Tart, unripe mangoes are cut into slices and dried mechanically or by baking them in the sun. These leathery strips are then ground into powder called amchoor. Amchoor, as you can guess, is fruity, sweet, tart, and intensely sour from a large amount of citric acid.

Amchoor green mango powder is commonly used in Indian and South Asian cuisines such as soups, stews, fruit and vegetable salads, and pakoras. It’s often added to breads, pastries, and desserts to add a candy-like fruit flavor. Amchoor is also a major ingredient in chat masala.

We’ve discovered two very western uses for Amchoor green mango powder:

• Add to pie. Any pie. A teaspoon will just add a unique layer of flavor that’ll hypnotize you. Oh, and we mean to add it to the pie dough. Yum!
• Make a rub for pork ribs using chipotle peppers, dried habanero peppers, salt, black pepper, and a good amount of amchoor. All together it forms a life-changing hot and sour rub that will blow away any BBQ traditionalists.

Cinnamon is sourced from the bark of various species of the genus Cinnamomum. Cinnamomum is a tree farmed in much of Asia, though primarily in Indonesia, China, and Vietnam. The spicy and unique flavor, sweet aroma, and warm heat are derived from an essential oil called cinnamaldehyde.

To produce cinnamon, a tree is grown for about 2 years. Afterwards, it is chopped down to a stump, from which dozens of small shoots will spring up. The shoots are allowed to mature and thicken to about two inches in diameter. After the green outer bark is shaved off the inner bark is bruised and struck evenly until it releases from the heart of the wood. This inner bark is then removed in large sheets, cut into strips, and air-dried. These strips are then curled into quills of cinnamon that are then further dried in ovens or by baking them outside under the sun. After achieving a sufficient tan the quills are sent on their way to the world.

Our 4”cinnamon sticks for sale are made from Korintje cinnamon, otherwise known as Indonesian cinnamon. This cinnamon isn’t as spicy or penetrating as other types of cinnamon, which for quills is a good thing as you can’t control the flavor as easily. Sourced from the rolling hills of Indonesia, Korintje offers an extremely sweet variety that won’t invade a recipe and conquer it in the name of cinnamon. Rather, it strolls in with a sweet word and scintillating personality and sweeps it off its feet.

A cinnamon stick also has a certain rustic charm to it. Add them as garnish to drinks or to top a cake laced with cinnamon.

Sticks, unlike powder, can be used more than once. After using them in sweet or savory cooking, wash them off and store them somewhere dark to dry. They can be used a second time, or perhaps used for homemade potpourri or other craft projects. We love to place an old stick in a jar of sugar and hide it away. After a few months the sugar will absorb the scent and, ta-da, cinnamon sugar without ground cinnamon.