Cinnamon buttons (cassia)

Cinnamon buds (kwei tze in Chinese) are the receptacles of the cassia tree's budding seeds. The buds are used both whole and ground in savory and sweet dishes. They are very aromatic, with no bitter notes.

The Chinese cassia (Cinnamomum aromaticum sinens) is a cinnamon variety. It's the only species whose flower heads are widely harvested and traded as a spice. The buds resemble cloves, but appearances can be deceiving.

The buds are the fleshy receptacles (receptacles) that enclose the developing seed, much like an acorn. These buds are picked shortly after flowering. When dried properly, the receptacle turns deep brown, contrasting with the light brown, sometimes barely visible, berry. This color contrast is how you recognize fresh cassia buds. Because the seeds shrink during drying, the berries sometimes drop out. If cassia buds are stored for too long, they turn pale brown and also lose their aroma.

The buds are less than 1 cm long and half a centimeter in diameter. While less aromatic than the dried bark, they are more vibrant and lack the bitter notes of cassia.

Cassia buds have a long history of use in Chinese medicine. They were first described around 2700 BC in the Chinese herbal book Shen-nung. The Romans used them, thanks to Arab and Phoenician traders who brought them from India. They regularly sailed to the Orient in their ships thanks to their knowledge of the winds, a skill the Romans lacked.

This spice usually originates from China or Myanmar (formerly Burma), but is increasingly being harvested in other cinnamon-producing countries as well. Our buds come from southern China (Guandong).

Smell and taste

The main fragrance substance in cinnamon buds is the rather sweet cinnamyl acetate, which smells of flowers (roses) as well as cinnamon. The buds contain very little cinnamaldehyde, the main aroma and flavor component in cinnamon and cassia bark. Compared to cassia bark, the buds also contain relatively little coumarin, making them less bitter than the bark.

Usage

The buds are used finely ground in desserts, or whole in curries and pulaos, in marmalade and mulled wine. The wine drink Hippocras dates back to the Middle Ages and contains ginger, grains of paradise and cinnamon buds.

In Germany, people like to use these buttons in winter marmalades and compotes, such as blood orange marmalade or jelly.

Recipes):

Features:

• 100% dried flower bases of the Cinnamomum aromaticum
• origin: China, Guandong

Assortment

• available in glass (45 grams) and stand-up pouch (no test tubes)
• larger quantities on request

Gift wrapping

• The jar is available in a tasteful gift packaging, consisting of a cube box filled with black tissue paper.
• For an overview of our gift packaging, please refer to the gift packaging section.

Health

Cinnamon from cassia plants contains a lot of coumarin, the sweet flavor, but in larger quantities also a slightly bitter undertone of this cinnamon variety. True cinnamon (Ceylon cinnamon) contains hardly any coumarin. These cinnamon buds from the cassia plant do contain it, but the coumarin content is lower than in the cassia bark.

Coumarin is an aromatic substance that inhibits blood clotting and can, in rare cases, cause liver damage. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has prohibited the addition of synthetically produced coumarin to foods and established a maximum tolerable daily intake (TDI) of 0.1 mg per kilogram of body weight per day for natural coumarin.

Cinnamon buds contain almost 20 times as much coumarin as Ceylon cinnamon (0.31 versus 0.017 grams per 100 grams).

Save:

• store your cinnamon sticks in a closed container
• preferably store in a dark, dry and cool place
• best before August 2027 (08-2027)
• This expiration date is an indication

Batch number

The batch number helps us track which batch an item originates from. It's listed on the packing slip and invoice.