How to Use Cassia
The Global Cinnamon
Sweet | Warm | Pungent | Bitter
Cassia cinnamon is comfort with a kick. Spicier and more intense than its cousin from Ceylon, it’s the backbone of spiced desserts and robust savory marinades across Asia and the Americas. Don’t be shy—cassia thrives when when flavor needs a firm hand.
COOKING TIPS
- Cassia’s intense, sweet warmth is heftier than Ceylon cinnamon. Its pungent kick plays well in bold dishes like curries, moles, chili pastes, BBQ rubs, and spice-forward desserts like gingerbread.
- Essential to many Southeast Asian, Middle Eastern, and Latin American dishes, cassia’s high oil content delivers potent aromatics that shine in long cooking.
- Use whole sticks in stews, biryanis, or braises like a bay leaf, and remove before serving. Ground cassia works well in cinnamon sugar, baking blends, BBQ rubs, or in slow-cooked sauces and chutneys. It's also great in spiced rice, preserves, infused syrups, and even ice cream, where it holds up against freezing.
- Cassia flower buds can also be ground for pickling blends or bold spice mixes, much like cloves.
GRINDING & GRATING
- Cassia bark is very hard and very tough and is best ground in a high-powered electric grinder.
- You shouldn't just toss the sticks in whole because they can jam the blades and strain the motor. Instead, break them into smaller pieces by taping them with a pestle or smacking them with a rolling pin wrapped in a cloth (depending on the thickness).
- Unlike Ceylon, which is too soft and brittle, you can also use a microplane to grate the dense quills of cassia. It shaves the spice into a fine, fluffy powder that blends instantly with your other ingredients. This is ideal when you only need a small amount, like a teaspoon for baking or a pinch to finish a drink.
- Grind just before use, as ground cassia loses its punch rather quickly. Use it within a month at most.
TOASTING & INFUSING
- Like many spices, most of cassia’s flavor compounds—even the all-important cinnamaldehyde (90%+ of its essential oil)—don’t dissolve well in water and can have a hard time breaking out of the tough bark.
- To release the aroma, toast cassia briefly in a dry pan or sauté in fat or oil. Steaming them in a lidded pot can also help disperse cinnamaldehyde throughout water-based dishes. Alcohol is another effective carrier—think mulled wine and bitters.
STORING
- The most desirable, delicate top notes of any spice quickly dissipate once ground, so it's best to buy and store whole cassia sticks (quills). If you do so in an airtight container in a cool, dry, dark place, they will maintain their potency for up to 2–3 years. Look for firm bark with a reddish-brown hue and strong scent.
- You can top off cassia sugar blends as you store them like sourdough starters. Add more cassia, sugar, and leftover baking spices to deepen the mix over time.
Cinnamon Rolls