Garlic & cinnamon

[nickmarino]

recently i've been on a much tighter budget and been cooking more at home. i've discovered the flavors of garlic and cinnamon have an incredible effect when mixed together: strong, sweet, zesty. i - to the best of my knowledge - have never tasted the combination of these two before. however (as strange as this may sound), i cook with the two of them together every day since discovering the mixed flavor. i typically use them on pasta, lightly pan fried with veggies.

does anyone have any experience using these two spices together? are there any regional types of cooking that use these two together? the only thing i could possibly compare would be the flavor of cincinnati chili or the flavor of mole sauce (but neither truly taste the same as this).

 

[home cook]

This is traditional flavour combination for East kitchen, I like sweet meat with mango-garlic sauce wich contains cinnamon.

 

[GB]

I used this combination very often. I actually just made a pork stew last night that had both of these flavors. They work very well together.

 

[urmaniac13]

Both cinnamon and garlic often go into the curry dishes I make, but along with many other spices. I can't recall cooking anything with cinnamon and garlic alone as the dominant flavourings. Can you tell us a little more in detail what you do with them? I am very curious.

 

[nickmarino]

it's an inexact science right now. typically i'm cooking some broccoli and spinach on high heat in olive oil for about 5 mins. then i'll add in my pasta, cook for about 3 mins. i'll crack an egg into the mix, to fry up onto the pasta like an asian noodle dish. then i'll add my garlic, cinnamon, and sometimes ginger (i say sometimes because i experimented leaving it out and it doesn't change the flavor much). sometimes i'll add (ok it's getting strange) salsa, cheddar cheese, or parmesan cheese right into the pan. however, i've experimented leaving any of these out and the unique combo of the garlic and cinnamon remains fairly unchanged. are there any traditional dishes that sound similar to this?

 

[GB]

If it does not change the flavor much then try adding a little more. Have you considered adding some nutmeg as well?

 

[nickmarino]

If it does not change the flavor much then try adding a little more. Have you considered adding some nutmeg as well?

i would if i had some! what sort of effect would the nutmeg have?

 

[GB]

Nutmeg would play well with the spinach. It has a sort of sweet taste, but does not make things taste sweet per say. It could have the affect of having someone taste your dish and say that there is a flavor in there that they just can't pick out, but they like it.

 

[JDP]

Cinnamon and garlic also appear together in a number of rub recipes for smoking pork and beef.

JDP

 

[nickmarino]

Nutmeg would play well with the spinach. It has a sort of sweet taste, but does not make things taste sweet per say. It could have the affect of having someone taste your dish and say that there is a flavor in there that they just can't pick out, but they like it.

great advice. i have found that adding sweeter flavors makes the spices bolder, for example i've used a sort of teriyaki / bbq sauce for the finished dish and it seems to bring out the spice combination much better.

 

[avalondeb]

Not quite cooking, but.....

Both Cinnamon and Garlic lower blood sugar levels!! So eat up, not only delicious, but VERY good for you!!!

 

[Dancer in the kitchen]

Okay, I'm a bit behind in my response, but I just joined this forum & am still discovering all these different areas.

I've been using garlic & cinnamon in a chili dish my husband introduced me to called Plymouth Chili. It has those 2 ingredients plus oregano, chili powder, red kidney beans, tomato paste, ground turkey served over penne pasta & shredded cheddar. I serve it with some corn bread. One of my family favs!

 

[Robo410]

I make a meat sauce with garlic and cinamon ... very mediterrainian...Moroccan? Greek? Sicillian? keeps em guessing, but so good!

 

[Barb L.]

I must be the odd one, only like cinnamon in baked goods, faulty taste buds ! Do not care for Cinn. Chili - cinnomon ! Wish I did ! Oh Well !

 

[jpmcgrew]

I use a little cinnamon in my roasted red pepper sauce that goes on my cheese stuffed shells.
In alot of your indian and morrocan dishes they use cinnamon along with garlic and numerous other spices and herbs.

 

[Claire]

My understanding is that Cincinnati chili is Greek in origins. I guess that's because where I used to live in Virginia it was called "Greek spaghetti". I make it once or twice a year. A lot of people who grew up with cinnamon being strictly on sweets cannot appreciate it in savory dishes. I don't have much of a sweet tooth, so love it in southern European/north African/Middle east, etc cuisines.

 

[cookingguru]

Garlic & Cinnamon

Used alot in Asian and Indian cuisines. You can make a chutney out of it, especially with rice.

 

[cjs]

a seasoning I made recently called for the cinnamon to be toasted - what a wonderful flavor this gives. There were three spices called for to be toasted - I'll have to go look what the other two were, but it was great.

 

[jpmcgrew]

Was it cumin and corriander?

 

[kitchenelf]

Cumin is a spice used in a lot of Mexican dishes - it can come in seeds or it can be ground. View some good information here.

Coriander is the seed from a cilantro plant. To me it has a slight lime flavor. View some good information here.