1 00:00:08,520 --> 00:00:11,039 Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to food Stuff. I'm Anny Rees and 2 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:14,160 Speaker 1: I'm Lauren vocal Bam, and today we're digging into the 3 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:18,040 Speaker 1: kind of totally depressing history of cinnamon. I thought you 4 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:21,560 Speaker 1: were gonna make a spicy pun. Oh no, No, that's okay, 5 00:00:21,560 --> 00:00:26,160 Speaker 1: that's good. Cinnamon is one of my favorite spices. I love. 6 00:00:26,239 --> 00:00:27,880 Speaker 1: I put it in coffee. I put it in all 7 00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:30,920 Speaker 1: kinds of things that probably shouldn't go in. Come on, 8 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:33,920 Speaker 1: there's nothing that it shouldn't shouldn't go in. Yeah, but 9 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:36,560 Speaker 1: there are things that definitely I get a side eye 10 00:00:36,840 --> 00:00:40,360 Speaker 1: when I put it. Matches with both with both sweet 11 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:44,000 Speaker 1: and savory flavors. Come on, it's true. And I feel 12 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:46,800 Speaker 1: in the States a lot of people kind of pin 13 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:49,680 Speaker 1: it into the fall. But it's all your round. You 14 00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:52,640 Speaker 1: can use cinnamon. It's for sure, multi seasonal. I'm glad 15 00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:57,080 Speaker 1: you agree. So the word itself has a lot of 16 00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:01,760 Speaker 1: fun meanings and translations from the Italian canela meaning little 17 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:05,280 Speaker 1: tube or there's wood from China and India and Iran, 18 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:10,560 Speaker 1: and the Indonesian word means sweet wood in the Victorian 19 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:12,480 Speaker 1: language of flowers, which I had to look up because 20 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:14,720 Speaker 1: I had no idea what that was. Oh, really. Oh, 21 00:01:14,760 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 1: it's great. I know, it's fantastic. How have I gone 22 00:01:17,520 --> 00:01:22,199 Speaker 1: so long? Victorians, y'all they had an entire language of flowers. Yes, 23 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:25,680 Speaker 1: and the name might have led you to it might 24 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:30,760 Speaker 1: have um. And in this language, cinnamon translates to my 25 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:34,080 Speaker 1: fortune is yours? Wow. Yeah, that sounds lovely, doesn't it 26 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:37,520 Speaker 1: very fitting? Yes? Here in the United States, you're likely 27 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:40,480 Speaker 1: to encounter two types of cinnamon in the grossery store, 28 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:44,880 Speaker 1: Cassia and Ceylon. Cassia is kind of the stronger in 29 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:49,440 Speaker 1: flavor in aroma and mostly originates from Indonesia, China, in Vietnam. 30 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:54,040 Speaker 1: It's also generally cheaper um. Ceylon cinnamon, meanwhile, is from 31 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:57,560 Speaker 1: Sri Lunka and southern India and has more like mild 32 00:01:57,640 --> 00:02:02,040 Speaker 1: sweetness to it um and In the UK and Europe, 33 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:05,960 Speaker 1: Cassia is labeled as cassia, but both can be labeled 34 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:10,160 Speaker 1: cinnamon in the US. Both, however, are the soft inner 35 00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:14,480 Speaker 1: bark of a type of evergreen shrub in the Cinnamomum 36 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:19,040 Speaker 1: genus that sounds like you're summoning a demon cinnam mama. 37 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:23,640 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, I know you're You're not wrong. Ceylon is 38 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:28,720 Speaker 1: from sea lan um Um often also called sea verarum, 39 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:32,240 Speaker 1: which means true cinnamon. Cassia, however, can come from a 40 00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 1: number of species um. The flower and leaves are also 41 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:38,400 Speaker 1: edible in addition to the bark. Cassie leaves in particular 42 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:42,560 Speaker 1: are a classic ingredient in Indian cooking, and cinnamon oil 43 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:45,680 Speaker 1: can be processed from the leaves of both type of plant. 44 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:49,280 Speaker 1: The main flavors in cinnamon come from a few oils, 45 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:54,200 Speaker 1: cinnamalde hyde, which is just a great name for anything, eugenol, 46 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:57,359 Speaker 1: and also camphor, which I had no idea was an 47 00:02:57,480 --> 00:03:01,920 Speaker 1: ingredient in cinnamon or ingredient like component. Yeah, it's not 48 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:06,560 Speaker 1: like sometimes when you're mixing up your cinnamon plant then anyway, 49 00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:09,320 Speaker 1: left to grow, wild cinnamon will grow up to a 50 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:11,840 Speaker 1: height of thirty to fifty feet a k a like 51 00:03:11,919 --> 00:03:14,640 Speaker 1: ten to fifteen meters um. But when it's cultivated, it's 52 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:18,280 Speaker 1: usually kept like a human height of of shrub that 53 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:21,240 Speaker 1: is much larger than I would have guessed, right, I'm 54 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:24,320 Speaker 1: not really great at guessing things though. Yeah. I also 55 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:28,639 Speaker 1: I've never hung out around to cinnamon plant, so um. 56 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:34,040 Speaker 1: Cinnamon is still largely harvested and processed by hand, using 57 00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:39,000 Speaker 1: methods that have been passed down through farming families for centuries. Um. 58 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:41,600 Speaker 1: The the exact tools and process will vary based on 59 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:43,600 Speaker 1: the type of plant that you're dealing with, but but 60 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:47,360 Speaker 1: basically a shoot from the shrub is cut down or 61 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:49,680 Speaker 1: if the shrubs trunk is larger than a section of 62 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:52,080 Speaker 1: bark will be cut off um and then the tough 63 00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:55,160 Speaker 1: outer bark is scraped off and in the case of 64 00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:58,600 Speaker 1: smaller shoots, the soft moist inner bark then has to 65 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:02,680 Speaker 1: be painstakingly rubbed free from the stock so that