Processing cinnamon
Processing dried cinnamon bark: Fresh bark is collected, spread out in the sun to dry, then bundled into 20-25kg bundles for drying. The drying oven is designed to be large and small depending on the production scale of each growing household, usually enough to dry for 5-10 quintals of fresh shells. According to the experience of drying cinnamon, spread a layer of rice bran on the bottom of the oven, spray tea on the ends of the bundles, arrange the bundles tightly, press them tightly, spread a layer of bran on top, and then cover the top with sacks to prevent damage. Let the cinnamon evaporate when drying. Keep incubating like that during the drying process, after 21 days, unload the cinnamon from the oven. Dry at 70-75 degrees Celsius.
Distilling essential oils: All parts of the cinnamon tree can store essential oils, but cinnamon bark is a product of higher value, so it is rarely used for storage but mainly used as medicine. Cinnamon leaves are picked, dried, bundled into bundles of about 10kg, stored in storage, 1 month later to store essential oils. Note: Do not pick cinnamon leaves in the spring and before peeling cinnamon.
In addition to taking leaves to extract essential oils, in the fall when the tree stops growing, pruning small branches can also be used to make good oil distillation. Distilling cinnamon essential oil is like distilling some aromatic essential oils in general, but it is necessary to pay attention to the separation and processing in the essential oil. Cinnamon essential oil is heavier than water, after distillation will obtain a mixture of water and cinnamon essential oil. Heavier oil sinks to the bottom, but it needs to be kept for a while for the essential oil to settle completely, if left in a low temperature place, the settling process will be faster and more thorough. Separate the water above to recover the cinnamon oil below. The separated filtered water still has a small amount of cinnamon essential oil, when taken, it feels sweet, slightly spicy and very warm, and it is collected to sell to the purchasing establishments to make medicine.
Preservation of cinnamon products
After drying, arrange cinnamon bark neatly in crates or bundles in plastic bags. Do not let the cinnamon bark break, it will reduce the quality of cinnamon. Cinnamon essential oil has the ability to corrode metals, the essential oil obtained after distillation should be stored in enameled or food-grade plastic containers. The container for essential oils needs to be sealed, a thin layer of water can be placed on top to limit the evaporation of essential oils, and at the same time prevent contact with oxygen in the air. Both dried cinnamon bark and cinnamon essential oil should be stored in a cool, dry place and out of direct sunlight.
