Troy McNaughtonChai Extras: Cinnamon!
May 22nd 2006 18:41
Chai just wouldn't be chai without cinnamon – one of nature’s few healthy ingredients that taste good enough to be unhealthy… Mmmm warm, sweet, and a little bit spicy – it’s the perfect partner!
Don't forget to read chai basics, how to chai like a pro.
BUY IT:
In powder or as “quills,” the curled bark that looks like a stick. Cinnamon is readily available in supermarkets or sometimes grocers. The best quality cinnamon has smooth, thin bark and a light yellowish-brown colour.
IN CHAI:
Add at least ¼ inch of a cinnamon stick per cup, or 1/3 teaspoon if you’re using it in powder form.
STORE IT:
Whole quills will keep their flavour indefinitely; powder will only keep for about 6 months. It’s a good idea to keep it in air-tight glass in a dark, cool place.
BUT WHY?
1. Cinnamon contains antioxidants.
2. It has antimicrobial properties and as such is used to preserve foods like meat. This may be why it’s good for diarrhoea. In oil form it is anti-fungal and anti-bacterial.
3. It’s apparently used to treat flatulence and nausea – it may have the same calming properties as peppermint.
4. Allegedly, the cinnaldehyde in cinnamon helps prevent unwanted clumping of blood platelets, so it has been rumoured to have been used as an anti-inflammatory.
5. Studies are being done into its ability to improve insulin activity, and hence its uses in treating Type 2 diabetes. Erm… if only it were that simple!
6. Like any smell, cinnamon helps learning and memory retention. Studies using participants who were chewing cinnamon gum scored higher on "tasks related to attentional processes, virtual recognition memory, working memory, and visual-motor response speed."
SILLY FACT:
Cinnamon was used in embalming – body cavities were filled with it as a preservative. Although in the ancient world it was more precious than gold (check out the bling the Egyptians bandied about), Nero bagsed a year’s supply of cinnamon for his embalming – greedy bastard!
Spouse #1: Honey, this coffee tastes like dirt.
Spouse #2: That's not surprising, dear, it was just ground this morning.
Don't forget to read chai basics, how to chai like a pro.
IN CHAI:
Add at least ¼ inch of a cinnamon stick per cup, or 1/3 teaspoon if you’re using it in powder form.
STORE IT:
Whole quills will keep their flavour indefinitely; powder will only keep for about 6 months. It’s a good idea to keep it in air-tight glass in a dark, cool place.
BUT WHY?
1. Cinnamon contains antioxidants.
2. It has antimicrobial properties and as such is used to preserve foods like meat. This may be why it’s good for diarrhoea. In oil form it is anti-fungal and anti-bacterial.
3. It’s apparently used to treat flatulence and nausea – it may have the same calming properties as peppermint.
5. Studies are being done into its ability to improve insulin activity, and hence its uses in treating Type 2 diabetes. Erm… if only it were that simple!
6. Like any smell, cinnamon helps learning and memory retention. Studies using participants who were chewing cinnamon gum scored higher on "tasks related to attentional processes, virtual recognition memory, working memory, and visual-motor response speed."
Cinnamon was used in embalming – body cavities were filled with it as a preservative. Although in the ancient world it was more precious than gold (check out the bling the Egyptians bandied about), Nero bagsed a year’s supply of cinnamon for his embalming – greedy bastard!
Spouse #1: Honey, this coffee tastes like dirt.
Spouse #2: That's not surprising, dear, it was just ground this morning.
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