it 66 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:04,960 Speaker 1: can be peeled away in these long pieces that will 67 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:08,360 Speaker 1: make a you know, high quality attractive quills, which is 68 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:11,440 Speaker 1: one of the fabulous names for cinnamon sticks. I'm going 69 00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:13,000 Speaker 1: to say cinnamon quills for the rest of my life. 70 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:15,640 Speaker 1: It's the best. The bark curls up as it drives, 71 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:18,919 Speaker 1: and the cinnamon can then be processed into sticks or 72 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:22,800 Speaker 1: powder or what have you. M hm, however you consume 73 00:04:22,839 --> 00:04:27,240 Speaker 1: your cinnamon. The cool part here is that if you've 74 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:29,720 Speaker 1: got a lot of cinnamon plants, you can harvest just 75 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:32,880 Speaker 1: about continually as they come into maturity. UM. You can 76 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:35,520 Speaker 1: also just let them go and harvest whenever it's convenient. 77 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:38,479 Speaker 1: There are some families in Sumatra that use cinnamon as 78 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:41,359 Speaker 1: an income supplement when you know, just whenever they need to. 79 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:45,800 Speaker 1: The the uncool part here is that it is really hard, 80 00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 1: really skilled labor, and traditionally the people selling the cinnamon 81 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:52,520 Speaker 1: have made a lot more money than the people actually 82 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:56,559 Speaker 1: harvesting and processing it. That is starting to change, um though, 83 00:04:56,600 --> 00:04:59,720 Speaker 1: through the work of human rights organizations and farmer coops 84 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:03,400 Speaker 1: and the farmers own work and increasing a societal ability 85 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:06,839 Speaker 1: to make demands upon the industry, and and by technology 86 00:05:06,839 --> 00:05:11,400 Speaker 1: their mechanics, mechanized processes that are in just continual development 87 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:15,080 Speaker 1: these days. So good news all around there, But for 88 00:05:15,120 --> 00:05:18,400 Speaker 1: all those parts that have not changed. Um, let's let's 89 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:21,480 Speaker 1: get into the history of cinnamon and how it has 90 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:25,400 Speaker 1: been used and and and farmed for for millennia. Back, 91 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:28,840 Speaker 1: but first let's take a quick break for a word 92 00:05:28,839 --> 00:05:43,599 Speaker 1: from our sponsor, and we're back, Thank you sponsor. Yes, so, 93 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:48,400 Speaker 1: though it was almost certainly used before this, cinnamon first 94 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:51,479 Speaker 1: appeared in written records out of China going all the 95 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:56,680 Speaker 1: way back to two thousand and eight hundred BC. EF Yeah, 96 00:05:56,720 --> 00:06:02,680 Speaker 1: and I believe it was a medical botanist God all right, yeah, 97 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:06,839 Speaker 1: um in two six VC. The town of Kuaielin, meaning 98 00:06:06,960 --> 00:06:10,440 Speaker 1: Cassia Forest, was founded in South China, suggesting that the 99 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:14,839 Speaker 1: spice was integral in the region. Cassia cinnamon probably um. 100 00:06:14,920 --> 00:06:18,440 Speaker 1: According to the book History of Food, ancient Taoists considered 101 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:21,480 Speaker 1: cinnamon a food of the immortals. Um. There are legends 102 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:23,520 Speaker 1: saying that the rabbit in the moon because instead of 103 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:24,840 Speaker 1: the man in the moon, they've got the rabbit in 104 00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:27,920 Speaker 1: the moon. Yeah. Um uh. The legends of the rabbit 105 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:30,039 Speaker 1: in the moon would use a giant cassia tree to 106 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:32,159 Speaker 1: climb down to Earth and then would eat the trees 107 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:34,920 Speaker 1: bark and prepare and alixir from it that that had 108 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:39,440 Speaker 1: like magical strength powers. That's a great story, yeah. Um. 109 00:06:39,560 --> 00:06:41,839 Speaker 1: And people would would carry around a little bits of 110 00:06:41,839 --> 00:06:44,400 Speaker 1: cinnamon in pouches to kind of ward off disease and 111 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:49,000 Speaker 1: other negative vibes. Um. Later on, cinnamon would become an 112 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:52,640 Speaker 1: integral part of five spice powder, which generally contains way 113 00:06:52,640 --> 00:06:55,040 Speaker 1: more than five spices. The five is kind of metaphorical 114 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:58,080 Speaker 1: and or poetic and might mean something closer to like 115 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:03,599 Speaker 1: many or complete rather than literal five. Extra bonus fact. 116 00:07:05,200 --> 00:07:08,000 Speaker 1: As we go through this show, I'm just gonna eventually have. 117 00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:09,920 Speaker 1: I'm going to carry a pineapple, I'm gonna have a 118 00:07:09,960 --> 00:07:13,080 Speaker 1: bag of cinnamon. I'm just gonna start integrating all these 119 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:18,520 Speaker 1: strange food habits. You could at the very least have 120 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:21,720 Speaker 1: a really good Halloween costume. That's true. That is such 121 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:25,400 Speaker 1: a good idea. Thank you, Lauren. I am food stuff. Yes, 122 00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:28,400 Speaker 1: you don't know food stuff. Well, I have a story 123 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:33,760 Speaker 1: to tell you and a podcast to direct marketing opportunity. Okay, 124 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:39,040 Speaker 1: so back to cinnamon history. The ancient Egyptians used cinnamon, 125 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:42,880 Speaker 1: along with other things like mirror, as a perfume during 126 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:46,920 Speaker 1: evolving cinnamon makes a cameo are two in the Bible. 