How To Grind Cinnamon Sticks? 3 Best Ways That Work

Cinnamon is one of the most commonly used aromatic spices in most recipes, such as meat stews, Eastern food, and baking. It is beneficial in creating a slightly citrus note and spicy flavor for dishes. 

Cinnamon appeared and became popular in cooking recipes, perfumes, or as meat preservatives of Greeks, Romans, and Ancient Egyptians a very long time ago.

Cinnamon sticks are the common form of this spice, which is taken from the tropical evergreen barks. 

Although cinnamon is popular in its “roll-up stick form”, people prefer using cinnamon powder as it’s convenient for storing and using.

If you are looking for some useful ways on how to grind cinnamon sticks, you shouldn’t miss out on this article!

What should you do if you need cinnamon in powder? Can you grind cinnamon sticks?

Yes, you can grind cinnamon sticks, but you’ll need to use the correct techniques.

For more information on how to make cinnamon from cinnamon sticks, here are the 3 best ways to grind cinnamon sticks that worked for me.

How To Grind Cinnamon Sticks With a Coffee Grinder

One of the most popular ways to grind cinnamon sticks into powder is using a coffee grinder. If this tool is available in your kitchen, follow these steps to get the perfect ground cinnamon. 

Instructions:

1. Before you ground cinnamon sticks, it’s better to break long cinnamon sticks into small pieces so that you can close the lid tightly. Put them into the coffee grinder; either automatic or manual one is alright. 
2. How to grind up cinnamon sticks? Let’s turn on the grinder and blend until the ground cinnamon is completely crushed. If you utilize a manual grinder, you’d better use a cramp to convert the grinder blade to achieve a smooth texture.
3. Pour the powder into a dry container to store it.

Note: You should divide into several short batches instead of one long continuous grind to get the perfect powder.

How To Grind Cinnamon Sticks With a Spice Grinder

This method is the same as grinding cinnamon sticks by the coffee grinder. However, using a spice grinder is still the best choice for cinnamon grinding.

You can refer to the following method below to convert cinnamon stick to ground cinnamon.

Instructions:

1. Chop cinnamon sticks into small bits, and put them all into the spice grinder. 
2. How to ground cinnamon sticks? Just start the spice grinder and run until the ground cinnamon consistency is perfect, as you expected. 
3. Store in a dry container. 

Note: If you utilize a manual grinder, you should turn the cramp to smooth the powder. 

How To Grind Cinnamon Sticks With a Pestle And Mortar

How to crush cinnamon sticks by pestle and mortar? If you don’t have a coffee or spice grinder, you can use these hand-operated mills.

Instructions:

1. Dry the pestle and mortar.
2. Break cinnamon sticks into smaller pieces.
3. Pound until you get the required cinnamon powder. 
4. Preserve in a dry container for long-term use. 

Tips And Warning

Grinding cinnamon sticks is not hard, but you still have to consider these useful tips and warnings:

• Grinding may be the most suitable way to have cinnamon powder. In particular, the fibrous structure of cinnamon barks isn’t well responsive to other methods like pounding or grating.
• Choose the right grinders. Some tools with openings in the lid can cause the cinnamon powder to escape while grinding. Besides, those with too high blades may not cut the cinnamon sticks completely.
• Be mindful that people may be allergic to the cinnamaldehyde found in cinnamon.
• Mix cinnamon sticks or powder with a drink or food instead of eating dry, as this can cause choking. 

How To Use Cinnamon Powder In Cooking 

Here are some best cinnamon powder recipe ideas in cooking or baking you must try. If you often use sticks, you just need to apply the same amount of cinnamon powder as with a cinnamon stick equals ground cinnamon.

Delicious In Desserts

Cinnamon powder is one of the most indispensable ingredients in baking. It is commonly present in some pastry delicacies such as baklava, oatmeal pancakes, or churros. 

You can further add a bit to pastry glaze to create a bright taste for your cakes. Also, mixing it with cream cheese for delicious icing on fresh ice rolls is a great idea on summer days. 

Breakfast Bites

Cinnamon powder is also a great natural complement to combine with granola, yogurt, or cereal to serve for breakfast. You can also sprinkle it on wholegrain toast or cinnamon apple fries. 

Savory Fare

Cinnamon powder is a seasoning for savory dishes in Asian, North African, or Middle Eastern cuisines. Some dishes with cinnamon powder’s main elements are vegetable soups, stuffed eggplant, or veggie hash. 

Piquant Potables

Cinnamon powder or cinnamon stick equivalent additionally brings unique flavorings to various beverages, including punch tea, cider and wine, chai and spicy teas, egg coffee, smoothies, and winter coffee.

Condiments

Spice blends and condiments contain cinnamon and substitute for cinnamon sticks. It is a familiar ingredient in mixtures like curry powder, Chinese five-spice powder, Jamaican jerk compounds, garam masala, and pumpkin spice blend.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can You Grind Cinnamon Sticks By Hand?

Yes, you can. Is it too hard to grind in this way? Indeed, this way is applicable to crush a very small amount of cinnamon powder.

You can manually grind cinnamon sticks by hand. Before crushing, it’s better to break long sticks into shorter pieces. Then, rub or pulverize an amount in your hand until you get the desired cinnamon powder.  

2. How Long Do Cinnamon Sticks Last?

Normally, cinnamon sticks can last around three or four years. If you preserve them in a cabinet, they can stay up to 8 years. However, their taste will progressively turn weird. 

You should store cinnamon in a stick form instead of ground. Most ground cinnamon can only last up to one or two years and be able to keep its great quality flavoring within half a year after crushing.

If you open a package of cinnamon powder, its shelf life will be reduced by about six months. It may lose flavors over time but is still safe to use in recipes long-term.

3. How To Cut Cinnamon Sticks?

Cutting these sticks isn’t tough, but it requires the proper method. How to cut cinnamon sticks? You can apply the following way below:

1. Lay the cinnamon sticks on a flat surface like a cutting board, then curl them downwards so they can’t roll. Use a ruler to measure their length by vertically placing it alongside the cinnamon sticks.
2. Use a pencil to mark all the cinnamon sticks to the length you want. 
3. Place a cinnamon stick on the cutting board. Use a serrated knife to trace all the lines around the stick’s circumference at the pencil mark. Remember to rotate the stick on the board when you move.
4. Use scissors to cut the stick over the marked point, then cut off the stray edges. If there are any uneven sides, you can sand them with sandpaper. 
5. Keep cutting others until you have enough desired cinnamon sticks.

Wrapping Up 

How to grind cinnamon sticks? To sum up, grinding cinnamon sticks is not as challenging a task as you might suppose. You can crush them by using coffee grinders, spice grinders, pestle, and mortar, or rubbing by hand. 

While pulverizing, you should consider some recommended tips and some notes we’ve mentioned above to avoid bad situations. After milling, you’d better store the cinnamon powder in a dry container for long-term use.