Types of cinamon (karuvapatta) An Overview

Cassia is botanically-known as Cinnamomum cassia blume, Cinnamomum burmannii, occidentalis, cassia tora, cassia obtusifolia or Cinnamomum cassia, Cinnamomum Cassia (nees) ex blume, Cinnamomum aromaticum (nees) syn, Cinnamomum burmannii (C.G.Nees) blume and Cinnamumum loureini nees. Cassia is a member of the same family as Cinnamon referred to as “Chinese cinnamon”,”Java cinnamon”,”Padang cassia.” or “Saigon cinnamon,”. However cassia and cinnamon (dalchini) do not have in common is their coumarin content.

The term “cassia” never refers to Ceylon cinnamon. While most simply referred to as “cassia”. Although related, cinnamon and cassia are not obtained from the same plant. They should be treated as separate foods, both from a nutritional and a health standpoint. Scientifically, there is only one true cinnamon, which is most commonly called “Ceylon cinnamon,” and comes from the plant Cinnamomum zeylanicum. Cassia is often misnamed and mistaken as cinnamon and marketed to the consumers through retail outlets. Since the price of cassia is far below that of cinnamon, the traders misuse and encash the opportunity for their benefit by mis-declaration of the product.

Types of cinamon  Cinnamon summery 

• Ceylon cinnamon is often referred to as true cinnamon, which is found primarily in Sri Lanka and the southern regions of India.
• Cassia cinnamon typically comes from Indonesia and China and is distributed worldwide.

All these cinnamon varities available online www.natureloc.com Cinnamon Bark (Dalchini)- Nadan Karuvapatta|Cinnamon roll (Dalchini) – High Quality|Cinnamon Sticks (roll)| 

How can consumers distinguish between Ceylon cinnamon and cassia?

Consumers can distinguish between Ceylon cinnamon and cassia. In the case of cassia a relatively thick layer of the bark has been rolled into a stick however, the cross-section of a Ceylon cinnamon stick looks more like a cigarette – several thin layers of bark have been rolled up into a cinnamon stick resulting in a comparatively compact cross-section. The origin of the cinnamon is not normally declared on the packaging; sometimes false information has been supplied in the past. For more details please refer to section 2.0 difference between cassia and cinnamon of this document.

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