127 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:51,000 Speaker 1: Moses uses it as an anointing oil, and the Hebrews 128 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:55,600 Speaker 1: also used it in religious ceremonies. Cinnamon enjoyed such high 129 00:07:55,680 --> 00:08:00,000 Speaker 1: prestige it was seen as an appropriate gift for monarchs, 130 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:02,560 Speaker 1: and records show that it, along with cassio, was given 131 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:07,640 Speaker 1: as a gift at the Temple of Apollo and Malitis militis. Yeah. 132 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:10,160 Speaker 1: Traders from the Middle East brought cinnamon to Europe, where 133 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:12,720 Speaker 1: it was used both medicinally and to add a little 134 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:17,640 Speaker 1: something something to food. Yeah. The Roman Empire in particular 135 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:20,920 Speaker 1: imported a lot of it, but more for fragrances and 136 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:22,840 Speaker 1: to spice up wine. Yeah, they didn't really like it 137 00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:26,160 Speaker 1: in their food. Learning a lot about the Romans, it 138 00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:29,080 Speaker 1: had the additional use of covering the smell of funeral pyres, 139 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:32,880 Speaker 1: and there's a popular story that Roman emperor Nero ordered 140 00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:35,640 Speaker 1: a year's supply of cinnamon to burn on his second 141 00:08:35,679 --> 00:08:40,600 Speaker 1: wife's funeral pyre to atone for his guilt in because 142 00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:47,680 Speaker 1: he had accidentally killed her, Yes, kind of accidentally on purpose. Yes, yeah, 143 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:55,480 Speaker 1: there's still some some. Well, we're gonna move on. It 144 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:57,800 Speaker 1: was pretty expensive at the time too, so he must 145 00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:01,839 Speaker 1: have had gold pouches worth of gilt. Oh yeah, Our 146 00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:05,240 Speaker 1: old friend Pliny the Elder wrote in first century CE 147 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:09,640 Speaker 1: that grams of cinnamon equaled five kilograms of silver, or 148 00:09:09,679 --> 00:09:14,400 Speaker 1: in other words, fifteen times the worth of silver by weight. Wow. Yeah, 149 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:18,760 Speaker 1: cinnamon had other uses that justified kinda this price. Um. 150 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:22,319 Speaker 1: It was prescribed throughout the Middle Ages to treat hoarseness, coughing, 151 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:25,800 Speaker 1: sore throat, and indigestion, and it could be used as 152 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:28,679 Speaker 1: a preservative. Yeah, so it's got a little bit of 153 00:09:28,920 --> 00:09:33,600 Speaker 1: anti micro microbial properties in there somewhere. Some Romans also 154 00:09:33,600 --> 00:09:37,640 Speaker 1: apparently considered it an aphrodisiac, although really at this point 155 00:09:37,679 --> 00:09:41,199 Speaker 1: I'm not sure what they didn't consider an aphrodisiac. It's true, 156 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:45,679 Speaker 1: probably nothing. So many things about romans um. And of 157 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:48,480 Speaker 1: course cinnamon was part of the Silk Road trade that 158 00:09:48,559 --> 00:09:52,200 Speaker 1: you know, largely overland trade routes from China through India 159 00:09:52,240 --> 00:09:54,160 Speaker 1: in the Middle East and up to ports of call 160 00:09:54,280 --> 00:09:58,959 Speaker 1: along the Mediterranean. It's unclear how much of the cinnamon 161 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:02,280 Speaker 1: was the Cassio type, how much was Ceylon but hey, 162 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:05,959 Speaker 1: speaking of Ceylon cinnamon. While all of this was going on, 163 00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:09,200 Speaker 1: the people on the island of Ceylon which is present 164 00:10:09,280 --> 00:10:12,240 Speaker 1: day Shri Lanka, were developing the production techniques that would 165 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:16,120 Speaker 1: drive the cinnamon trade for hundreds of years. The Synonys 166 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:18,920 Speaker 1: and the Tamaal people they are operated in a feudal 167 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:23,640 Speaker 1: caste culture, and the folks who wound up primarily working 168 00:10:23,720 --> 00:10:26,520 Speaker 1: in tending and peeling the cinnamon where a cast called 169 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:29,720 Speaker 1: the Salagama And I'm I'm so sorry if I if 170 00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:33,079 Speaker 1: I if I mispronounced that, I really just tried. The 171 00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:37,240 Speaker 1: Salagama cast were relatively recent immigrants to the island and 172 00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:41,000 Speaker 1: they didn't have much political clout despite the importance of 173 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:43,720 Speaker 1: the work that they were doing, so they would pass 174 00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:46,959 Speaker 1: their skills down from generation to generation and pass their 175 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:49,320 Speaker 1: profits up to the royal families who are running the 176 00:10:49,360 --> 00:10:54,400 Speaker 1: islands kingdoms. And at the time and all the way 177 00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:58,640 Speaker 1: up to the sixteenth century, Europeans weren't precisely sure of 178 00:10:58,679 --> 00:11:01,160 Speaker 1: cinnamon's origins. They didn't know we're coming from. Yeah. Yeah, 179 00:11:01,200 --> 00:11:04,000 Speaker 1: this was by design of the Arabic and North African 180 00:11:04,040 --> 00:11:10,319 Speaker 1: merchants who wanted to maintain a cinnamonopoly. Uh yeah. And 181 00:11:10,559 --> 00:11:14,319 Speaker 1: there were a lot of stories about where cinnamon originated, 182 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:17,000 Speaker 1: where it came from, and how people got it. Yeah, 183 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:19,840 Speaker 1: a lot of these are pretty great. Yeah. Greek historian 184 00:11:20,160 --> 00:11:24,760 Speaker 1: herodotus Um wrote a couple of legends about about it 185 00:11:24,760 --> 00:11:29,080 Speaker 1: in the fifth century BC. One that huge birds gathered 186 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:33,880 Speaker 1: cinnamon sticks and stored them on enormous, unclimbable mountains, but 187 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:37,400 Speaker 1: tricksy humans would leave big old chunks of box meat 188 00:11:37,400 --> 00:11:39,640 Speaker 1: at the base of the mountain, and when the bird 189 00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:41,720 Speaker 1: came down to collect it, the extra weight of the 190 00:11:41,760 --> 00:11:44,120 Speaker 1: meat caused some of the nest to break, leaving the 191 00:11:44,160 --> 00:11:48,440 Speaker 1: cinnamon sticks right for the picking up, that is. He 192 00:11:48,559 --> 00:11:50,920 Speaker 1: also wrote that it might that cinnamon might be found 193 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:55,400 Speaker 1: near a lake that was protected by these screeching bat creatures, 194 00:11:55,760 --> 00:11:59,120 Speaker 1: which gatherers could only protect themselves from by wearing full 195 00:11:59,200 --> 00:12:02,400 Speaker 1: suits of tough hides with holes cut only for their eyes. 196 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:06,400 Speaker 1: Another story suggests that to get your hands on some 197 00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:10,200 Speaker 1: cinnamon you had to brave deep snake guarded canyons. In 198 00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:14,040 