Cinnamon

We all know how delicious cinnamon is in desserts like apple pies, and my first real cinnamon experience, or at least one that I remember most in my teens, was in a sweet pie filling, not made with apple, but with pigeons, almonds, eggs, and sugar covered in filo pastry dough called pastilla. To this day, it’s one of those dishes that remains one of my favorites.

Kitchen Creativity

Cinnamon does not taste sweet but enhances the perception of sweetness in other ingredients, making it perfect for sweet bakes and desserts and drawing out sweet notes in savory dishes.

Releasing the Flavors

The taste components in cinnamon need time to escape from its woody matrix, and the critical flavor compound, cinnamaldehyde, does not dissolve in water. Add early in cooking to give flavors time to permeate the dish. Fat and alcohol will help disperse cinnamaldehyde. Steam is also a carrier of cinnamaldehyde, so boil vigorously with the lid on the pan.

Suggested Uses

• Fruit - Mix cinnamon powder with sugar and scatter over peaches, figs, apples, and pears before baking or grilling, or add to the batter for a plum or cherry clafoutis.

• Sweet bakes - Use ground cinnamon to flavor cookies and pastries.

• Tomatoes and eggplants - A cinnamon-infused tomato sauce makes an excellent topping for baked eggplants.

• Red meats - Add a stick or two of cinnamon to lamb tagine, beef stew, or a fragrant Vietnamese beef pho needle soup stock.

• Pigeon - Cinnamon is the main flavoring in Moroccan pastilla pigeon pie with filo pastry, one of my all-time favorites I was introduced to while living in Morocco.

Health Benefits

Cinnamon plays a role in blood sugar balance and enhances metabolic health.

Fun Fact

Used in perfumery and as a natural antiseptic.