Source · farm
Sri Lanka cinnamon estate
Galle district, southern Sri Lanka, LK
Placeholder farm entry — *Cinnamomum verum* (true cinnamon) is native to Sri Lanka. The bark is peeled from the inner shoots of young trees, dried in the sun, and rolled into the brittle, papery quills that distinguish Ceylon from the harder, redder *cassia* cinnamon sold most places as 'cinnamon'.
The original spice. Cassia — what most North American cinnamon actually is — comes from a related but coarser tree grown in Indonesia and China; Ceylon cinnamon is what European medieval cookbooks meant by cinnamomum, what Mexican canela refers to, and what serious bakers reach for when the recipe says “true cinnamon.”
Products
- Ceylon cinnamon
- cinnamon quills
- cinnamon leaf oil
In season
- cinnamon · May – Nov
Used in · 12
- Bak Kut TehPork ribs simmered for hours in a peppery garlic broth (Singapore Teochew style) or a dark herbal medicinal broth (Klang Hokkien style) — the breakfast dish that takes itself seriously.
- Char SiuCantonese honey-glazed barbecued pork — mahogany red, sticky-charred edges, hung over a fire on long forks ("fork-roasted").
- Char Siu BaoSoft white steamed buns filled with diced sweet-savoury char siu pork — the Cantonese dim sum bun that turned the leftover roast pork into a second dish.
- Gua BaoA folded steamed bun cradling braised pork belly, mustard greens, ground peanuts, and cilantro — Taiwan's pocket sandwich and a global street-food crossover.
- Halo-HaloShaved ice, evaporated milk, sweetened beans, jellies, fruit, ube, leche flan, and a scoop of ice cream — the Philippines' kitchen-sink dessert, eaten in summer heat.
- HoppersA bowl-shaped rice-and-coconut crepe with crispy lace edges and a soft yeasty centre, often cradling an egg — Sri Lanka's breakfast and late-night dish.
- Khao SoiEgg noodles in a coconut-curry broth with braised beef or chicken, crispy fried noodles on top, pickled mustard greens on the side — northern Thailand's defining dish.
- Massaman CurryA Persian-Indian-Malay-Thai synthesis curry with beef, potatoes, peanuts, and a base of cinnamon, cardamom, and star anise — the slowest, mildest, most fragrant of the Thai curries.
- RendangBeef simmered in coconut milk and spice paste until the liquid evaporates and the meat fries in its own concentrated paste — Minangkabau's gift to the world.
- Rogan JoshKashmiri lamb braised in yogurt and Kashmiri chili for a deep red gravy, perfumed with fennel, ginger, and cardamom — the showpiece of *Wazwan*, Kashmir's banquet cuisine.
- Sweet and Sour PorkBattered pork pieces tossed in a glossy red-orange sauce of vinegar, sugar, ketchup, and pineapple — Cantonese in origin, made fluorescent by global takeout, eaten everywhere.
- Taiwanese Beef Noodle SoupSlow-braised beef shank and tendon in a soy-spice-Sichuan-chili broth, over hand-pulled wheat noodles — Taipei's most-defended dish.