Speaker 1: some legends, the snakes could fly. My goodness, getting cinnamon 199 00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:17,480 Speaker 1: was a dangerous business. Going back to Pliny again, he 200 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:20,520 Speaker 1: wrote that he believed cinnamon came from Ethiopia, and the 201 00:12:20,559 --> 00:12:23,240 Speaker 1: only way to get it was via saliss or Less 202 00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:28,040 Speaker 1: rafts fueled by quote man alone and his courage. I'm 203 00:12:28,040 --> 00:12:32,599 Speaker 1: not sure saliss or less rafts interesting. I yeah, I 204 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:36,520 Speaker 1: don't think that man and his courage are really great 205 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:42,000 Speaker 1: sources of fuel necessarily for movement anyway. Plenty, I don't 206 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:45,640 Speaker 1: know about that one, alright, Plenty. We're dubious friends, Yeah, 207 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:50,160 Speaker 1: we've got our doubts. Another written story from twelve asserts 208 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:53,439 Speaker 1: that Simon was fished out of the Nile source at 209 00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:59,079 Speaker 1: World's edge with nets. So they were a wide variety 210 00:12:59,160 --> 00:13:04,320 Speaker 1: of stories. No one knew in Europe anyway where this 211 00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:08,640 Speaker 1: stuff was coming from, but they loved it. Loved it. Um. 212 00:13:09,040 --> 00:13:12,760 Speaker 1: Twelve seventy CE marks the first time cinnamon growing in 213 00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:16,640 Speaker 1: Sri Lanka shows up in European writing. The rise of 214 00:13:16,679 --> 00:13:19,800 Speaker 1: the Ottoman Empire and other shifting powers in the Mediterranean 215 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:23,400 Speaker 1: prompted the Europeans to expand their trade routes into Asia 216 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:27,839 Speaker 1: and North America, and Marco Polo definitely talked all about 217 00:13:27,960 --> 00:13:32,960 Speaker 1: where the relatively inexpensive Cassia cinnamon comes from. But he 218 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:36,800 Speaker 1: he definitely admitted information about Ceylon cinnamon, which at the 219 00:13:36,840 --> 00:13:39,200 Speaker 1: time was not called Salon cinnamon because it would have 220 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:42,400 Speaker 1: been a pretty dead giveaway right um. But during the 221 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:46,120 Speaker 1: twelve and hundreds, Venetians created something of a monopoly on 222 00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:49,960 Speaker 1: the cinnamon trade. They employed these networks of Arab agents 223 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:53,000 Speaker 1: to bring the stuff overland from India to Alexandria and 224 00:13:53,040 --> 00:13:55,400 Speaker 1: in Egypt, where the Venetians would sail to pick it 225 00:13:55,480 --> 00:13:57,760 Speaker 1: up along these highly secured trade routes that they had 226 00:13:57,800 --> 00:14:00,920 Speaker 1: blocked out, and they were able run up the price 227 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:03,680 Speaker 1: as much as they wanted because it was so popular 228 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:06,440 Speaker 1: in medieval cooking in because no one else could get 229 00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:08,800 Speaker 1: their hands on it. Um. It appears in about two 230 00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:12,840 Speaker 1: thirds of French recipes from that time. That's that's quite 231 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:15,600 Speaker 1: a bit, quite a bit of the recipes there. And 232 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:18,920 Speaker 1: note that this was primarily for the wealthy. I mean 233 00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:23,000 Speaker 1: when we say that people loved it, wealthy people loved it. Um. 234 00:14:23,120 --> 00:14:27,120 Speaker 1: Spices in general were used as a status symbol at banquets. 235 00:14:27,680 --> 00:14:30,840 Speaker 1: Hosts would sometimes show off by offering a plate piled 236 00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:34,640 Speaker 1: high with various spices to their guests. Wow, that person 237 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:37,320 Speaker 1: must be rich. Yes, it makes you think, like, what 238 00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:39,920 Speaker 1: would they think of a spice cabinet? Oh? Man, that 239 00:14:40,040 --> 00:14:43,440 Speaker 1: blow their minds? I feel like everything we talked about 240 00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:47,600 Speaker 1: on here. It was once as a status table. In 241 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:52,200 Speaker 1: a letter written by Columbus Columbus again to Queen Isabella, 242 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:54,760 Speaker 1: he claimed that he had discovered cinnamon in the New World, 243 00:14:54,760 --> 00:14:56,760 Speaker 1: but the samples he sent turned out not to be 244 00:14:56,800 --> 00:14:59,000 Speaker 1: the real thing. I wonder what he was sending. Spanish 245 00:14:59,080 --> 00:15:02,840 Speaker 1: explorer Gonza Allo Pizarro traveled the Amazon in search of 246 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:08,000 Speaker 1: what he called cinnamon country. Meanwhile, the Portuguese wanted in 247 00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:12,160 Speaker 1: on this trade too. After forging a water route to 248 00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:15,280 Speaker 1: India by going south around Africa around the Cape of 249 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:21,440 Speaker 1: Good Hope, the Portuguese would found cinnamon in Ceylon. In 250 00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:25,440 Speaker 1: in or about fifteen eighteen, and so of course, of 251 00:15:25,480 --> 00:15:29,240 Speaker 1: course they took over the island Kingdom of Cote, probably 252 00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:31,880 Speaker 1: not saying that correctly, but I tried enslaved the population 253 00:15:32,080 --> 00:15:35,000 Speaker 1: and ruled over the cinnamon trade for about one hundred years. 254 00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:39,120 Speaker 1: And it was pretty atrocious. Uh, not only on the 255 00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:43,120 Speaker 1: island itself, which was terrible enough, because they really were 256 00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:47,640 Speaker 1: disrupting it's you know, enslavement is is certainly a different 257 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:53,040 Speaker 1: thing from from a feudal caste system. They also would 258 00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:57,040 Speaker 1: destroy populations along the coast of nearby nearby Mozambique and 259 00:15:57,160 --> 00:15:59,880 Speaker 1: settled there in order to keep guard over their roots 260 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:02,560 Speaker 1: back and forth from Ceylon. And you know, just just 261 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:05,280 Speaker 1: like sink and rival ships on site, like hanging any 262 00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:08,440 Speaker 1: agents from other countries that they found or kingdoms floated 263 00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:14,360 Speaker 1: floating around. It's nasty stuff. Yeah, Candy another kingdom of 264 00:16:14,400 --> 00:16:17,360 Speaker 1: Cylon teamed up with the Dutch to chase the Portuguese 265 00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:21,720 Speaker 1: out of Ceylon in sixty eight. But now the Dutch 266 00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:24,960 Speaker 1: took control of Clon as a payment for their military aid, 267 00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:27,680 Speaker 1: a position they held for a one hundred fifty years. 