Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-12-30
Today's Spice
Situation

Cinnamon-More true cinnamon
Is on the market today than before
the war, and this is an indirect
result of hostilities In the Pacific
which cut off the usual peacetime
spice imports to the United States
from China and the Dutch Indies,
according to the War Food Admin
istration. Before the war most of
the powdered cinnamon selling in
grocery stores was actually pow
dered cassia bark from China and
Java. Today only cinnamon from
Ceylon is getting through to this
country, and this happens to be
the botanically true cinnamon,
which is lighter in color and milder
in flavor than cassia. Cassia and
cinnamon trees are both tropical
evergreens of the laurel family.
They both have highly aromatic
inner bark which contains volatile
oil with the familiar cinnamon fla
vor and fragrance. Cassia is darker
in color and more pungent in flavor
than true cinnamon.
Total stocks of cinnamon in this
country now are about a third of
the prewar supply. To help make
up for the shortage, an imitation
cinnamon" is on the market which
is powder synthetically favored.
Gloves, Ginger, Allspice - The
three spices, cloves, ginger and all
spice, which earlier in the war
promised to be scarce, are now close
to normal in supply. The present
stock of cloves is up near 80 per
cent of the usual supply, although
no cloves were imported during the
past year until September, when
they began coming in from Zan-
zibar and Madagascar. Cloves are
the dried flower buds of tropical
tree. Ginger, the ground dried root
of a tropical shrub, will be about
as plentiful in IA as in '43. Last
year ginger came in only from ia
maica, but supplies may soon be
coming in also from India and
Africa, as they did before the war.
AS for allspice, the supply this year
will be about as large as the last
two years, which is close to normal.
Allspice gets its name from it's fla
vor, which is blend of different
spices. 1t is the dried berry of a
tree growing in Jamaica. Allspice of
different flavor and character is
also being imported from Mexico.
Peppers-Pepper supplies might
be of more concern to the wartime
cook II red pepper and red pepper
sauces were not produced in this
country and suitable for stretching
supplies of black and white pepper,
which are imported. Before the war
black and white pepper was import
ed from the Dutch East Indies, but
these imports have been cut off for
almost two years. Fortunately, this
country had substantial reserves of
pepper on hand. Distribution of
these reserve stocks is now being
regulated by the Government to
assure supply for the duration.
This is why less than half as much
pepper is on the market now as
before the war. The armed forces
use more pepper than any other
spice, so part of the stock on hand
Is reserved for them. Pepper is the
fruit or berry of vine grown in
Java. Black pepper is made by pick
ing the fruit before it is mature,
then drying and grinding. White
pepper is made by removing the hull
of the berry after it is mature. then
grinding the inside, which is lighter
in color and milder in flavor. Red
pepper is the ground dried pod of a
pepper plant and is produced in
this country mostly in Louisiana,
South Carolina and Mississippi.