Richard Hunter asks...
yeah, the flavour kind doesn't even taste like cinnamon. what's
up with that?
Almost all of us are familiar with raw cinnamon. It's a powder that is ground
from a bark. It's not really soluble in anything; it will always have the
gritty texture of a powder.
"Cinnamon" oil, a colorless essential oil, is actually made from a different
plant, the canela. Most commercial cinnamon products (except whole and
powdered cinnamon, and cinnamon sugar) are made from canela because a liquid is
easier to use and measure, and it doesn't have the gritty texture. I think
canela is probably cheaper most of the time.
Canela does have a slightly different taste (sweeter and hotter, less woody)
and a lot more scent.
Hope this is informative.
Rikki