268 00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:31,400 Speaker 1: One Dutch captain wrote, quote, the shores of the island 269 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:33,280 Speaker 1: are full of it, and it is the best in 270 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:36,600 Speaker 1: all the orient, it being cinnamon. When one is downwind 271 00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:39,440 Speaker 1: of the island, one can smell cinnamon eight leagues out 272 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:43,360 Speaker 1: to see. Yeah, a jury is out on whether or 273 00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:45,280 Speaker 1: not the Dutch were really that much better than the 274 00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:48,640 Speaker 1: Portuguese in terms of their treatment. No, I don't think 275 00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:52,120 Speaker 1: they were. During their reign over the cinnamon trade, Simon 276 00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:55,200 Speaker 1: rose up to become the most profitable spice in the 277 00:16:55,280 --> 00:16:59,040 Speaker 1: Dutch East India Company. When word reached the Dutch that 278 00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:02,720 Speaker 1: some cinnamon had and discovered off India's coast, they threatened 279 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:07,120 Speaker 1: and paid off a local king in India to destroy it. Yeah, 280 00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:09,800 Speaker 1: it was during this time that the demand for cinnamon 281 00:17:09,840 --> 00:17:12,000 Speaker 1: grew so high that the Dutch had to figure out 282 00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:15,240 Speaker 1: and it cultivated instead of collecting bark from wild trees. 283 00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:19,400 Speaker 1: But once they did, or rather like eight ten years afterward, 284 00:17:19,480 --> 00:17:21,280 Speaker 1: because that's about how long it takes for the shrubs 285 00:17:21,320 --> 00:17:24,720 Speaker 1: to but sure, there was such a glut of cinnamon 286 00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:27,520 Speaker 1: that they were afraid that the market would collapse. They 287 00:17:27,600 --> 00:17:32,359 Speaker 1: allegedly burned large quantities of cinnamon in Holland in seventeen 288 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:37,360 Speaker 1: sixty just to keep the prices up. Meanwhile, the British 289 00:17:37,400 --> 00:17:41,200 Speaker 1: wanted into Lord Brown of the British East India Company 290 00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:45,439 Speaker 1: founded that the largest cinnamon a state in Asia and 291 00:17:45,520 --> 00:17:48,560 Speaker 1: seventeen sixty seven on the southwest coast of India. It's 292 00:17:48,560 --> 00:17:50,800 Speaker 1: a bit of a tongue twister in there. Only a 293 00:17:50,840 --> 00:17:53,919 Speaker 1: few years later, in Sight five, the British she used 294 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:58,000 Speaker 1: control of Ceylon after their victory of the Anglo Dutch War, 295 00:17:58,760 --> 00:18:01,080 Speaker 1: and this was a huge boon to the dipping economy 296 00:18:01,119 --> 00:18:05,480 Speaker 1: of the British Empire, having lost the lucrative American colonies. However, 297 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:07,760 Speaker 1: over the next hundred years, the price of cinnamon would 298 00:18:07,800 --> 00:18:11,359 Speaker 1: fall really considerably as other places around the world started 299 00:18:11,400 --> 00:18:14,240 Speaker 1: to cultivate it, and its popularity would wane a little 300 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:16,600 Speaker 1: bit as things like a chocolate started to come into vogue, 301 00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:18,840 Speaker 1: not that the two of those are bad together. And 302 00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:23,240 Speaker 1: I also read like coffee and tea helped lower the 303 00:18:23,240 --> 00:18:26,480 Speaker 1: price of cinnamon, and I was like, I put cinnamon 304 00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:32,960 Speaker 1: in those things. A um uh. Sri Lanka would finally 305 00:18:32,960 --> 00:18:39,560 Speaker 1: gain independence from the British in nine by the way, wow, 306 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:42,480 Speaker 1: and that brings us more or less to uh to now, 307 00:18:42,600 --> 00:18:46,040 Speaker 1: you know, cinnamon is pretty common, especially in the fall. 308 00:18:46,280 --> 00:18:49,120 Speaker 1: Like we said, and the price is fairly stable. It's 309 00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:52,400 Speaker 1: a global industry of about thirty five thousand tons per year. 310 00:18:53,440 --> 00:18:58,800 Speaker 1: That is quite the global industry. And here is where 311 00:18:59,240 --> 00:19:01,600 Speaker 1: I could have written a transition sometime over the past 312 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:03,080 Speaker 1: couple of days that I've been working on these notes, 313 00:19:03,119 --> 00:19:05,640 Speaker 1: but instead I didn't do that. So, you know, let's 314 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:08,000 Speaker 1: just take a quick break for another word from our sponsor, 315 00:19:18,240 --> 00:19:22,280 Speaker 1: and we're back. Thank you sponsor, Yes, thank you, uh so, 316 00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:24,879 Speaker 1: um so, I want to talk a little bit about 317 00:19:24,920 --> 00:19:27,680 Speaker 1: the that that it concludes our history portion. Yes, yes, 318 00:19:27,840 --> 00:19:30,199 Speaker 1: I wanted to talk a little bit about some of 319 00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:35,119 Speaker 1: the some of the science and culture around cinnamon because 320 00:19:35,359 --> 00:19:38,159 Speaker 1: as if all of that was not fascinating enough, you know, it, 321 00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:40,560 Speaker 1: being that it has been used as a medicine for 322 00:19:40,600 --> 00:19:43,080 Speaker 1: so long, a lot of people have looked into those 323 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:46,560 Speaker 1: actual properties. There's been a lot of studies, specifically into 324 00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:52,840 Speaker 1: the potential of cinnamon supplements to help with with blood 325 00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:56,679 Speaker 1: glucose levels. I'm not sure where and when that idea 326 00:19:56,800 --> 00:20:00,200 Speaker 1: got got passed, but but but as it turns out, 327 00:20:01,240 --> 00:20:05,479 Speaker 1: in some studies, taking cinnamon supplements have helped patients with 328 00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:10,080 Speaker 1: type two diabetes lower their fasting plasma glucose levels, which 329 00:20:10,119 --> 00:20:13,639 Speaker 1: of course can help them control the effects of the disease. UM. 330 00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:16,560 Speaker 1: And they also improved a few measures of cardiovascular health. 