SC - First Feast and Feast Cleanup

[LrdRas@aol.com]

>I assume you know that the 13th c. Andalusian cookbook translated by Perry
>routinely distinguishes between "cinnamon" and "chinese cinnamon." That
>suggests that the two are significantly different; not having compared
>different cassias I can't tell if it is consistent with your conclusions.
>
In Arabic during period, as in the European languages, there were two terms
in use: one for the higher quality "cinnamon" (whatever it might be at that
time) and one for the less exclusive "cannell/cassia". In Arabic "darchini"
corresponds to "cinnamon". It is usually taken, then and now, etymologically
to mean "wood of China", so it would be the 'Chinese cinnamon' referred to
(although I have my doubts -- I suspect folk etmology here, and it could
also mean "sweet (or sugar) wood", which is a common descriptor for
cinnamon/cassia in many south Asian languages). The other Arabic term is
"kirfah" ('bark'), which would be the more ordinary cassia. Just to confuse
things, there is also a further Arabic term "salikheh", which is also used
for cassia.

Francesco Sirene



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