Did you know that cinnamon (from the Greek kinnamomon) is actually the ground-up bark of a tree?

The history of cinnamon, which is native to Sri Lanka, is rich and long. The first mention of the spice come from China, circa 2800 BCE. In antiquity, the Greek historian Herodotus wrote of a mythical Cinnamon Bird, which was said to use cinnamon to build its nests. Another Greek historian, Pliny the Elder, later wrote that this bird had been invented as a marketing ploy to raise the price of cinnamon!  (Apparently effectively, since he also wrote that 350 grams of cinnamon were equal to the value of five kilograms of silver.) And in Exodus, God instructs Moses to make an anointing oil out of cinnamon, cassia, olive oil, myrrh, and hemp.  (Exodus 30:22). 

Today, we still think cinnamon is precious—and delicious!  That’s why we use it liberally in our cinnamon crunch cereal base.  Cinnamon crunchies balanced with oat flakes, wheat flakes, and barley create the perfect background for nuts, apples, coconut…. or whatever else tickles your fancy.