331 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:20,320 Speaker 1: You know, they reduced the bad l d L cholesterol 332 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:25,520 Speaker 1: and improved the good hdl uh or lipoproteins, not cholesterol technically, 333 00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:27,840 Speaker 1: but yeah, and stuff like that. UM. However, in other 334 00:20:27,840 --> 00:20:30,880 Speaker 1: studies those effects weren't so certain. UM. I guess it's 335 00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:35,200 Speaker 1: something to watch for more research about in the future. UM. 336 00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:39,119 Speaker 1: It's also been studied for its potential anti microbial properties, 337 00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:42,520 Speaker 1: as I mentioned earlier, but the practical results of that 338 00:20:42,600 --> 00:20:47,359 Speaker 1: are pretty inconclusive as of yet. Basically, adding cinnamon to 339 00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:52,600 Speaker 1: food might help prevent the growth of pathogenic bacteria, and 340 00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:56,399 Speaker 1: researchers might eventually be able to use some of the 341 00:20:56,440 --> 00:21:01,199 Speaker 1: stuff in it in cinnamon to to help replace additional antibiotics, 342 00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:04,720 Speaker 1: which of course would be great. Would be because antibiotic resistance, 343 00:21:04,760 --> 00:21:08,199 Speaker 1: as I believe we have mentioned before several times, is 344 00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:10,679 Speaker 1: not the business. It is not good, and it is 345 00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:14,520 Speaker 1: on the rise. It is. Cinnamon oil is reported to 346 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:19,159 Speaker 1: be an effective mosquito ant and moth repellent, but I 347 00:21:19,200 --> 00:21:22,240 Speaker 1: couldn't really find any actual science to back that up. 348 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:24,840 Speaker 1: So I don't know if you if you're interested in that, 349 00:21:24,920 --> 00:21:27,399 Speaker 1: then then go go check it out. Maybe try it. 350 00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:29,320 Speaker 1: I mean, at the very worst, you could smell like 351 00:21:29,359 --> 00:21:32,760 Speaker 1: cinnamon oil. Yeah, this is definitely something that I would 352 00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:37,199 Speaker 1: try to test. But I don't know how I would. Oh, 353 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:39,840 Speaker 1: there's a lot of things I can't control. When it 354 00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:42,720 Speaker 1: comes to the insects, they're not going to play ball, 355 00:21:42,760 --> 00:21:45,439 Speaker 1: I don't think. Yeah, but okay, I might give it 356 00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:47,520 Speaker 1: a world if we if we ever run across a 357 00:21:47,560 --> 00:21:50,640 Speaker 1: tank of mosquitoes, then yeah, we'll see, we'll see, We'll 358 00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:53,080 Speaker 1: see what happens. I'll keep some cinnamon o well prepared. 359 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:56,840 Speaker 1: On the flip side, um, in large enough quantities, exposure 360 00:21:56,840 --> 00:21:59,600 Speaker 1: to cinnamon is not great for you. It's oils are 361 00:21:59,640 --> 00:22:02,600 Speaker 1: eriton um. So so anytime that you're using it in 362 00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:05,359 Speaker 1: like a beauty product, just just use use a small 363 00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:08,199 Speaker 1: test um before you maybe spread it all all the 364 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:11,320 Speaker 1: heck over your skin. It's certainly um. Workers in the 365 00:22:11,359 --> 00:22:15,399 Speaker 1: cinnamon industry have been shown to experience system symptoms like 366 00:22:15,440 --> 00:22:19,840 Speaker 1: asthma and us skin and irritation, hair loss, and weight loss. 367 00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:22,240 Speaker 1: Those last two things are not even sure how they work. 368 00:22:22,640 --> 00:22:25,520 Speaker 1: They're they're like They're like, is are the oils causing breakage? 369 00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:28,919 Speaker 1: Are they causing prevention of of hair to grow in 370 00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:33,560 Speaker 1: the first place? Weird times anyway, um uh. And the 371 00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:36,440 Speaker 1: weight loss too, is even for folks who aren't doing 372 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:39,720 Speaker 1: the manual part of the labor, who are just working 373 00:22:39,760 --> 00:22:42,760 Speaker 1: around the dust. They think it's something something's going on. 374 00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:47,320 Speaker 1: They're not sure what. Um. Cinnamon also does contain a 375 00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:52,520 Speaker 1: chemical called camarin, which can cause liver toxicity in large 376 00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:56,040 Speaker 1: enough amounts. But I'm talking like silly large amounts, Like 377 00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:58,720 Speaker 1: even the amount that Annie uses is nowhere near enough 378 00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:01,560 Speaker 1: to cause livery tuxes city. And imagine like a bath 379 00:23:01,800 --> 00:23:04,919 Speaker 1: full of cinnamon something like that, Like like maybe like 380 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:07,879 Speaker 1: back off on like heavy use of cinnamon supplements unless 381 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:11,719 Speaker 1: you're doing so under the direction of a medical professional. Yeah. Yeah, 382 00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:15,440 Speaker 1: I always have this idea that I knews on scientific 383 00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:17,639 Speaker 1: and incorrect in the back of my mind that the 384 00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:23,280 Speaker 1: reason cinnamon helped purportedly helped you lose weight and speed 385 00:23:23,359 --> 00:23:28,480 Speaker 1: up your metabolism. Um, it was because it's uh, it 386 00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:33,080 Speaker 1: kind of not burns, but it's got like that bite. Yeah, 387 00:23:33,119 --> 00:23:36,119 Speaker 1: and it was just like revving things up. I truly 388 00:23:36,160 --> 00:23:38,200 Speaker 1: believe this for a little while. And that was actually 389 00:23:38,200 --> 00:23:40,040 Speaker 1: sort of the basis. I didn't write down notes on this, 390 00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:41,919 Speaker 1: but that was sort of the basis of um, the 391 00:23:42,119 --> 00:23:46,399 Speaker 1: concept in European culture of spices like cinnamon that have 392 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:49,000 Speaker 1: that warming effect being good to eat in the winter 393 00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:51,800 Speaker 1: as like a like a balance of the humors kind 394 00:23:51,800 --> 00:23:54,720 Speaker 1: of concept. Um. And I totally want to go into 395 00:23:54,720 --> 00:23:56,400 Speaker 1: that in a future episode when I have more time 396 00:23:56,400 --> 00:23:58,879 Speaker 1: to to read up on it. But um, because it's 397 00:23:58,920 --> 00:24:01,120 Speaker 1: sort of it's sort of counter intuitive to the way 398 00:24:01,160 --> 00:24:06,119 Speaker 1: that a lot of tropical um cultures use spicy food 399 00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:08,040 Speaker 1: and during the summer as a way to kind of 400 00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:12,200 Speaker 1: stimulate sweat production and cool you off. Right, But there's 401 00:24:12,480 --> 00:24:16,920 Speaker 1: anti macrobial things involved