Cinnamon

The names "cinnamon" and "cassia" are quite confusing to most Americans, as in this country they are often used interchangeably. There are four economically significant species of cinnamon in the genus Cinnamomum. In this country we are probably most familiar with Korintje cinnamon (Cinnamomum burmannii) from Indonesia but cinnamon aficionados tend to gravitate more towards Ceylon cinnamon from the island of Sri Lanka (Cinnamomum verum which is also known as "true cinnamon") or Vietnamese cinnamon (Cinnamomum loureiroi and still sometimes referred to as Saigon cinnamon) which tends to have the highest volatile oil content, at between 4% and 6%, of all the various types of cinnamon.