Frankincense, Myrrh, and Saffron are all good guesses. But they’re not correct. Try good old Cinnamon. It was one of the rarest spices in the ancient world.

 

What is it?

Cinnamon originated in the ancient country of Ceylon—now known as Sri Lanka—an island located in the Indian Ocean. Cinnamon-producing trees grow naturally in Southeast Asia, but other places, like South America and the Caribbean, also grow them.

The spice comes from the inner bark of several evergreen tree species in the genus Cinnamomum. When the bark is shaved off and dries, it naturally curls.

Cinnamon has a spicy but uniquely sweet flavor and comes whole or ground. Ceylon cinnamon and cassia cinnamon are the two main types of cinnamon. Sri Lanka’s cinnamon, known as “Ceylon cinnamon,” is considered “true cinnamon.” However, most of the cinnamon found around the world comes from four other species referred to as “cassia” cinnamon.

Not all types of cinnamon are the same. Ceylon cinnamon is milder with a more delicate taste than cassia cinnamons, which can be spicy, bitter, and burning. In other words, cassia is big, bold, and wants to be the center of attention. (Think ‘red-hot’ candies.) While Ceylon is subtle, sweet, and mildly aromatic. It doesn’t want to compete with lots of other flavors, preferring, instead, to work behind the scenes, daintily hinting at what it offers.

Did You Know…

• Four countries (China, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka) produce 98% of the world’s cinnamon. In 2021, that was a total of 226,753 tons.
• Sri Lanka produces 80-90% of the world’s cinnamon.
• A cinnamon tree can grow as tall as 50-60 feet.
• Cinnamon sticks are also known as quills because they’re thin and straight.

 

The History

Cinnamon is one of the oldest spices in the world, and possibly the first to be used and named. Man’s knowledge of it goes back to 2800-3000 BC. Ancient nations prized it, but its rarity and its cost made it a gift fit only for kings and gods.

Over time, spice traders carried cinnamon further from the Far East, but the secrecy of where it actually came from lasted through the Middle Ages. It ended when Portuguese explorers discovered Ceylon. They conquered the country and for over a century (1505-1658) controlled the cinnamon trade. But other European powers wanted it and the symbol of wealth it represented. These countries fought each other to gain control of Ceylon and its prized spice. First the Dutch defeated the Portuguese in the mid-1600s, then the British defeated the Dutch in 1796.

Did You Know…

• Egypt began to import cinnamon as early as 2000 BC. They used it in religious rites and for embalming.
• Ancient Greeks used cinnamon in perfumes, medicines, and ointments.
• Cinnamon is mentioned several times in the bible, including Exodus 30:23 and Proverbs 7:17. According to the Old Testament, Moses added cinnamon to holy oil for anointing.
• Roman Emperor Nero supposedly showed his remorse for killing his wife by burning a year’s worth of Rome’s cinnamon supply at her funeral in 65 AD.
• In first-century Rome, the cost of cinnamon was at least fifteen times more than silver. In medieval Europe, it was often more expensive than silver and gold.
• The word cinnamon first appeared in the English language in the fifteenth century. It derived—over time and through other languages—from a Hebrew word which meant to “strip off bark.”
• Cinnamon’s price plateaued in the late 1700s. A market saturated with cinnamon meant it was no longer a luxury item.

 

The Secret

According to both Ancient Greek historian, Herodotus (c. 484 – c.425 BC), and Ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle (384 – 322 BC), Arabia’s giant “cinnamon birds” constructed their nests with cinnamon sticks they’d collected in an unknown land where cinnamon trees grew.

Herodotus reported that the birds built their nests attached to sheer cliffs. To get the sticks, Arabians would trick the birds. They killed oxen or other large animals and cut them into large pieces they left near the birds’ nests. When the birds collected the chunks, the weight tore their nests away from the cliff. The cinnamon sticks fell to the ground and were easily collected.

Aristotle, on the other hand, believed these cinnamon birds built their nests in the tops of high trees. The Arabians collected the cinnamon sticks by simply attaching lead weights to their arrow tips and toppling the nests out of the trees.

More than three hundred years later, Pliny the Elder (23 or 24 – 79 AD), Roman author and naturalist, claimed Herodotus, Aristotle, and others were wrong. He believed traders had invented these tales to raise the price of cinnamon.

Over a thousand years after Pliny, the mystery of where cinnamon came from remained. In 1248, a new story arrived when Sieur de Joinville traveled with the King of France to Egypt during the Seventh Crusade. There de Joinville was told cinnamon was fished out of the Nile River at the edge of the world (Ethiopia) with nets. He believed it!

Did You Know…

• Herodotus also wrote that cinnamon trees grew in a shallow lake and were guarded by winged serpents or bat-like creatures.
• The stories of cinnamon birds remained current in Byzantium (modern Turkey) until at least 1310.
• Christopher Columbus claimed he found cinnamon in the “New World.” He lied.

 

Conclusion

Like the spice itself, the history of cinnamon is anything but dull.