Wholesale cinnamon for professionals

Quill or ground: two products, not two formats

Cinnamon is often spoken of as a single spice offered in two presentations. That is a common buying mistake. The quill and the powder do not behave the same way, are not measured in the same unit, and do not serve the same preparations.

The 6 to 8 cm quill is a slow diffuser. Dropped into a hot liquid — wine, syrup, milk, stock, compote during cooking — it gives up its aroma gradually and without bitterness. It is lifted out before serving, which leaves the cook in full control of intensity: taste, then extend or stop. It also carries visual value, on a hot drinks tray or a dessert plating.

Ground cinnamon does the opposite. It acts immediately, spreads through a dry or fatty mass, and becomes irreversible the moment it is folded in. This is the format of pastry, leavened doughs, creams, dusting powders and house blends. Its trade-off: it loses intensity faster than the quill once the container is open.

Where cinnamon works in a professional kitchen

The public files it as a sweet spice, but professional use is broader:

• Pastry and bakery — the ground form in leavened doughs, rolled buns, cakes and creams.
• Hot drinks — the quill in infusions, mulled wine, chocolate, spiced tea; the most profitable seasonal use.
• Savoury cooking — the ground form in tagines, slow-cooked lamb, spiced rice and couscous.
• Preserves and compotes — the quill during cooking, lifted out at packing.
• Sale by weight — quills sell on sight in a delicatessen, powder sells by the bag.

Two brands structure the aisle. Espig covers the full scale, from the 250 g bag to the 1 kg bag and up to the resale case; Epika comes in 15x50 g cases for the quill and 15x100 g for the powder, a packaging designed for the shelf. The choice is made on destination: a bakery consumes kilos, a shelf sells units.

What the 15x50 g case changes for a reseller

The quill is a bulky, light spice: 50 g already fills a visible container. That is what makes it a good shelf product — it is seen, it is smelled through the packaging, and it sells dear per kilo without looking dear per unit. The fifteen-piece case is set out in one go and turns particularly well between November and January.

We advise against buying powder only. A house with no quills gives up everything that infuses, and infusion is precisely what shows on a hot drinks menu.— The Palimex team

Storage, labelling and the regulatory frame

Ground cinnamon is the more fragile of the two: its volatile oils escape as soon as the container stays open, and what leaves does not come back. A bag closed after every scoop keeps its intensity far longer than one left open in a hot kitchen. The quill is protected by its own structure and stands time better; that is also why grinding at the last moment is worth it whenever the recipe allows.

On the regulatory side, certain flavouring substances naturally present in plants are subject to maximum levels in the foods where they concentrate; the European framework for flavourings is set by Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008. A professional formulating a recipe intended for resale is well advised to know this text and to ask for the technical sheet of the exact reference in use — we send it on request. Buyers supplying school or hospital catering are the ones who ask for it most often, and having it on file saves a round trip when the tender lands.

The neighbouring spices

Cinnamon is rarely alone in a recipe:

• Ground ginger — the partner of leavened doughs
• Spice blends — five spice, tagine, oriental cuisine
• Ground turmeric
• Pepper — for balance in savoury dishes