Over the weekend, the Internet was choking on a piece of news reporting that a healthy 4 year old boy died after eating some cinnamon powder. The news was related to the trending current cinnamon challenge where kids record themselves while attempting to digest a tablespoon of cinnamon powder.
Existing EU regulations already limit how much cinnamon can be added to certain foods, as cinnamon contains a compound which is believed that can damage liver.
Is cinnamon really dangerous? This question we can not answer, but instead can introduce you to the origin and the history of the word which names one of the most common household spices.
Cinnamon is obtained from the inner bark of East Asian trees, dried in the sun, in rolls or quills, and used in both sweet and savoury foods.
The word came to the English language at the end of 14th century as a direct borrowing from the Old French cinnamone, which derived via Latin from the Greek Phoenician word kinnamomon akin to Hebrew qunnamon. The first time the word appeared in print, was back in 1430, in John Lydgate Bochas’ Fall of Princes.
Most cinnamon in international commerce is derived from related species, which are also referred to as cassia. And that name was first recorded in the English language much earlier, around the beginning of 11th century as a borrowing via Latin from Hebrew verb qatsa (strip off bark).
Early English also used the name canella, which is how the spice is still known in many European languages, and which derived from the Latin cannella (tube) to describe the form the spice takes when it dries. The first time canella was introduced to the English readers was back in 1230, in a sweet combination with ginger and liquorice.
Now that we have dealt with the origin of the word and its entrance into the English language, are left to wonder when and how did the spice itself make its way to Europe.
Cinnamon has been known from remote antiquity and prized among ancient nations as a gift for gods and monarchs. The spice was also mentioned in several books of the Bible, for instance as an ingredient in Moses’ anointing oils and as a token of friendship.
In Ancient Rome, with the cost of a month’s labour, one could only buy around 30 grams of the divine spice.
The Arabs transported cinnamon via land routes, resulting in a limited, expensive supply that made the use of cinnamon a status symbol in Europe.
For long times, Venetian traders held a monopoly on the spice trade in Europe, distributing cinnamon from Alexandria. But in 16th century Portuguese traders landed in Ceylon and protected it as their cinnamon monopoly for the next 100 years.
The British took control of Ceylon from the Dutch in 1796. But at that time the importance of the monopoly of Ceylon was already declining, as cultivation of the cinnamon tree spread to other areas.
Ceylon cinnamon, the true cinnamon, is still used in Britain, but American cinnamon is almost always from the related cassia tree of Southeast Asia and is stronger and sweeter.
