Editing Cinnamon (section)

== Cultivation ==
[[File:CinnamonLeaves.jpg|thumb|Leaves from a wild cinnamon tree]]
[[File:CINNAMON BUDS.jpg|thumb|175px|Cinnamon flowers]]

Cinnamon is an [[evergreen]] tree characterized by oval-shaped leaves, thick bark and a berry fruit. When harvesting the spice, the bark and leaves are the primary parts of the plant used.<ref name=HerbCosmetic/> However, in Japan, the more pungent roots are harvested in order to produce ''nikki'' (ニッキ) which is a product distinct from cinnamon (シナモン ''shinamon''). Cinnamon is cultivated by growing the tree for two years, then [[coppicing]] it, i.e., cutting the stems at ground level. The following year, about a dozen new shoots form from the roots, replacing those that were cut. A number of pests such as ''[[Colletotrichum gloeosporioides]]'', ''[[Diplodia]]'' species and ''[[Phytophthora cinnamomi]]'' (stripe canker) can affect the growing plants.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.plantvillage.org/en/topics/cinnamon/diseases_and_pests_description_uses_propagation|title=Cinnamon|publisher=Plant Village, Pennsylvania State University|date=2017|access-date=28 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301092652/https://www.plantvillage.org/en/topics/cinnamon/diseases_and_pests_description_uses_propagation|archive-date=1 March 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The stems must be processed immediately after harvesting while the inner bark is still wet. The cut stems are processed by scraping off the outer bark, then beating the branch evenly with a hammer to loosen the inner bark, which is then pried off in long rolls. Only {{cvt|0.5|mm|2}} of the inner bark is used;<ref>{{cite book|last1=Heath|first1=Henry B.|title=Source Book of Flavors|series=AVI Sourcebook and Handbook Series|date=September 1981|publisher=[[Springer Science & Business Media]]|isbn=9780870553707|page=233|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HWDg-rPQbqgC&q=0.5%20mm%20of%20the%20inner%20bark%20cinnamon&pg=PA233|access-date=9 January 2019|language=en|archive-date=26 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240526163407/https://books.google.com/books?id=HWDg-rPQbqgC&q=0.5%20mm%20of%20the%20inner%20bark%20cinnamon&pg=PA233#v=snippet&q=0.5%20mm%20of%20the%20inner%20bark%20cinnamon&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>{{efn|Cassia is thicker than Sri Lankan cinnamon.<ref>{{cite web|title=Learn How to Tell Ceylon Cinnamon Apart from Cassia Cinnamon|publisher=Sri Lanka Export Development Board|date=16 June 2017|url=https://www.srilankabusiness.com/blog/ceylon-cinnamon-vs-cassia.html#:~:text=As%20far%20as%20the%20texture,few%20layers%20when%20rolled%20up.|access-date=9 January 2025}}</ref>}} the outer, woody portion is discarded, leaving metre-long cinnamon strips that curl into rolls ("quills") on drying. The processed bark dries completely in four to six hours, provided it is in a well-ventilated and relatively warm environment. Once dry, the bark is cut into {{cvt|5|to|10|cm|0}} lengths for sale.

A less than ideal drying environment encourages the proliferation of pests in the bark, which may then require treatment by [[fumigation]] with [[sulphur dioxide]]. In 2011, the European Union approved the use of sulphur dioxide at a concentration of up to {{cvt|150|mg/kg}} for the treatment of ''C. verum'' bark harvested in Sri Lanka.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2010:279:0022:0031:EN:PDF|author=European Commission|author-link=European Commission|date=22 October 2010|title=Commission Directive 2010/69/EU of 22 October 2010|journal=[[Official Journal of the European Union]]|series=L (Legislation)|number=279|access-date=13 July 2020|archive-date=15 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715201808/https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2010:279:0022:0031:EN:PDF|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Species ===
A number of species are often sold as cinnamon:<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Chen|first1=P.|last2=Sun|first2=J.|last3=Ford|first3=P.|title=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|journal=[[Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry]]|volume=62|issue=12|pages=2516–2521|date=March 2014|pmid=24628250|pmc=3983393|doi=10.1021/jf405580c|bibcode=2014JAFC...62.2516C }}</ref>
* ''[[Cinnamomum cassia]]'' (cassia or Chinese cinnamon, the most common commercial type in the USA)
* ''[[Cinnamomum burmanni|C. burmanni]]'' (Korintje, Padang cassia, or Indonesian cinnamon)
* ''C. loureiroi'' ([[Saigon cinnamon]], Vietnamese cassia, or Vietnamese cinnamon)
* ''[[Cinnamomum verum|C. verum]]'' (Sri Lanka cinnamon, Ceylon cinnamon or Cinnamomum zeylanicum)
* ''[[Cinnamomum citriodorum|C. citriodorum]]'' (Malabar cinnamon)

Cassia induces a strong, spicy flavour and is often used in baking, especially associated with [[cinnamon roll]]s, as it handles baking conditions well. Among cassia, Chinese cinnamon is generally medium to light reddish-brown in colour, hard and woody in texture, and thicker ({{cvt|2|-|3|mm}} thick), as all of the layers of bark are used. Ceylon cinnamon, using only the thin inner bark, has a lighter brown colour and a finer, less dense, and more crumbly texture. It is subtle and more aromatic in flavour than cassia and it loses much of its flavour during cooking.

The barks of the species are easily distinguished when whole, both in macroscopic and microscopic characteristics. Ceylon cinnamon sticks (quills) have many thin layers and can easily be made into powder using a coffee or spice grinder, whereas cassia sticks are much harder. Indonesian cinnamon is often sold in neat quills made up of one thick layer, capable of damaging a spice or coffee grinder. Saigon cinnamon (''C. loureiroi'') and Chinese cinnamon (''C. cassia'') are always sold as broken pieces of thick bark, as the bark is not supple enough to be rolled into quills.

The powdered bark is harder to distinguish, but if it is treated with [[tincture of iodine]] (a [[Starch#Chemical tests|test for starch]]), little effect is visible with pure Ceylon cinnamon; however, when Chinese cinnamon is present, a deep-blue tint is produced.<ref name="EB1911"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/c/cassia31.html|title=A Modern Herbal – Cassia (Cinnamon)|last=Grieve|first=M.|website=botanical.com|access-date=17 April 2017|archive-date=15 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415012057/https://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/c/cassia31.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IrXszQ77xhYC&q=iodine+in+cassia&pg=PA390|title=The Elements of materia medica and therapeutics|volume=2|page=390|first1=Jonathan|last1=Pereira|year=1854|access-date=6 October 2020|archive-date=26 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240526163407/https://books.google.com/books?id=IrXszQ77xhYC&q=iodine+in+cassia&pg=PA390#v=snippet&q=iodine%20in%20cassia&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Grading===
{{See also|Food grading}}
The Sri Lankan grading system divides the cinnamon quills into four groups:
* Alba, less than {{cvt|6|mm}} in diameter
* Continental, less than {{cvt|16|mm}} in diameter
* Mexican, less than {{cvt|19|mm}} in diameter
* Hamburg, less than {{cvt|32|mm}} in diameter

These groups are further divided into specific grades. For example, Mexican is divided into M00000 special, M000000 and M0000, depending on quill diameter and number of quills per kilogram. Any pieces of bark less than {{cvt|106|mm}} long are categorized as quillings. Featherings are the inner bark of twigs and twisted shoots. Chips are trimmings of quills, outer and inner bark that cannot be separated, or the bark of small twigs.{{cn|date=May 2023}}