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CSU IE 116 - Cinnamon and Saffron

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IE 116 1st Edition Lecture 12 Outline of Last Lecture I. Early Spice historya. Egyptb. Arabsc. Secrets and Mythsd. The CrusadesII. Social obsessionIII. PepperIV. 4 theories of spice indulgenceV. End of obsessionVI. Black PepperOutline of Current Lecture Cinnamon and SaffronI. Cinnamona. True Cinnamonb. Doppelgangerc. Cinnamon vs CassiaII. Saffrona. True and Adulteratedb. Numbersc. Harvestedd. Historye. Poppy vs SaffronCurrent LectureI. Cinnamona. True Cinnamon- Cinnamomum verum – native to Sri Lanka (Ceylon) the west coast and India. - True cinnamono Sri Lanka Contributes 80 – 90% of true cinnamon & Mexico is largest import – 50%- Gathered: 2 year old branches off cinnamon tree are cut in 3 foot sections and are fermented fora day. The top layer is peeled off and might be used for oil, and bottom layer is dried and put together in a cinnamon quill.b. Doppelganger- Almost all cinnamon is related to true cinnamon, but is called Cassia. – comes from an evergreentree native to china, Bangladesh, India, etc. Easier to harvest, easier to sell, easier to buy. “Chinese cinnamon, Vietnamese cinnamon, etc) Indonesian cinnamon is most common in America.- MOSTLY USED IN AMERICA AND CANADAc. Cinnamon vs cassia- Cinnamon is Light and fine and contains very little coumarin. Preferred by Mexico and Europe.- Cassia is heavy and coarse with varied, but usually high amounts of coumarin Preferred by America and Canada. Coumarin – a secondary metabolite, found in many grasses, has appetite suppressing properties. (smell of fresh cut grass) o FDA makes it moderately prohibited for toxic properties on the liver, but only in very large quantities.- Useso Foodo Antioxidantso Type 2 diabetes research – Insulin resistance (Cassia)II. Saffrona. True and Adulterated- True saffron is the most expensive spice by weight- THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS CHEAP SAFFRON if it’s anything less than 25-50$, it’s adulterated- Can be adulterated with other spices including Tumeric- If adulterated, some countries can by punished by death, it’s a national treasure, especially in Iran. b. Numbers- Iran is the largest exporter (94%), also Greece, Morocco, and Spain.- ONE POUND OF SAFFRON COSTS $3-$5000.c. Harvested- Historically: Corocus cartwrightianus – undomesticated. - Now completely domesticated: Crocus Sativuso Reproduces by Corms (bulbs) shattered, and replanted.o 2 flowers per bulb.o Female sterile o Only 3 tiny stigmas on each flower.  Every stigma is gingerly removed and harvested. o Is a perennial bulb that flowers ONLY IN FALL for a few weekso Around 75000 flowers are grown and harvested to produce a single pound of saffron. - It is the most expensive spice because it requires so much labor.d. History- Earlyo Cleopatra used it as an aphrodisiac, she bathed in it for her skin, etc.o Used by healerso Stop internal hemorrhaging If too much was used, > 5grams, vomiting and internal hemorrhaging would occuro Cure Urinary Infection If too much was used, > 10 grams, would cause uterine bleeding and abortion.o An Anti-poisoning potion  5-20 grams may be lethal. <30grams.- Middle Ageso Fall of the Roman Empireo Saffron disappeared: flowers were seen as evil.o Used again as a Plague remedyo Demand skyrocketedo High counterfeitingo During the “Saffron war” pirates would drop the gold and steal the spices for obvious reasons and because it was worth as much as gold.- Currentlyo Foodo Dyeo Medicineo Antioxidanto Anti-carcinogenic * Works as well as, but has less o Anti-mutagenic side-effects, of chemo therapy.o Carcinoma, sarcoma, and leukemia.e. Poppy (opium) VS Saffron- Afghanistano Poppy production controlled by the Taliban/warlordso Received a big push from Canada to grow Saffron instead of Poppieso Problemso Saturated Saffron Market – decrease in priceo Poppy Decrease – Increase in opium priceo Taliban repercussions on


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CSU IE 116 - Cinnamon and Saffron

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