Cinnamon

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is a commonly known light brown spice made from the inner bark of a number of species of cinnamon trees, of the genus Cinnamomum. It has a delicate aroma and a sweet flavor.

Cinnamon oil comes in two forms: bark oil and leaf oil. Bark oil is often used for culinary purposes, whereas leaf oil is used as an essential oil because it has a high eugenol content with a clove-like aroma.

Cinnamon is believed to have originated from the region of Arabia, more specifically Ceylon, present day Sri Lanka. In 1460, it was recorded by John Russell in his Book of Nurture after the British brought it from the Middle East. In 1505, it was found by the Portuguese in Ceylon who proceeded to occupy the island for this plant. Because it was comparatively inexpensive, it was widely used in dishes during the early modern period. In 1636, the Dutch took over the island and seized the monopoly on cinnamon and continued its cultivation. Later in the nineteenth century, Ceylon was occupied by the British. Another source of cinnamon comes from the Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean, where the French introduced it in the eighteenth century. It is also native to present day India and Burma.

In Ms. Fr. 640

Fol. 1v - "For loosening the belly"
Prunes of Saint Antonin, & if you like you want put among them leaves of mallow & gilliflower, adding in sugar &, if one wants, a little cinnamon for the stomach.
Or else marshmallow root in a chicken broth. The fresh kind is more mollifying.
Beating syrup of sweet jujubes with water & taking it in the morning loosens the belly.

Fol. 47r - "For teeth"
Sal ammoniac i ℥, rock salt 1 ℥, alum half an ℥. Make water with the retort, and as soon as you touch the tooth, the tartar & blackness will go away. It is true that it has a bad odor, but you can mix it with rose honey & a little cinnamon or clove oil.

Fol. 48r - "Excellent mustard"
Dry bread in an oven, then lard it with cloves & cinnamon & thus put it to soak in good wine. Then, pass everything through a tammy cloth, being well pestled, & incorporate it with your mustard seed.

“Cinnamon.” World Encyclopedia. Philips, 2014. https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199546091.001.0001/acref-9780199546091-e-2461?rskey=LJSd9D&result=2.

Alan Davidson. “Cinnamon.” In The Oxford Companion to Food (2 ed.), edited by Jaine, Tom. Oxford University Press, 2013. https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199546091.001.0001/acref-9780199546091-e-2461?rskey=LJSd9D&result=2.

Image: “Cinnamomum verum J.Presl.” fo32xiv-033r, Plantarum Malabaricarum icones BPL 126 D - part 1, Leiden University Libraries, http://hdl.handle.net/1887.1/item:937812.

Elia Zhang, Columbia University