CINNAMON

The history of cinnamon, which is two main types, Chinese Cinnamon and Ceylon Cinnamon, goes back to the years before Christ. Cinnamon first appears in Chinese inscriptions from BC 2800s.

In the B.C. 200's, Egyptians used cinnamon as an odor suppressant, in other words, as a kind of perfume during their mummification process. In the Old Testament, it is mentioned that cinnamon is added to the sacred oil used in baptism ceremonies.

Considered as a status symbol in medieval Europe, cinnamon was impossible to reach by the public and only the court and wealthy class could use it.  Therefore, Arab traders kept the source of cinnamon as a secret until the 16th century, in order to protect the exorbitant prices they had cut for cinnamon and to keep the monopoly of this profitable income. In order to keep this secret, they created various stories about the origin of cinnamon. In order to keep this secret, they created various stories about the origin of cinnamon.

Even; a very famous name who joined this caravan of legends, gossip and stories was the Greek historian Herodotus. Herodotus said that the gigantic birds carried cinnamon sticks to their nests on the top of very high mountains. According to another story, cinnamon was protected by deadly snakes in deep canyons. According to the Roman philosopher Gaius Pliny Secundus, cinnamon could only be brought from Ethiopia by a single man on a raft without a sail or oars.

With these mysterious stories, when the demand for cinnamon increased so much, European explorers vowed to find the source of cinnamon. Columbus claimed in a letter to Queen Isabella that he had found the cinnamon tree in the New World. Spanish explorer Gonzalo Pizzaro also believed that he would find the cinnamon in America so he wanted to cross the Amazon and reach "Pais de la Canela", the "Land of Cinnamon". On the other hand, it was Portuguese merchants who discovered cinnamon in Ceylon in 1518.

Cinnamon, which spread from the Far East to the world, was called Dar-ı Çin, which means the Chinese Tree in Persian, and then this word turned into "tarçın" (cinnamon) in Turkish.

There are tannin and 1-2% essential oil in the composition of both Ceylon cinnamon and Chinese Cinnamon. In addition to its use in meals as an fragrance and flavoring spice, the benefits of cinnamon are also used in the health sector.

Cinnamon has anti-constipation, gas-expelling and antiseptic properties. Other benefits of cinnamon are; It is used to relieve psychological troubles, to fight against flu, cold, anorexia and indigestion, stomach laziness, low body resistance and intestinal worms.

Ibn-i Sina, one of the most famous physicians and thinkers of Islam, mentioned the opening, warming and corrective effect of cinnamon in her medical book and said that it removes and heals bad spirits.