Cinnamon is one of those spices that nearly everybody uses, but nobody seems to really know where it comes from. Cinnamon is actually a very small evergreen plant that is found mostly in Sri Lanka and Southern India. The spice that most Americans use is actually taken from the bark of the cinnamon tree, which undergoes a long process. When it comes to Caribbean cuisine, cinnamon is an integral part of Caribbean cooking. In order to create the cinnamon that we use today, the bark must be stripped from the tree, coarsely pounded, and set aside to soak in sea water. The cinnamon itself is a yellow color, but when we buy cinnamon in the store, it is usually a red to brown color. Cinnamon is used in nearly every type of Caribbean dish, and this aromatic spice will truly make your stomach start to rumble. One of the most popular dishes that uses cinnamon as a predominant spice is Caribbean jerk. Jerk is a careful combination of many different spices, – jerk actually contains around twenty different spices -- but no jerk can be complete without the addition of cinnamon. Of course, cinnamon is also widely used in a number of Caribbean desserts as well, which makes this one spice that is entirely versatile. Since the Caribbean borrows different spices from various cultures, the cinnamon spice is one of the most popular types of spice, and it is used in nearly every kitchen throughout the Caribbean. Within North America, cinnamon is also a very popular spice, but Caribbean chefs have taken this heart warming spice to a whole new level.
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