Cinnamon - more than just a spice!

If agarwood is likened to a precious tree, the hardest to find in a sacred forest, cinnamon is a gentle fairy who can live in many different places, withstands harsh weather, and pleases people around the world.

Since ancient times, cinnamon has been one of the four precious and four treasures of oriental medicine: ginseng, velvet, cinnamon, and auxiliary. Nowadays, cinnamon and cinnamon powder are used more and more, not only in traditional medicine but also as ingredients and indispensable spices in many attractive dishes.

The scent of mountains and forests

Cinnamon is grown in many parts of the world. In Vietnam, cinnamon is divided into many types and grown in all regions of the country. The most popular varieties are cinnamon, cinnamon, which grows wild and grows a lot along the Truong Son mountain range from the north of Thanh Hoa, Nghe Tinh to Quang Nam and Quang Ngai. An average cinnamon tree gives 30kg of cinnamon powder and 10g of regular cinnamon. Cinnamon peeling is carried out in April-May and September-October every year, at this time cinnamon has a lot of resin and is easy to peel. Once picked, cinnamon cannot be used immediately, but must be incubated to have a characteristic aroma and pungent taste. The first step is to soak the cinnamon for a day in cold water, then wash it, let it dry, put it in a dry banana leaf, tie it up, and then put it in a tightly covered jar. In the summer, about 3 days, in the cold season 7 days, when you see the steam rising, the cinnamon has just ripened. The last step before tasting is to take out the cinnamon, soak it in water for 1 hour, and then press it between the bamboo shoots to dry. To preserve, it is necessary to wrap cinnamon in a cloth, put it in the lower zinc tube with honey to keep the moisture, so the cinnamon does not dry out and preserve the flavor.

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Multi-use cinnamon

Containing many vitamins and minerals such as potassium, calcium, iron, manganese, zinc, magnesium, vitamin A, niacin ..., in addition to being rich in fiber and antioxidants, since ancient times, cinnamon has been used as a valuable medicine in winter. y. Cinnamon bark has been crushed into powder or grinded little by little, put in boiled water, let it cool to drink, it will help cure digestive and respiratory diseases, stimulate blood circulation, blood circulation. When the weather is cold, drinking hot cinnamon water also helps to warm the body and increase resistance in the freezing cold.

In culinary, cinnamon is also used a lot for sweet and savory dishes. The aromatic, spicy and sweet taste of cinnamon helps to reduce the fishy smell, causing fish and meat, making the dish more attractive, stimulating the digestive system. For young children, dishes smelling from cinnamon are also highly recommended for them to get used to spices. When cooking soup, chicken porridge, you can add a small piece of cinnamon or cinnamon powder to change the baby's taste and help children prevent diarrhea and fight bacteria.

Cinnamon is also the main ingredient for making cakes. In Japan, during Tet, the festival cannot be complete without Yatshuhashi cake with the main ingredients being glutinous rice flour, red beans, cinnamon powder, brown beans, soybeans. Duoc is considered one of America's favorite dishes, the apple pie with its crispy crust, combined with the soft apple filling and the fragrant cinnamon flavor also makes those who are "sweet" infatuated.

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It would be remiss not to mention the use of cinnamon in beauty. Cinnamon powder can help reduce acne. A little honey mixed with cinnamon powder placed on the acne spot for 15-20 minutes, then rinsed with warm water, doing it many times will help improve acne. Or apply a little cinnamon powder on wet lips, massage for a few minutes and then rinse with clean water, lips will keep soft and smooth. Hair needs a little more sophisticated care, incubating hair for 4-5 hours with a mixture of honey, water, olive oil and cinnamon powder continuously for about 1 week will see shiny, healthier hair.

And even if you don't know that cinnamon has many uses, simply sipping a fragrant piece of cinnamon will leave you with that spicy scent. Is that also the special attraction of cinnamon, so that amidst so many precious ingredients, cinnamon is still popular.

According to Nguyen Man (Vietnamese delicacies)