[1] Real cinnamon, called Ceylon cinnamon, is the bark of a tree that grows in Sri Lanka. You can see how dense the stick is (photo © King Arthur Baking).

[2] The bark of the cassia tree is curved, like a scroll Saigon or Vietnamese cinnamon (photo © American Heritage Chocolate).

A bit of news that may surprise you:

The spice you know as cinnamon—the one you sprinkle on sugared toast and into cookie and cake batters; the one that adds depth to curries and bite to marinades—may not be real cinnamon at all!

It may be from a tree called cassia, which originated in Southern China and is also known as Chinese cinnamon.

There are several subspecies that are now widely grown across Eastern and Southern Asia.

While professionals distinguish between cassia and true cinnamon, to the consumer, what is often sold as ground cinnamon is cassia.

Cassia curls into sticks and is cheaper than true cinnamon. You can’t tell the difference when it’s ground—so what you purchase as ground cinnamon is often cassia.

The aromas and flavors are similar, but not identical. However…the finest cinnamon in the world Saigon cinnamon, a cassia, has superior flavor and aroma and is considered the best cinnamon in the world

So when you buy cinnamon sticks, you may not care if they’re cassia.

For home cooking, they’ll deliver much of the same result*.

Learn more about the differences between cassia and cinnamon—and the best ways to cook and bake with both—in our complete review of this complex spice and its history.

You know how to cook with cinnamon. But do you know how to drink it?

Try the Cinnamon Cider Martini, one of our favorite spicy cocktails.
 

*Both Ceylon and cassia are healthy and delicious spices. However, people who to consume large amounts of it, e.g. as a supplement, need to take real cinnamon. Cassia can be harmful because of its coumarin content. High doses of coumarin have been shown to cause cancerous tumors.

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Red Dragon Cheese topped with a chunk of green-marbled Sage Derby.

[1] This buttery Breton pastry makes an addictive addition to your morning coffee (photo by Corey Lugg | © The Nibble).

[2] A seasonal pumpkin kouign-amann pastry (photos #2, #3, and #4 © Patisserie Chanson | New York City).

[3] The inside of a lemon-poppy kouign amann.

[4] Fresh out of the over, topped with fresh fruit.

Seldom found in French bakeries in America, kouign amann (pronounced (kween ah-MAHN) is a Breton pastry (from Brittany, a region in France).

This laminated pastry is time consuming to make, but the payoff is something distinctive and wonderful. If you’re a baker, bake some. Or splurge and have them sent from a top baker as a treat.

> See the full review to learn more about kouign-amann.

> June 20 is National Kouign Amann Day.

> Check out all the pastry holidays.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF KOUIGN-AMANN

Kouign-amann is a rich, buttery regional specialty of Brittany, France. It was created in the town of Douarnenez around 1860 by a baker named Yves-René Scordia.

The name is a compound of the Breton words kouign (cake) and amann (butter). In the Breton language*, compound words are sometimes hyphenated to indicate that they form a single concept.

Thus, kouign (cake) and amann (butter) are hyphenated to describe a specific type of cake or pastry rather than a generic butter cake.

According to the story handed down, Scordia, faced with a shortage of ingredients for cake, improvised by using an abundance of butter and sugar in a bread dough.

He folded the dough repeatedly in the fashion of laminated pastry†, creating layers similar to puff pastry, and then baked it slowly. This caramelized the sugar and butter and created a crisp, golden crust.

Kouign-Amann is often described as a denser, more caramelized cousin of perhaps the most famous laminated baked good, the croissant, with a crisp outer shell and a soft and layered crumb (interior).

Kouign-Amann remained a regional specialty of Brittany until after World War II. Then, improvements in transportation made Brittany more accessible, leading to a tourism boom. Visitors from France and beyond discovered Brittany and its foods.

By the late 20th century, prominent chefs and food writers helped to promote Breton dishes, particularly in Paris, where many regional French restaurants were established.

In the 21st century, interest in traditional and artisanal foods surged worldwide. Breton pastries like kouign-amann began appearing in bakeries across Europe, Japan, and U.S. High-profile chefs and food TV shows further increased their visibility.

The pastry has become a staple in many French bakeries and has been featured on culinary shows like The Great British Bake Off, cementing its place in the pastry pantheon.

In the U.S., artisan bakeries began to craft varieties with fruit and chocolate.

Traditionally, it is made in large “family size” rounds, but modern bakers also make individual-sized portions (like Danish pastry).
 
 
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*Breton is its own language, not a dialect of French. It is a Celtic language, closely related to Cornish (spoken in Cornwall, England) and Welsh. French is a Romance language derived from Latin.

†Laminated pastry refers to any dough that is made by incorporating layers of fat and dough through the process of lamination: Butter is shaped into a flat, rectangular block and placed atop a rectangle of dough. The dough is folded, rolled out, and folded into thirds (like a letter) or a book fold (folding both ends toward the center, then folding in half).

Croissants, puff pastry, Viennoiserie, and similar doughs are made in this fashion. The layers that puff up when baked due to steam from the butter and water in the dough. Here’s more about it.

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As the bee says, it tastes good!

A cooking tip from The Nibble: mild-tasting, value-oriented fish such as tilapia take well to strong, savory simmer sauces. Here are some flavors to inspire your winning recipes!