Kayu Manis

Cinnamonum zeylanicum. The Indonesian name for cinnamon means simply ‘sweet wood’, although it is not the wood but the bark that contains the flavour. The neat little rolls that you find on the supermarket spice-rack are the innermost layer of this bark, which is scraped off, cut up into squares, and allowed to curl up naturally. In cooking, the rolls or quills should be removed before the dish is served.