Well, when you are a columnist and need to fill space....any slant on an old story will do.
I always knew that those curled sticks of stuff aren't as "good" as what they put into the ground stuff....besides they may hide a cockroach!
But call me a Philistine...I much prefer the cassia from Vietman.
Linda C

I think the majority of people in the US don't realize that the cinnamon they buy in the grocery store isn't true cinnamon. I only found out about the Ceylon cinnamon when I started buying from Penzeys. Now I much prefer it. I like the hint of citrus in the flavor and that it doesn't have the bitterness that Cassia does.

We also have another reason that we use it. A friend of our son is allergic to Cassia but not to true Cinnamon. "Cinnamon" allergy isn't very common, but I've read that when it occurs it usually is an allergy to Cassia, not true Cinnamon. So when I learned about Cassia and Ceylon cinnamon, the friend came over equipped with his medication just in case and tried something made with Ceylon cinnamon.

I suppose they're slightly different, and I use the Saigon stuff in MY cinnamon toast and like it just fine. (They allegedly have different medicinal properties if you're trying it for blood sugar control, though.)

Cloudswift, how'd he do with the ceylon?

I love the Vietnamese cassia too, Linda. I bought it at Penzy's. The label says to adust the recipe to account for the strong flavor. Do you bother doing that? Sometimes, the math is a bit tricky.

Sally

Sally, He is fine with the Ceylon cinnamon. He eats things we make with it all the time with no reactions. It is great that he can now enjoy the recipes and we don't have to leave cinnamon out for him. I gave him a bottle of Ceylon cinnamon for his birthday.

I don't ever measure cinnamon...it comes with a shaker and I figure it's there for a reason, so I just shake it in!
Linda C

Heresy as it may be, but I recently bought a brand at TJ Maxx--Mustapha's Sri Lankan Cinnamon--which I like as much as Penzey's. I often buy jams and weird specialty condiments there, but I'd shied away from spices. I see that a jar is $6 online, but I paid about half that.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mustapha's

Chances are, I prefer the Cassia too, because I do like strong cinnamon. The bottle I bought at Costco is Vietnamese/Saigon - $2.99 for 11 ounces. I put about a teaspoon of it on my oatmeal every morning; hopefully, that's not too much coumarin every day! Still, I'd like to taste the other, just for comparison. Maybe I'll swing by TJMaxx or World Market the next time I'm over that way and see what they have.

Yes, I know it's not "really" cinnamon, but I still like Penzey's Vietnamese Cassia best. They say to adjust for the stronger flavor but I don't, I just dump it in, whatever the recipe calls for.

I tried the Ceylon and didn't like it as well, so I'm sticking with the "fake" cassia.

Annie

Well, good. I've been trying to adjust for the stronger flavor, but it's a bother to have to make the adjustments all the time. Although, DH made some apple pie, and of course didn't bother with adjusting the amount, cause he never measures anything anyway, and the pie came out too cinnamony, even for him. He'll adjust next time.

As for TJ's vs. Penzey's, it's a 10 mile drive to Penzey's from my house, and a 1000 mile drive to TJ's, so that's why I don't shop at TJ's. lol.

Sally

Is Cassia the one which lowers blood sugar, or does only "real cinnamon" do that? I ordered Ceylon from Penzey's and don't care for it very much.

Petra, I think both/either will help regulate blood sugar, lowering blood glucose and creating a stabilizing effect, helping type 2 diabetics control those peaks and swings that are so dangerous and difficult.

According to the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, there are two main varieties of cinnamon, that being
Cinnamomum cassia and Cinnamomum zeylanicum. C. zeylanicum is known as the Âtrue cinnamonÂ. It is
originally from Ceylon or Sri Lanka. It is lighter in color, sweeter, and has a more delicate flavor than C. cassia. C. cassia has a stronger taste, is darker, and is the predominate form found in the US. The active ingredient in both varieties is cinnamaldehyde and so both types work for regulation of blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

How about that, one more thing that I love and it's good for me, how much better could it be? First I found out that tea and coffee were good for me, then dark chocolate. Now cinnamon, yum, life is good!

Annie

Annie, thanks for the info. I really tried to like the Ceylon, but it has such a strange aftertaste.
Darn, I wish milk chocolate was as healthy as dark. :o)

Annie.....wine!! Red wine!!
Now if I could find some health benefits from Scotch...other than making me fat happy and content....
LOL!
Linda C

Here ya go, LindaC:

"According to new research in a joint Scottish-Danish study, drinking Scotch whisky raises the body's antioxidants which protect against coronary heart disease."

Here is a link that might be useful: Scotch Whiskey is Heart-Healthy

I use to buy the Ceylon all the time until I tried Penzeys Extra Fancy Vietnamese Cassia. I won't go back. I think it makes everything taste better, especially apple pie. DH raved about the last one I made with it.
Clare

Cassia has a chemical called coumarin which could be toxic.

Ceylon Cinnamon has 1250 times less coumarin than Cassia.

The below link will help you identify Ceylon Cinnamon from Cassia.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to identify Ceylon Cinnamon from Cassia

Swish a shot of scotch around yer teeth to help prevent cavities.

Thar... done did my good deed fer the day!

I'm probably getting the fake cinnamon because my last jar was cheapo stuff.

; )
lyra

So glad I stumbled upon this thread! Something I love to do with Cinnamon sticks (Cassia?) is to but one in a glass gallon jug, and fill the jug with hot water. As the water cools, it is infused with Cinnamon flavor. We generally keep a gallon in the fridge. Breaks the monotony of plain Water, and tastes sweet, but contains no sugar. Generally, I can re-use the sticks a time or two.

I tried to do some research on fake and real cinnamon before I bought it over the internet. I ordered the ceylon cinnamon on the website http://www.myspicesage.com

They sent me the cassia and labeled it ceylon..
I had never seen real cinnamon so I tried to convince myself it could be the real stuff, but in my heart I knew something wasn't right about it. It looked, felt and smelt the discription of cassia, I could see it wasn't anything like the real stuff I had read and seen pictures about. It was darkbrown, hard as a rock and I couldn't even break a stick, when I grind it, it almost burned my grinder out. I didn't want to believe that I got ripped off, their website claims it was the real cinnamon ceylon and even labeled it ceylon. I even started questioning myself.

I decided to order ceylon from another site. http://www.druera.com, just to see if they sent me the same thing or if it would be different, their web site described the difference. When I got it and compared the two, It was definitely different and I realized I got rippoff by http://www.myspicesage.com

Ceylon Cinnamon is more expensive and I paid ceylon prices for the cassia at the myspicesage.com

I thank all the people and websites that are honest and help others to know the difference between CASSIA and REAL CEYLON Cinnamon!

I will NEVER NEVER ORDER FROM MYSPICESAGE.COM EVER AGAIN!
SO BEWARE OF WEBSITES THAT LIE AND RIP PEOPLE OFF! I wish I had read something like this about that site before ordering from them.!