cassia

origin: China

### new cassia chips - small bite-sized chunks of cassia for baking or cooking in tagines etc ###

Cassia is similar to, but hotter and sweeter than cinnamon. Often used in place of cinnamon, particularly in America and also widely used in savoury Chinese cooking

uses: Add cassia in place of cinnamon to cakes, biscuits or desserts. Add to a braised pork or duck dish with star anise and soy for a distinct Chinese flavour

recipe kits: malay beef rendang, ancho chilli brownies, thai massaman beef curry, moroccan tagine, thai yellow curry, chocolate cherry pots, tonka bean chocolate pots

Spice Notes

Origin: Central Asia
Ours come from: China

Cassia is a close relative to Cinnamon. It has a sweeter, hotter and more pungent flavour that

Cassia is similar to, but hotter and sweeter than cinnamon. Also known as saigon cinnamon, bakers cinnamon or rather unfortunately as bastard cinnamon, cassia is often used in place of cinnamon, particularly in America and there is often confusion about the difference between the two.

As a rule cassia lacks the subtleties of good cinnamon but in baking especially the extra sweetness and heat of cassia adds more than the equivalent amount of cinnamon.

Cassia accounts for nearly half of the cinnamomum crops world-wide. There are three main -varieties of Cassia-Cinnamon; Indonesian (Cinnamomum burmannii), which is quite savoury in flavour, Vietnamese (CInnamomum loureirii), which is particularly pungent, and the Chinese variety (Cinnamomum cassia) which is the sweetest of the varieties. It was also the first cinnamon species that made its way to Europe with Alexander the Great.


Good in baking, sweeter more distinctive, less subtle than cinnamon, can be overwhelming.
Cassia bark is also widely used in savoury Chinese cooking and is an important part of five spice powder.

Use the ground spices in place of cinnamon in baking. Not easy to grind at home to the fine powder that is needed when using in baking, so its best to buy it already ground (with the fresher the better).

We used cassia in our mulled wine spices over the winter instead of cinnamon to give it a stronger, slightly spicier flavour.
Indonesia produces 40% of the worlds cassia

Ras el hanout, tagine spice blends.
Essential to Five spice powder

Uses:

• Add cassia in place of cinnamon to cakes, biscuits or desserts.

• Add pieces of the coarse-cut cassia bark to a braised pork or duck dish with star anise and soy for a distinct Chinese flavour

• Cinnamon is preferred to cassia for more delicate deserts, but is good with apples, plums, dried figs and prunes.

• Chinese/ Malaysian/Vietnamese – add whole to stocks, soup broth, pho