True Cinnamon ( Dalchini)

Description

Cinnamon is one of the world's most prized spice being used in everyday's life.

When a cinnamon tree is around two years old, cultivators coppice, or cut back, the plant to the size of a stump and cover it with soil. This technique causes it to grow like a bush, with new shoots emerging out of the sides by the following year. It's these shoots that are used to make cinnamon. Once cut, the shoots are stripped of their bark and the peels are set out to dry in the sun. As this happens, the bark naturally curls into quills.

Once dried, the quills can be cut into sticks and packaged according to a set of shared qualities. The Sri Lankan grading system, for example, divides the quills into four sizes: Alba, which is 0.2 inches (6 millimeters) or less in diameter; Continental, which is around 0.6 inches (16 millimeters); Mexican, which is nearly 0.8 inches (19 millimeters); and Hamburg, which is about 1.3 inches (32 millimeters).

In addition to being used for baking, cinnamon flavoring and essential oils often end up in products such as cinnamon supplements and cinnamon-scented bath products, too. 

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