The best part of cinnamon is its unique taste. It can transform bland food into fine cuisine. Its sweet scent and aromatic taste can transform an ordinary recipe into fine food served in fine restaurants. This is all through the courtesy of cinnamon’s superb taste and smell.
It would be wonderful if you could always have this distinct quality whenever you need it. Unfortunately, as all natural spices do, cinnamon also looses its taste and aroma over time. It is therefore necessary to find ways to store cinnamon so that its fine qualities will be preserved.
Selecting The Right Type Of Cinnamon
A substandard product, no matter how well you take care of it, will easily deteriorate. Therefore the first step in storing your cinnamon is to select high quality cinnamon products. Smell the scent of the cinnamon that you are buying to see if it is fresh. Look for the distinctive sweet and fragrant smell of cinnamon. You should easily discern it and it would tell you if the cinnamon is fresh or not. Let your sense of smell guide you.
Although there are different forms of cinnamon sold in the market, the process by which they are produced are all the same. The barks are stripped from the cinnamon tree, then processed and dried. When dried it is rolled into long, thin quills called cinnamon sticks. These quills are about 30 inches long. Some of them are grounded into powder turning them into what we call cinnamon powder.
Buy Cinnamon Only In Small Amounts
Cinnamon, as with all other spices, is adversely affected by light, heat and oxygen. In this regard, it would be advisable to buy cinnamon only in reasonable amounts and not in very large quantities. All spices, including cinnamon, lose their flavor given enough time, whether they are bottled or dried. Therefore, have in stock only the amounts that you can consume within a reasonable period.
Cinnamon sticks tend to keep the aroma and taste of cinnamon longer than cinnamon powder. Ground cinnamon deteriorates faster in storage therefore don’t buy too much of it. Usually, cinnamon sticks lasts for a whole year, while cinnamon powder only lasts for six months or so.
How To Properly Store Cinnamon
After you have selected the right type and quantity of cinnamon, find the correct container that will completely seal in its freshness, aroma and taste. Cinnamon sticks are better kept in mason jars that can be tightly sealed – or in similar containers. Then put the container in a cool dark place, free from heat and direct sunlight. If you will buy cinnamon powder, it will probably be in a sealed container. So all you have to do is re-seal it every time you use it and store it in a cool, dark place.
You can also store it in your refrigerator to keep its freshness. But you have to smell it periodically to see if its freshness is still retained. If not, you need to discard it and buy a fresh supply.
Things You Need To Consider When Storing Cinnamon
You can assure the freshness of your cinnamon stock if you keep the following in mind:
• In storing cinnamon, a screw-cap container is better than a flip-top one. You can tighten the screw-cap but you can only open and close the flip-top one.
• Store cinnamon away from heat or any appliance that generates heat such as refrigerators, heaters, cooking ranges, etc. Heat, light and air will cause the aroma to evaporate hence losing its flavor.
• Don’t store cinnamon in damp and moisture prone places. It will cause the powder to cake and the sticks to be soggy. If your area has high humidity, ensure that your storage places and your storage containers are completely dry.
• Store your cinnamon in a cool, dark place, far from any light source, never near windows or under sunlight.
For Your Guidance
Below is a list of the average shelf life of spices, including cinnamon:
• Powdered spices – can last from 6 months to 2 years
• Leafy herbs – can last from 3 months to 2 years
• Whole spices – can last from 2 to 5 years
• Dehydrated vegetables – can last up to 6 months