Darcini - Chinese cinnamon

Essence.
She is famous. There is an excellent type of cinnamon tree, slightly blackish, mountainous, thick, and another - white, loose, swollen, with an easily crushed root, and also a black smooth one, not very knotty. There is also a species with the same smell as Ceylon cinnamon, reddish, and its bark is greenish, like Ceylon cinnamon. This is one of the types of cinnamon, the strength of which remains unchanged for a long time, especially if it is crushed and made into cakes with wine.

Dioscorides also says: “There is one type of Chinese cinnamon, which is called “false Chinese cinnamon”; it has some smell, but is rough and its strength is weak.” Oil is extracted from it. ""There is also a species called "Zinj"; It is similar in appearance to Chinese cinnamon, but differs from it in its nasty smell.

As for the type of cinnamon known as kirfa, it is similar to Chinese cinnamon in its root and many nodes. This is a woody type of Chinese cinnamon. It has long, strong branches, but its smell is much less pleasant than the smell of Chinese cinnamon. There are, however, people who claim that kirfa is a different genus, not Chinese cinnamon, and that its nature is different, different from the nature of Chinese cinnamon.

Choice.
The best Chinese cinnamon is fragrant and pungent in taste, but not hot, and its color is pure, not mixed. Dioscorides says: “The best variety of cinnamon tree is young, ash-blackish and reddish in color, smooth, with thin branches closely spaced.” Good Chinese cinnamon has sweetness and saltiness; it burns slightly and is not very crumbly. A sign of high quality Chinese cinnamon is that it suppresses every other smell, and in the presence of cinnamon no other smell is felt.

And bad Chinese cinnamon resembles lichen, or incense, or Ceylon cinnamon, or it smells bad. White cinnamon wood that is easily rubbed and also smooth with a rough root is bad.

The strength of Chinese cinnamon is preserved by turning the crushed cinnamon into cakes, otherwise it becomes weaker after fifteen years or even less. The cut should be taken from one root; what crumbles is an impurity.

Nature.
Hot, dry to the third degree.

Actions and properties.
Dioscorides says: “The power of all cinnamon is warming, opening blockages; it eliminates all decay, extremely thins and attracts, corrects all evil force and eliminates the tendency to decay from spoiled juices. Cinnamon oil is very hot; it dissolves and rarefies.

Cosmetics.
Cinnamon is used to lubricate freckles and lenticular bruises, and with vinegar it is used for milk pimples.

Wounds and ulcers.
It is good for lichens and ulcers.

Tools with joints.
Cinnamon oil works wonders for trembling limbs.

Organs of the head.
Cinnamon helps with a runny nose, and cinnamon oil, although it causes heaviness in the head, cleanses the brain, causing the fluids in it to seep out. Cinnamon oil is one of the remedies for soothing ear pain and is included in ear medicines.

Organs of the eye.
When eaten or applied in powder form, cinnamon helps relieve cataracts and cloudiness in the eye and removes thick moisture from the eye.

Breast organs.
Cinnamon invigorates, helps with coughs and clears the chest of bad juices.

Nutritional organs.
It opens blockages in the liver and strengthens it. Cinnamon strengthens the stomach, dries out the fluids contained in it and helps against dropsy.

Eruption organs.
Cinnamon, if weakened by a small amount of olive oil, wax and egg yolk, helps against pain in the uterus and kidneys and against tumors of these organs. This is done so that its effect is not too strong and so that it does not cause hardening. Cinnamon drives away urine and menstruation and expels the fetus. With wild cumin it helps with kidney problems. As for cinnamon oil, it helps with pain in the uterus if its effect is weakened with olive oil and wax. Otherwise, it causes hardening, dissolving the juices more than necessary.

Fevers.
Cinnamon, especially cinnamon oil, if rubbed with it, helps with chills. Cinnamon helps against reptile bites; Cinnamon and figs are used to make a medicinal bandage for scorpion stings.

Substitutes.
Chinese cinnamon is replaced with astringent Ceylon cinnamon peels, as well as double the amount of cubeba or juniper berries.