After reading so many foreign food films, I have always felt that cinnamon and cassia bark are indeed like. Then I found an article on the Internet and found that the distinction is still relatively clear. Today I finally figured out the difference between them!

Plant families and developmental evolution Cinnamon trees are evergreen plants of the family Eucalyptaceae. The wild cinnamon trees are more than 10 meters high. Cinnamon is made of fresh, high-quality bark, peeled off, and the outer softwood is removed. It is dried for 3 to 4 days. The cinnamon obtained by peeling off near the center of the trunk is the top grade.

cassia bark is native to the Jamaican archipelago, and belongs to the genus Eucalyptaceae, which is about 3 meters tall. Its bark is thicker and thicker than cinnamon, and its color is deep. Although cinnamon and cassia bark have similar aromas, cassia bark has a bitter taste than cinnamon in sweetness. . China, Myanmar, Vietnam and other places all produce cassia bark,

  • The main ingredient of cinnamon

There are three main varieties of cinnamon planted in China: Imperata cylindrica (black oil laurel), Red bay cinnamon (Buttergrass) and Shapigui. The quality of imperata cinnamon is good and the oil content is high.

The main component of cinnamon is cinnamaldehyde, followed by cinnamyl acetate, cinnamic acid and so on.

Different parts of cinnamon have different essential oil components, such as Cinnamon cinnamon bark containing 80% cinnamaldehyde and 8%-15% of eugenol, while cinnamon leaves contain 70% to 90% of eugenol, cinnamaldehyde is only 0 -4%; only 50% camphor is contained in the roots, but not eugenol and cinnamaldehyde.

  • Application

It has flakes and powder when used. Cinnamon has a long history as a traditional Chinese medicine and important seasonings. The book of traditional Chinese medicine records it as follows: “Bumingmenghuo”, “pinggantong” four veins, “guiding” the fire to returning to the yuan, and having the effect of strengthening the heart, strengthening the stomach, and dispelling wind and evil.

It  is an essential raw material in the production of Chinese allspice, Indian curry powder and other compound seasonings. It is mainly used to remove clams, marinated pickles, stews, and soups. Some of them make cinamon sheets into exquisite spoons, which are used to hold coffee and black tea. The sweet aromas are incorporated into them.

Its powder is not only convenient to use but also used in various desserts to make the dessert sweeter and more mellow. Cinnamon resin oils are also widely used in food essences, cigarettes and fragrances

  • Differences

  1. Plant source: Both plants are Polygonaceae. It is a dry bark of cinnamon. It is the bark of Tianzhugui, Yinxiang, Xieguixiang, Chuangui.

  2. Appearance traits: Both are trough or roll shape.

    Cinnamon: 0.2~0.8cm thick. The outer surface is gray-brown, slightly rough, and some have greyish-white markings. The inner surface is reddish-brown, slightly flat, with fine vertical stripes and marked with oil marks. Hard and brittle, easy to break, cross-section is not flat, the outer layer is brown and rough, the inner layer is red-brown and oily, there is a yellow-brown line between two layers. Thick and fleshy, purple cross-section, oily, strong fragrant, sweet and slightly spicy, chewing no residue is better.

    Cassia Bark: 0.1~0.2cm thick. The outer surface is dark brown to dark brown with grayish white spots, cork, or scaly detachment and a mottled pit; the inner surface is reddish-brown to black-brown, flat, with very fine vertical stripes and no oil marks. Hard and brittle, easy to break, flat section, gray outer layer, inner red brown, yellow brown ray between the two layers. The gas is fragrant and cool, like camphor and slightly sweet. It is better to have thin skin and strong aroma.

  3. Ingredients: Both contain volatile oil (main component is cinnamon aldehyde), cinnamon content of about 1% ~ 2%; Cassia Bark content of about 1%, the latter and contains eugenol, etc.

  4. Function and Indications: 

Cinnamon and cassia bark are the same. The general cassia bark is mainly used as medicine; the cassia bark is mainly composed of dishes. When using, if you see the above-mentioned cinnamon function, the indictor, you can add cassia bark to the dishes (but not as good as the cassia bark soup, taste), but “spring and summer as a banned drug”; if only for food cassia bark, should choose cassia bark, which is generally sold in large Chinese medicine shops and Chinese medicine hospitals, is inexpensive.

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