Costly

I mentioned to my daughter that I had made pickled beets and eggs and she said she loved them (I didn't know that!) and wanted my recipe. I told her that she should be sure to use cinnamon sticks and not the powder as I was forced to do when I made my last batch. The powder gave the flavor but left little speckles on the eggs and the juice didn't have the clarity it should have had. 

I said I would bring a batch to her when we arrive for Christmas Day dinner.  I looked for the cinnamon sticks in Walmart last week and they didn't have ANY. Today I picked up a .75 oz. container at our local Shur Save market and was shocked at the price! I bought them anyway. I paid $7.59 for a container of 6 sticks! My recipe calls for 2 or 3. 

After I settled down I began a price check on the internet. This is what I found:

*Walmart sells them (.75 oz.)  $5.48

*Target  (.75 oz.) $5.59

This is what I bought.

*Sams Club (3.25 oz.) cost not given on line. I'm not a member.

*Costco (8 oz.) $7.40 There are no Costco stores in my area at all!

I will guard my recent purchase of 6 sticks with my life and be very stingy when using them. And to think I used to use them for decorating when making holiday crafts!

There are two types of cinnamon grown and harvested today: Ceylon cinnamon, which is also known as "true cinnamon," and cassia, which is usually sold and marketed as cinnamon in the United States. The two spices taste and smell very similar to one another, but they are grown and harvested in two very different places.  Source: Beth Asaff

I did learn that whole cinnamon sticks are from the bark of evergreen trees. They are harvested by peeling off the tree bark and allowing it to curl up in quills as it dries. The lower portion of the cinnamon tree, where bark is older and more flavorful is scraped down to become ground cinnamon. 

True cinnamon usually grows in Sri Lanka and South India. 

Cassia cinnamon comes from a different plant. It is native to Southeast Asia and can be found most often in Indonesia, Vietnam and China.

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Well now you know more about cinnamon!