Spicing up the Holidays
By Veronica MacDonald Ditko
An Accidental Anthropologist
Staring at my cup of hot cider, there is a strange brown stick peeking out. Like a caveman, I poke at it, and cleverly use it to stir my drink. It is sweet and woody and I wonder if I can eat it. I am disappointed to discover it’s not very edible.
The cinnamon stick – a staple of American holiday drinks – seems to disappear once springtime comes. But for that short season, it beats out most other spices in hot drinks. It is much easier to put a cinnamon stick in a drink than a stocky ginger root or choking-hazard clove. So what in the world is cinnamon and why is it in stick form?
The answer takes us on a voyage around the world and throughout the centuries. Cinnamon is derived from the bark of certain types of laurel tree, which are grown in China, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka.
Despite its sweet appearance, cinnamon has actually wrecked havoc for centuries. Ancient Egyptians developed a liking for it and imported it from China. Much like gold and black tea, cinnamon became the basis for wars, conquests, and expanding routes to Asia. All this fighting and exposure has helped cinnamon find itself in widespread dishes from Moroccan stews to gooey American cinnamon buns.
Cinnamon is especially popular in American baked goods, and our nostalgia keeps bringing it back in full force during the holidays. Yet cinnamon sticks are not the only wintry food with a short-lived appearance. What do canned pumpkins do most of the year? Sit on the shelf?
Foods have traditionally appeared during certain times of the year due to their seasonality. This is still true today. Have you ever spit watermelon seeds into the snow? How about trying to roast chestnuts over a summer campfire? Or what about making a steaming bowl of potato leek soup for the Fourth of July? My guess is probably not.
Cinnamon sticks could be available all year since they are dried. But their popularity still peaks around the holidays. The best explanation for cinnamon sticks in the winter is their usefulness in hot drinks. They make mighty flavorful spoons.
Veronica MacDonald Ditko is originally from the Jersey Shore, but married and settled in northern New Jersey. Her journalism career started a decade ago after studying Psychology and Anthropology in Massachusetts. She has written for several newspapers and magazines including The Daily Hampshire Gazette, The Springfield Union News and Sunday Republican, Happi, Chemical Week, The Hawthorne Press, The Jewish Standard, and more. The FLOW Journals welcome Veronica MacDonald Ditko. Check back for more from An Accidental Anthropologist .
Originally published 12/20/08