in both of those maybe maybe. Yeah, 402 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:22,280 Speaker 1: So that's interesting maybe maybe. Al Right, that concludes the 403 00:24:22,400 --> 00:24:26,200 Speaker 1: science slash health portion. So let's talk about some cultural 404 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:30,760 Speaker 1: cinnamon things. Yeah, cinnamon, as you may have noticed, is 405 00:24:30,920 --> 00:24:35,440 Speaker 1: riding the train of that of that pumpkin pie spice monoliths. Oh, 406 00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:41,600 Speaker 1: that's a terribly mixed metaphor. Um. I appreciate it, okay. Um. 407 00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:45,400 Speaker 1: And and so cinnamon. Cinnamon has really jumped in popularity 408 00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:47,760 Speaker 1: over certainly over the past couple of years. But but 409 00:24:47,800 --> 00:24:53,080 Speaker 1: it's also just great. Yeah, that's such a lovely aroma. Okay. 410 00:24:53,359 --> 00:24:57,919 Speaker 1: Popular cinnamon things are cinnamon toast, which is that was 411 00:24:58,000 --> 00:24:59,840 Speaker 1: when I was a kid. That's what I had for 412 00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:02,919 Speaker 1: That's pretty often. Cinamentos crunch, which is one of my 413 00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:06,360 Speaker 1: favorite cereals, also had it very often. Um And this 414 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:10,240 Speaker 1: is apparently the most popular cereal in half of the 415 00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:13,960 Speaker 1: United States, over half of the United States. It's called 416 00:25:14,160 --> 00:25:19,520 Speaker 1: crook canell in France, curiously, cinnamon in UK and Ireland, 417 00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:23,080 Speaker 1: and cinni minis in Poland, so you can get it 418 00:25:23,080 --> 00:25:26,879 Speaker 1: out of the US. Um, there's cinnamon Simon rolls in general, 419 00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:30,200 Speaker 1: and here we have a place called Sinnaholic snickerdoodles. It's 420 00:25:30,240 --> 00:25:33,480 Speaker 1: one of my favorite cookies, so they're so good. Um. 421 00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:37,919 Speaker 1: And apparently there's cinnamon in Coca Cola. It kept like 422 00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:40,639 Speaker 1: I found myself somehow on the Coca Cola website when 423 00:25:40,680 --> 00:25:43,520 Speaker 1: I was like cinnamon things. How did I end up here? 424 00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:49,320 Speaker 1: I guess it's in there. Um. And they a lot 425 00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:52,760 Speaker 1: of cultures outside of the U S use it and 426 00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:55,480 Speaker 1: savory dishes way more than we do anyway. Um. Like, 427 00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:59,560 Speaker 1: it's popular in Indian curries. Are in Tajen or Chile. 428 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:05,160 Speaker 1: Sure um oh oh, and cinnamon whiskey. Yes. Although Fireball 429 00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:07,560 Speaker 1: had been around for a couple of decades, it leapt 430 00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:15,760 Speaker 1: to this sudden and much contested prominence in it reached 431 00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:18,560 Speaker 1: about two per cent of the overall dollar share of 432 00:26:18,600 --> 00:26:21,800 Speaker 1: spirits in the United States. And what that means is 433 00:26:21,840 --> 00:26:23,720 Speaker 1: that two per cent of all the money in the 434 00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:27,840 Speaker 1: country being spent on booze was going to sales of Fireball. 435 00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:32,679 Speaker 1: That's crazy, I know, I mean, you know it was. 436 00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:35,120 Speaker 1: It was a big time for flavored whiskeys in general. 437 00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:40,800 Speaker 1: But like, but like, dang, y'all wow. I also wanted 438 00:26:40,840 --> 00:26:45,760 Speaker 1: to talk about the Cinnamon challenge, oh boy, which which 439 00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:48,360 Speaker 1: is a dare of sorts. Um. If you haven't heard 440 00:26:48,359 --> 00:26:50,960 Speaker 1: of it, You're supposed to swallow a spoonful of cinnamon 441 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:52,920 Speaker 1: in less than a minute without the aid of any 442 00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:57,719 Speaker 1: water or other other helpful liquids. Um. And sounds simple, 443 00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:00,840 Speaker 1: but in case you've never act really seen it happen, 444 00:27:01,640 --> 00:27:06,240 Speaker 1: trust me, it's not. Um. The dare has been around 445 00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:09,200 Speaker 1: for at least a decade, but it went viral again 446 00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:13,760 Speaker 1: in like thanks YouTube. Um. A search on YouTube, by 447 00:27:13,760 --> 00:27:16,159 Speaker 1: the way, pulls up one point six billion videos on 448 00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:20,080 Speaker 1: the subject. Yeah. Um. The reason that it's so difficult 449 00:27:20,160 --> 00:27:23,760 Speaker 1: is that because cinnamon is ground tree bark, it contains 450 00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:27,719 Speaker 1: a lot of stiff cellulose that that resists saturation with 451 00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:32,760 Speaker 1: water UM and therefore also like spit you know, um. 452 00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:35,480 Speaker 1: And you can you can see this in action if 453 00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:38,000 Speaker 1: you sprinkle cinnamon over coffee, because it just kind of 454 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:40,480 Speaker 1: sits there until you physically mix it in um. Or 455 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:42,320 Speaker 1: if you put a drop of water on a little 456 00:27:42,320 --> 00:27:43,800 Speaker 1: bit of cinnamon that you've got, like in a spoon 457 00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:46,200 Speaker 1: or on a dish, um, it'll the water will beat 458 00:27:46,280 --> 00:27:50,119 Speaker 1: up instead of sinking in your saliva. Similarly, um cannot 459 00:27:50,400 --> 00:27:54,159 Speaker 1: mix into a spoonful of cinnamon um, which means that 460 00:27:54,240 --> 00:27:56,960 Speaker 1: you cannot swallow it, which means that you'll choke on 461 00:27:57,000 --> 00:28:00,199 Speaker 1: it and like spit out a cloud of cinnamon and 462 00:28:00,240 --> 00:28:04,359 Speaker 1: probably continue choking for a while and like look like 463 00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:08,639 Speaker 1: the dare is like a little bit mostly harmless, but 464 00:28:08,840 --> 00:28:13,080 Speaker 1: it can have some serious consequences. If you accidentally breathe 465 00:28:13,119 --> 00:28:15,880 Speaker 1: cinnamon in that cellulus that I mentioned, we'll just sit 466 00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:19,960 Speaker 1: in your lungs like not breaking down but instead slow 467 00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:25,080 Speaker 1: releasing that snimalde hyde that is an irritant that can 468 00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:30,160 Speaker 1: cause chronic inflammation and eventually scarring in your lungs, which 469 00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:33,840 Speaker 1: is like having emphysema. You don't want it. A few 470 