Is cinnamon sweet?
I've heard that even though cinnamon is widely used in several types of sweet food-products, it's actually not a sweet spice.
Is is true? If yes, why is it used in sweet food-products? Either way, which non-sweet foods use it?
Best Answer
Cinnamon itself is the bark of a particular tree, and is not terribly sweet in any objective sense. I cannot think of a single spice that is in itself sweet. Spices are generally aromatic, pungent, or hot, but not sweet. Even vanilla is in fact fairly bitter on its own, as is chocolate before sugar is added.
Cinnamon is a warm spice that many cultures feel compliment many sweet dishes, and many people find it a pleasant taste so it is widely used.
There is no reasonable way to give an enumeration of non-sweet foods that use it. While in Western European derived cultures, its use in savory dishes is fairly unusual, there is a large tradition of using it in savory dishes in South America, India and Pakistan, the Middle East, North Africa and so on.
One example in North America would be Cincinnati style chili, which is characterize by its sweet spices, often including cinchona and chocolate.
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Quick Answer about "Is cinnamon sweet?"
It is a sweet pungent (sharp flavoured) spice derived from the dried inner bark of a bushy evergreen cinnamon tree. Cinnamon word is derived from a Greek word meaning “sweet wood”. Its sweetness is due to the presence of its essential oil called cinnamaldehyde.Is cinnamon sweet or savory?
One of the most popular spices worldwide, cinnamon lends its distinctive spicy-sweet kick to all manner of sweet and savory dishes. In the spice aisle, you can find whole cinnamon sticks in addition to ground cinnamon powder and cinnamon extract.Does cinnamon taste like sugar?
The reason it tastes sweet is the presence of sugar, ie because it is sweet. Cinnamon is thin tree bark, and it is not uncommon for tree bark, or the layer near the bark to be sweet because of sap.What taste is cinnamon?
A sweet and woody flavour, cinnamon has a slight citrusy note, and its spicy taste is often likened to the powerful punch of cloves. Other than the texture, there's no difference between ground cinnamon and cinnamon sticks in flavour, but it's the way they are used which differs.Is cinnamon sweet or sour?
Cinnamon itself is the bark of a particular tree, and is not terribly sweet in any objective sense. I cannot think of a single spice that is in itself sweet. Spices are generally aromatic, pungent, or hot, but not sweet. Even vanilla is in fact fairly bitter on its own, as is chocolate before sugar is added.Health Benefits of Cinnamon | Dr. Josh Axe
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Answer 2
From personal experience i can tell you that Cinammon is widely used in persian cooking in stews and curry bases. It pairs up great with other savoury&sweet spices, like saffron and tumric. It also works great with tomato sauce dishes. Most popular example in persian cooking is greenbean polow. Which uses a tomato based sauce with minced meat and is flavoured with tumric, saffron and cinnamon as th main spices. You should look up 'loobia polow' it you want a recipe and have a crack at it.
Answer 3
It's tree bark, weather or not it's sweet depends on amount of tree sap.
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