Good morning folks, Another wet start to the morning so lets spice up todays Food Fact by covering the Cinnamon Spice. There are tons of dishes which Cinnamon can be added, like honey glazed Gammon Ham to the home-made curry and I even use it in my Hot Whisky Toddy when Im feeling a little under the weather. Did you know there are many varieties of the cinnamon-tree that exist; however, Sri Lankan variety is regarded as true cinnamon and scientifically named as Cinnamonum verum. Traditionally, the inner bark is bruised with a brass rod, peeled and long incisions are made in the bark. It is then rolled by hand and allowed to dry in the sunlight. It is the bark of the tree from where aromatic essential oil (makes up 0.5% to 1% of its composition) is extracted. Usually, the oil is processed by roughly pounding the bark, macerating it in seawater, and then quickly distilling the whole. The oil features golden-yellow color, with the characteristic odor of cinnamon and a very hot aromatic taste. The pungent taste and scent in cinnamon spice are due to compound cinnamic aldehyde and cinnamaldehyde in the oil. Cassia, also known as chinese cinnamon, is a different member of Lauraceae family and named as Cinnamomum cassia. Cassia is coarser, more spicy, and pungent but less fragrant than cinnamon. It is usually substituted for the cinnamon in savory dishes. Health benefits of cinnamon The active principles in the cinnamon spice are known to have anti-oxidant, anti-diabetic, anti-septic, local anesthetic, anti-inflammatory, rubefacient (warming and soothing), carminative and anti-flatulent properties. Cinnamon has the highest anti-oxidant strength of all the food sources in nature. The total measured ORAC (Oxygen radical absorbance capacity) value for this novel spice is 267536 trolex equivalents (TE), which is many hundred times more than in chokeberry, apples, etc. The spice contains health benefiting essential oils such as eugenol, a phenylpropanoids class of chemical compound, which gives pleasant, sweet aromatic fragrances. Eugenol has got local anesthetic and antiseptic properties, hence; useful in dental and gum treatment procedures. Other important essential oils in cinnamon include ethyl cinnamate, linalool, cinnamaldehyde, beta-caryophyllene, and methyl chavicol. Cinnamaldehyde in cinnamon-sticks has been found to have anti-clotting action, prevents platelet clogging inside the blood vessels, and thereby helps prevent stroke, peripheral arterial and coronary artery diseases. The active principles in this spice may increase the motility of the intestinal tract as well as help aid in the digestion power by increasing gastro-intestinal enzyme secretions. This spicy bark is an excellent source of minerals like potassium, calcium, manganese, iron, zinc, and magnesium. Iron is required for cellular metabolism as a co-factor and in RBCs production. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps control heart rate and blood pressure. Manganese and copper are chiefly used by the body as co-factors for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. It also contains very good amounts of vitamin A, niacin, pantothenic acid, and pyridoxine. Furthermore, its also a very good source of flavonoid phenolic anti-oxidants such as carotenes, zea-xanthin, lutein and cryptoxanthin. whfoods/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=68
Posted on: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 08:59:32 +0000
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