To Buy:
Buy in powder or quills. Ideally you should buy your spices from a specialised supplier with a high turnover of produce.
To Store:
Store in an airtight container in the pantry. Whole quills should last at least 3 years, ground cinnamon should be used within 15 months.
Tips & Tricks:
Cinnamon goes beautifully in all sweet dishes, and is a common ingredient in Mexican cooking. A piece of cinnamon quill can be added to a coffee plunger, mulled wine, poached fruit, and exotic rice dishes. Cinnamon, cumin, and mustard seeds combined make a delicious Middle Eastern flavour and works well in meat casseroles.
Cooking Tips:
Cinnamon bark is best used in meat dishes and recipes where the perfume of cinnamon is not desired. Cinnamon quills have an aromatic fragrance and can be put into stewed compotes of fruit and used to flavour curries. Ground cinnamon quills are the best quality of cinnamon to use in cooking and is particularly reccomended for baking.