History Bites: Cinnamon

Remember that crazy emperor Nero and his mad use of saffron? Well his extravagance shows up again in the history of cinnamon. In a fit of remorse, he burned a year’s supply of this expensive, coveted spice at the funeral of his wife Poppaea Sabina, whom he murdered in 65 A.D.

Now, fast forward to your 2008 Canadian kitchen where you are using cinnamon for making mulled wine, marinades and all sorts of dishes, right? Or at least, that’s what you think. But chances are you are not using the same spice that Nero burned in dramatic excess. You are probably using cassia, because that’s what’s sold as cinnamon here.

There are two interesting things you should know about cassia.

Firstly, it’s not real cinnamon. Real cinnamon is an inner layer of bark with a soft, crumbly texture. It has many thin layers like the French dessert millefeuille. In contrast, cassia has a stronger flavour and is hard with just one layer of bark, as in the illustration above and this photo from Wikipedia. Europe has a law to truthfully distinguish real cinnamon from cassia, but unfortunately Canada hasn’t yet followed suit!

And that’s a concern, because the second thing you should know about cassia is it contains a plant chemical called coumarin that in high concentrations can cause liver and kidney damage. I don’t know how much is too much, but a moderate intake of cassis is probably still okay. NPR radio’s exposé on coumarin and the case of the German Christmas cookie follows up on this.

Real cinnamon, Cinnamomum verum, is native to Sri Lanka, South India and Indonesia. Its other Latin name, Cinnamomum zeylanicum is derived from Sri Lanka’s former name, Ceylon. It’s from the laurel family, the same family that bay leaves come from.

Real cinnamon was a gift fit for kings. In ancient times, finding it was a big motive for exploration. As early as 2000 B.C., it was imported to Egypt from China. Then Indonesians imported it on rafts on a cinnamon route from the Spice Islands (aka the Maluku Islands) to East Africa, where local traders brought it to the Romans who used it as incense and on funeral pyres. In the Middle Ages, the Venetians controlled trade of cinnamon and other spices to Europe.

The next time you use cinnamon, I hope its age-old history and worth will feed your imagination of eras long passed. And if you ever find a commercial source of real cinnamon, please let us know by leaving a comment!

History Bites: Saffron

Mass theft and piracy. Outrageous displays of extravagance! There are few bad behaviours that saffron hasn't inspired throughout its 3,000-year history.

Yes, if ever there was a spice that sank a thousand ships, it would be saffron, the dried stigmas of the flowering crocus plant, Crocus savitus.

Cleopatra scented her baths with saffron, thinking it enhanced sexual pleasure. The emperor Nero, in one of his many mad displays of decadence, ordered that the streets of Rome be strewn with it when he entered the city. Saffron has also been long renowned for its medicinal properties. When one shipment worth at least $500,000 in today's dollars was stolen from Rhodes during the plague years, the theft caused a 14-week war!

Saffron is still the world's most expensive spice. Its collection has so far defied automation, so it's still hand-picked from ancient fields in Spain where the best saffron is said to come, and Iran, Greece, Italy and other parts of the Mediterranean. Considering that one flower yields only three threads, and that about 500 threads make up a gram, it's no wonder that half a gram costs about two dollars.

Most dishes that use saffron only call for a pinch, about 20 threads. It's excellent in rice dishes, such as paella or seafood risotto. I also make a shrimp linguine that calls for it. (I'll post links to these recipes soon.)

The best way to prepare saffron is to soak it in liquid — stock, wine or water — for about five to 10 minutes. It will turn bright yellow-orange, at which point you can add the infusion to your dish.

Just don't use too much! Saffron is dangerous in large amounts — five to 10 grams can be toxic to the central nervous system, and amounts beyond that are lethal. Thankfully, its shocking cost prohibits most people from tossing in huge amounts during cooking.

Lastly, beware of cheap imitations! Safflower, or American saffron, for example, comes from an aster family native to the Mediterranean. It looks like real saffron and may cost as much, but it's flavourless, scentless and used mainly as a dye.

History Bites: Salt

Salt on Flickr by beFOODled.

I read the other day that the word salt has its roots in Ancient Rome. Roman soldiers were sometimes paid in salt, hence the word salary, from the Roman salaria. The word salt is also derived from this term. Salt was one of the hot commodities of the ancient world because it was used as a preservative, and in those days food often travelled for a long long time over large distances. It's difficult to imagine being paid a mere seasoning for all my hard work. As much as I love the stuff, let's face it: salt is cheap and omnipresent, as demonstrated by people like me who spill it without a second thought. But if the Ancient Romans could see us tossing it around liberally as we do today, I wonder what they would think...