00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:37,000 Speaker 1: teens actually choked hard enough that they collapsed along, and 471 00:28:37,160 --> 00:28:41,200 Speaker 1: at least one actually choked to death. So if you're 472 00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:44,280 Speaker 1: looking for a gross food challenge, I'd recommend baby chugging 473 00:28:44,280 --> 00:28:46,440 Speaker 1: a gallon of milk instead, which will probably just make 474 00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:49,760 Speaker 1: you throw up a lot. Yeah. Actually, don't do that either. No, 475 00:28:50,480 --> 00:28:53,920 Speaker 1: don't do either of those things. And and thus concludes 476 00:28:54,000 --> 00:29:00,480 Speaker 1: Lawrence kill Joy corner. Oh Joy killed. Yeah. I'm really 477 00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:03,680 Speaker 1: glad I wasn't. Um, I wasn't a kid during these things, 478 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:07,840 Speaker 1: because this is a dumb thing I would Oh yeah, 479 00:29:08,120 --> 00:29:10,440 Speaker 1: I don't. I don't think I would have. I wasn't 480 00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:13,200 Speaker 1: much into dares. I'm like, okay, well, I don't want 481 00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:15,560 Speaker 1: to give away too much. Don't send me any dares people. 482 00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:18,720 Speaker 1: Oh no, yeah, oh that's that sounds like a dare 483 00:29:18,720 --> 00:29:25,120 Speaker 1: in anself. Come on, I need Annie. Don't don't hurt her. Um. 484 00:29:25,160 --> 00:29:27,600 Speaker 1: There is also, of course, an episode, of course, of 485 00:29:28,480 --> 00:29:31,280 Speaker 1: of Deadwood, um, the show the HBO show Deadwood, called 486 00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:35,640 Speaker 1: Unauthorized Cinnamon. Oh. I love that title, I know, right, 487 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:39,400 Speaker 1: which we could steal it for this episode. Yeah, sorry, yeah, no, 488 00:29:40,280 --> 00:29:42,480 Speaker 1: I guess I guess Deadwood gets to keep that one, 489 00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:45,280 Speaker 1: all right, Um, but yeah, that's about That's about what 490 00:29:45,320 --> 00:29:48,680 Speaker 1: we have to say about that. Yeah, this one was 491 00:29:48,760 --> 00:29:52,600 Speaker 1: a um like. The history was so spread out, there 492 00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:57,000 Speaker 1: was no like one place look all over. It was 493 00:29:57,000 --> 00:30:00,959 Speaker 1: a doozy of of collection of materials. Um. But speaking 494 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:03,920 Speaker 1: of a collection of materials, it's time now for some 495 00:30:04,600 --> 00:30:11,840 Speaker 1: listener man. Yeah, all right, So Olivia sent us this 496 00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:16,000 Speaker 1: anecdote and suggestion. This summer, we which was her family, 497 00:30:16,320 --> 00:30:18,960 Speaker 1: went on a cruise around the mediterrane See where we 498 00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:22,320 Speaker 1: experienced all sorts of cuisine. One day, we went to Miconos, 499 00:30:22,440 --> 00:30:25,760 Speaker 1: where we were given a sweet tasting Greek dessert submerged 500 00:30:25,840 --> 00:30:28,160 Speaker 1: in water. We had no idea what it was, and 501 00:30:28,160 --> 00:30:30,240 Speaker 1: when we went back home to d C, I frantically 502 00:30:30,280 --> 00:30:33,160 Speaker 1: searched the Internet for what the mystery food was. I 503 00:30:33,200 --> 00:30:36,680 Speaker 1: suddenly came across the sugary dessert's name, which was vanilla 504 00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:42,000 Speaker 1: submarine or what I know or Greek spoon sweet. I 505 00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:44,840 Speaker 1: tried to make it, but unfortunately it came out nothing 506 00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:47,520 Speaker 1: like what I had in Micanos. We found Greek spoon 507 00:30:47,560 --> 00:30:50,280 Speaker 1: sweet online and ordered it. I hope you found this interesting. 508 00:30:50,360 --> 00:30:53,440 Speaker 1: We'll look into it for a future episode. Yes we did. 509 00:30:53,840 --> 00:30:59,520 Speaker 1: I've never heard of that. I'm very intrigued. A spoon underwater, 510 00:30:59,600 --> 00:31:03,000 Speaker 1: I like, I can't even well, yes, well, we'll have to. 511 00:31:03,080 --> 00:31:05,400 Speaker 1: We we need a we need a food budget. We 512 00:31:05,440 --> 00:31:08,360 Speaker 1: need a budget the kind of things we really do? 513 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:12,040 Speaker 1: All right, who can we talk to about that? Hey? Boss, 514 00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:17,320 Speaker 1: you're listening. Also, Claire wrote in with this note about butter, 515 00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:20,400 Speaker 1: you mentioned that butter takes a long time and effort 516 00:31:20,440 --> 00:31:23,880 Speaker 1: to make. It is true. However, as a former preschool 517 00:31:23,880 --> 00:31:26,520 Speaker 1: teacher and a current mother, I've learned how to use 518 00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:28,960 Speaker 1: this to your advantage. If it's a rainy day and 519 00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:31,920 Speaker 1: the kids are getting squirrelly, making butter is a great activity. 520 00:31:32,120 --> 00:31:34,600 Speaker 1: Kids get so excited about food they can make themselves, 521 00:31:34,760 --> 00:31:37,600 Speaker 1: and there's the added benefit of keeping their hands busy 522 00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:40,320 Speaker 1: for about fifteen minutes, and then they get to learn 523 00:31:40,320 --> 00:31:42,440 Speaker 1: a little bit more about the food they eat as well. 524 00:31:42,960 --> 00:31:44,760 Speaker 1: Just a tip for anyone who is trying to keep 525 00:31:44,800 --> 00:31:48,520 Speaker 1: active minds and hands busy. I would love doing that 526 00:31:48,560 --> 00:31:50,680 Speaker 1: as a kid. Oh yeah, we got a lot of 527 00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:53,920 Speaker 1: teachers or people who have to interact with kids right 528 00:31:53,920 --> 00:31:55,560 Speaker 1: in with this one. I was sharing then it but 529 00:31:55,920 --> 00:31:58,680 Speaker 1: that's cool. Yeah, oh man, Yeah, I'm disappointed that as 530 00:31:58,680 --> 00:32:01,040 Speaker 1: a tiny child like I I could have put all 531 00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:05,120 Speaker 1: that endless energy to work to making butter. Yeah and 532 00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:08,480 Speaker 1: then eating butter. Yes, it would have been great. So 533 00:32:08,560 --> 00:32:10,560 Speaker 1: yeah yeah yeah, y'all, y'all try it with your kids. 534 00:32:10,640 --> 00:32:13,120 Speaker 1: And and I don't know, if there's like adorable photographs 535 00:32:13,120 --> 00:32:14,880 Speaker 1: of the process that you want to send us, that 536 00:32:14,880 --> 00:32:18,680 Speaker 1: would be I love other people's kids. Yes, that would 537 00:32:18,680 --> 00:32:22,440 Speaker 1: be great, And you can send those to our email, 538 00:32:22,520 --> 00:32:25,080 Speaker 1: which is food Stuff at how stuff works dot com. 539 00:32:25,400 --> 00:32:29,760 Speaker 1: We also have a social media presence weird. We're on 540 00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:32,800 Speaker 1: Facebook and Twitter at food stuff HSW and we're also 541 00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:35,719 Speaker 1: on Instagram at food Stuff. We hope to hear from you, 542 00:32:36,040 --> 00:32:38,000 Speaker 1: and we hope that lots more good things are coming 543 00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:38,360 Speaker 1: your way.