Cinnamon Stick

The dried bark of the Ceylon cinnamon tree owes its enveloping scent to cinnamaldehyde. Used in sticks (rather than powder, which oxidizes and saturates liquids), it releases its esters slowly through hot aqueous or lipid extraction. Simmered for long hours in a brown stock, mulled wine, or infused in a crème anglaise, the bark resists physical dissolution while diffusing a woody and sweet warmth of immense nobility, binding tagines or dairy desserts.