Jason's Kitchen Staples: Cinnamon!

jasonsbites:

As I type up this post, theres the warm scent of cinnamon wafting through the air as an apple pie slowly bakes in the oven….. well actually no. But I wish there was a pie in the oven right now!

I grew up absolutely HATING cinnamon because every time I actually got a chance to taste it was in a horribly made apple pie or tart from a grocery store, and it honestly made me wanna vomit!

But overtime, I really grew to like it and honestly I think I might actually like cinnamon a lot more in savoury applications than sweet!

For all you health junkies out there like me, did you know that cinnamon actually helps kick your metabolism into high gear? So it’s a fantastic idea to use it in your cereal or oatmeal in the morning (especially within the first 30-60 minutes you’re awake) to get your body going! 

You can usually find cinnamon in two forms: in quills and in powdered/ground form. I mean they deliver the same flavour but you’ll probably want to use the quills in food that is in a liquid form (like a soup, or custard) so that you can remove it later without having any “muddy” colours left over as you would, had you used the powder!

Some nutritional facts:

- 1 tsp of cinnamon contains 28mg of calcium

- 1 tsp has over 1g of wonderful fibre 

- kickstarts your metabolism

- aids digestion/nausea

- helps regulate insulin levels, for you diabetics out there!

- helps lower LDL (bad cholesterol) 

Uses in the kitchen:

Aside from it’s OBVIOUS uses in desserts, I don’t have too many cool recipes that include cinnamon, but I’ll list what I can along with other cool dishes you might haven’t thought of adding it in to before!

Cinnamon & Paprika Roast Chicken: This is SUCH a fantastic recipe I developed off of watching Nigella! Just process your chicken as you would to prepare it for roasting (depends if you’re using a big chicken, or mini spatchcock ones) and sprinkle appropriately with cinnamon, paprika, salt, and pepper and a bit of dried ginger if you’ve got it. Cook it until it’s an internal temperature of about 160F and dig in! You can also season potatoes in the same manner and roast them along with the chicken! SO good.

Healthy Hot Chocolate: Just grab a mug of your preferred type of milk (I often use almond), add 1-2 tablespoons of cocoa, pinch of salt, and a dash of cinnamon and heat it up! You could sweeten it to your liking too :) it’s a much much better version of that vile Starbucks version that’s like, 1/5th syrup by volume (am I allowed to say that, being an employee of Starbucks?)

Used as a sugar substitute: If you’re trying to wean yourself off of processed sugars or just sugars at that, using a bit of cinnamon in place of it in your daily coffee or milk is FANTASTIC and really perks you up. Not to mention that you feel so warm and fuzzy on the inside afterwards too! 

Used in stews: I don’t know why it never occurs to some people that using cinnamon in a hearty stew is honestly like, the most simple but amazing thing ever. If you’re making something that has earthy flavours like cumin, nutmeg, or just SOMETHING comforting, a touch of cinnamon can make it SO much better! For example, I used it in a lamb stew that never called for it in the recipe and it was phenomenal! 

Do you guys have any other cool uses for cinnamon?