]

It's normally obvious when you're buying cassia bark rather than 'true cinnamon' - the sticks are larger and it will say somewhere on the packet that it's cassia or 'Chinese cinnamon'. If you're buying ground cinnamon then that's cinnamon! The other giveaway with cassia bark is that it's a LOT cheaper

[MaltyCocoa]

anchor explained it better than me!

[OldBeanbagz]

How can they sell something in supermarkets that is labelled cinnamon that isn't actually cinnamon? Surely that would not be allowed? Who told you that it wasn't real cinnamon (and were they drunk)?

If i take an a actual cinnamon stick and grind it finely it looks just like the ground cinnamon that i can buy in supermarkets. So i'm

[notfornothing]

I thought cinnamon was made from cinnamon bark from the ... eer cinnamon tree?
What exactly is cassia?

[notfornothing]

X post

[HermioneJeanGranger]

Cinnamon is toxic in large doses, but unless you're eating tons of it on a daily basis, there's nothing to worry about.

Cassia is "commercially produced" cinammon, it's not the same thing as "true cinammon" (in biological terms) but it tastes very similar.

[AnchorDownDeepBreath]

I thought cinnamon was made from cinnamon bark from the ... eer cinnamon tree?

It is. Cassia cinnamon comes from bark from a few different trees. Ceylon cinnamon comes from the bark of a specific plant (Cinnamon Verum).

It probably won't surprise you to know that the websites that make a big deal about "fake" cinnamon will happily sell you overpriced "Real" cinnamon. That you can't verify, because there's not enough difference between the two without some pretty heavy scientific testing.

[Queenbean]

Has anyone done the spoonful of cinnamon thing? It looks absolutely rank. And a bit dangerous

[notfornothing]

Thanks!
It's definitely much clearer now.
That is why sometimes cinnamon tastes different. I got some from m&s and it has a different taste to the Swartz one.
It doesn't say on the bottle which is which though? I suspect m&s one might be ceylon cinnamon?

[notfornothing]

I eat cinnamon every day so go through quite a lot. I'm amazed i had no idea about this before

[BarbaraofSeville]

I had no idea about this, but I'm not sure I'm bothered.

What annoys me most is if you buy a little glass jar of any spice, they're too small to get a teaspoon in. Why?? Why aren't the jars shorter and wider instead of tall and skinny.

Just one reason why I generally buy spices in packets and decant them into spice tins that are wide enough to get a spoon in. The packets being much cheaper than rip off useless Schwartz jars being another.

[anzu66]

I live in Germany, and around Christmas time, which is when cinnamon biscuits are made and eaten, the health warnings about liver damage from excess cassia consumption tend to appear.

I do remember reading once that the ground stuff from supermarkets is almost always cassia, as it is both stronger and cheaper.

In cooking, I use both, but tend not to use the cassia as powder, but as large chunks for dishes such as curries, where they can be lifted ouy without being eaten.

[Zaphodsotherhead]

Horrible stuff! Why does every single thing sold in supermarkets that contains apple HAVE to have a ton of cinnamon added? WHY? Tastes like soap to me - and I love apple strudel!

[SoupDragon]

Why does every single thing sold in supermarkets that contains apple HAVE to have a ton of cinnamon added?

Because it is heavenly!

[justabigdisco]

Well I never knew that the ground stuff was cassia. I don't really use it. The point is, if it's cassia it will always be labelled as such as they can't really get away with calling it cinnamon. The sticks are vey obviously different if you compare them side by side, and cassia doesn't taste as nice (IMO). However I'm probably biased as I visit Sri Lanka regularly (in-laws) and bring home cheap packets of the good stuff!

[HermioneJeanGranger]

I will say on the back if it's cassia or not, but it won't be on the front of the packaging.

Look in the ingredients.

[AYD2MITalkTalk]

Damn you cinnamon; are you savoury or sweet? TELL ME GODDAMMIT YOU'RE FUCKING WITH MY HEAD