Kleine Bayern Gourmet Roasted Nuts

As with most commercial spices, cinnamon seems so common today. We use it on everything from toast to coffee. But it wasn't always that way.

Eons Old

Reference to cinnamon is found in Chinese writing dating back to 2800 B.C. Page through your family bible and you'll see that Moses even used it in anointing oil.

Not unlike almonds or vanilla, cinnamon was long the spice of the wealthy upper classes of Europe. In the first Century A.D., 350 grams of cinnamon was considered to be as valuable as five kilograms of silver. It was worth so much that the Roman Emperor Nero is said to have burned a year's supply of cinnamon in a remorseful penance for murdering his wife Poppaea in 65 A.D. (Causes one to wonder whether he played a fiddle during that fire, too.)

The Key or Stick to Good Health

Cinnamon also has a long history of medicinal use. It has been used to calm indigestion and help digestion, and can be used to curb the appetite. Medieval physicians used it to treat coughing and sore throats.

Not to be forgotten, cinnamon was — still is by some — considered an aphrodisiac for men. So, before you run out and buy a bunch of Viagra off the Net, consider trying some Kleine Bayern German style cinnamon-roasted almonds first. Their good for you in so many ways...

Just the Facts...

To learn more about this truly incredible spice, read A Taste of Paradise: Cinnamon by Troy David Osborne.