cinnamon

The inner bark of a tropical evergreen tree, harvested during the rainy season when piable and then dried into curls sold as sticks or ground into a powder.With its warm, sweet flavor, cinnamon is one of the biggest workhorses on the spice shelf. Cooks often use it to flavor baked goods and drinks, but cinnamon also works wonders in stews and sauces. The best cinnamon is Ceylon cinnamon = canela = Sri Lanka cinnamon = true cinnamon. Indonesian cinnamon has a similar taste, but larger quills. Much of the cinnamon sold in the United States is cassia cinnamon, which isn't as well regarded.

Ingredient

Season: available year-round

Matches well with: apples, berries, chicken, chocolate, coffee, custards, fruit, lamb, oranges, pears, rice

Substitutions: One cinnamon stick yields 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon; nutmeg or allspice