Is cinnamon made out of sassafras?

Answer 1

No. Cinnamon is NOT made out of Sassafras.

1 ) Cinnamon ---Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum, synonym C. zeylanicum) is a small evergreen tree 10-15 meters (32.8-49.2 feet) tall, belonging to the family Lauraceae, native to Sri Lanka and Southern India.

The bark is widely used as a spice. The leaves are ovate-oblong in shape, 7-18 cm (2.75-7.1 inches) long.
They are also used as spice.

See the photos of this TRUE Cinnamon ---
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Cinnamomum_verum1.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Cinnamomum_verum.jpg

The name cinnamon is correctly used to refer to Ceylon Cinnamon, also known as "true cinnamon" (from the botanical name C. verum).

However, the related species Cassia (Cinnamomum aromaticum) and Cinnamomum burmannii are sometimes sold labeled as cinnamon, sometimes distinguished from true cinnamon as "Indonesian cinnamon" or, at least for Cassia, "Bastard cinnamon".

Ceylon cinnamon, using only the thin inner bark, has a finer, less dense and more crumbly texture, and is considered to be less strong than cassia.

Cassia is generally a medium to light reddish brown, is hard and woody in texture, and is thicker (2-3 mm thick), as all of the layers of bark are used.

Most of the cinnamon sold in supermarkets in the United States is actually cassia.

European health agencies have recently warned against consuming high amounts of cassia, due to a toxic component called coumarin.

2 ) Sassafras --Sassafras albidum (Sassafras, White Sassafras, Red Sassafras, or Silky Sassafras) is a species of Sassafras that grows throughout eastern North America.

The Sassafras albidum is a deciduous tree with soft, yellow wood, many slender branches, and orange-brown bark. The bark of the mature trunk is thick, red-brown, and deeply furrowed. Sassafras trees usually grow to a maximum height of 30-50 feet.

Due to the color of the bark and the fragrance it is used as a cheap subsitute for cinnamon.

Besides both of the belong to the same family -Lauraceae.

see its photo-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Sassafras7.jpg

Answer 2

Sassafras was a main ingredient in root beer. It makes a nice tea- you have to gather your own now, due to the whole mildly carcinogenic thing... I read the report, you'd have to drink several gallons of the stuff daily over an extended period to develop problems... Or find a supplier ignorant of the law. Sassafras leaves are dried and sold as gumbo file.

Cinnamon is produced from the cinnamon tree, or- generally- Cassia.

Answer 3

Cinnamon is the inner bark of a tropical evergreen tree. It is very good to use for spice in foods. Sassafras is not cinnamon. Taking sassafras in any oral form is discouraged strongly. The sale of products that contain significant amounts of safrole (a major chemical in sassafras) is prohibited by law in both Canada and the United States.

In 1960, the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the use of sassafras oil and safrole in foods and drugs based on the animal studies and human case reports. Several years later, the sale of sassafras oil, roots, or tea was prohibited by law.

Answer 4

Apparently, "cinnamon is the dried bark of various laurel trees in the cinnamomun family. One of the more common trees from which Cinnamon is derived is the cassia. Ground cinnamon is perhaps the most common baking spice. Cinnamon sticks are made from long pieces of bark that are rolled, pressed, and dried."

While sassefras is, indeed, a laurel tree, and one of the other names it is known by is "cinnamon wood", I can't seem to find any conclusive proof that they make cinnamon from sassefras. The nickname of "cinnamon wood" may very well be based on little more than the colouring of the tree's bark, after all.

Still, this also means I can't give you a definite 'no'. Hopefully, someone else will be of better use to you.

Answer 5

Nope, two plants.

Cinnamon grows in indonesia, Sassafras grows in Michigan and around the USA. I used to make tea from its roots; it smells like root beer, because it is the source of root beer flavor

Answer 6

It's made out of an ancient root found on the campuses of all colleges and universities called the root beer. When they figured out the secret formula they switched the words around so no one would figure it out.

Answer 7

Most stuff labeled as "cinnamon" is really Cassia, btw , & no , cinnamon is not sassafrass , it is itself.