Cassia seed - what to do with?
Lee Babcock
I cook and bake from scratch and use 'weird' ingredients.
Well, I'm pretty resourceful at finding things on the web, but I can't
find much that is meaningful regarding the use of Cassia seed.
I've found what it is, that it is used extensively in oriental remedies,
and that you can make tea with it (but not how) but little else.
It seems that these seeds are good for whatever ails you so I'd like to
use them.
Does anyone here have any knowledge or experience with this?
I'm tempted to make a poppy seed bread and replace with the Cassia seed
just to see what happens.
TIA
Regards
Lee in Toronto
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Rose Kish
>
> A friend of mine gave me a 2 Kg package of Cassia seeds since she knows
> I cook and bake from scratch and use 'weird' ingredients.
> Well, I'm pretty resourceful at finding things on the web, but I can't
> find much that is meaningful regarding the use of Cassia seed.
> I've found what it is, that it is used extensively in oriental remedies,
> and that you can make tea with it (but not how) but little else.
> It seems that these seeds are good for whatever ails you so I'd like to
> use them.
> Does anyone here have any knowledge or experience with this?
>
> I'm tempted to make a poppy seed bread and replace with the Cassia seed
> just to see what happens.
> TIA
> Regards
> Lee in Toronto
>
I don't think herbals work the same way as culinary herbs and should be
used with caution. I found out that cassia seed is a mild laxative which
targets the liver and large intestine, and is probably best used as a
"tea" instead.
Dick Margulis
Rose Kish wrote:
I second that emotion, Rose.
Lee, please do NOT use an unfamiliar seed with medicinal properties as a
one-for-one substitution for a culinary spice. You could end up in a
world of trouble (medically, not legally).
In fact, you really can't just substitute one herb or spice for another
in general. For example, anyone here care to guess the lethal dose of
nutmeg? (This is a take-home quiz. You may use whatever resources are at
your disposal.)
Dick
Dave J
news:3CD068CA...@fiam.net...
I wouldn't risk any more than a pinch of nutmeg - certainly not a spoonful.
Dave J
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Judy & Dave
Lee Babcock wrote:
> A friend of mine gave me a 2 Kg package of Cassia seeds
<snip>
> Does anyone here have any knowledge or experience with this?
Hi Lee.
I went to my spice cabinet and got my can of cassia spice. I purchased it
from "the-house-on-the-hill". The label says only "Now 6% Oil from Saigon"
"Ground Cassia Spice"
"4 oz."
In their catalog, it recommended substituting the cassia in place of
cinnamon. I have used it and it does have a distinct cinnamony taste, but a
bit stronger. Rather good in some recipes.
House on the hill sells cookie making supplies, mostly for lebkuchen,
including all kinds of cookie molds.
HTH
Judy
Dick Margulis
use in the US--and that is also used in Germany--as either sticks or
ground cinnamon). It is the bark of a tree in the acacia family (hence
the name). It is NOT the same as the seeds.
(The "cinnamon" preferred in most of the world is what we in the US call
soft cinnamon. It is the bark of a shrub in the laurel family. It is
sweeter and less pungent than hard cinnamon.)
Dick Margulis
Dave J wrote:
> "Dick Margulis" <marg...@fiam.net> wrote in message
> news:3CD068CA...@fiam.net...
>>
>>In fact, you really can't just substitute one herb or spice for another
>>in general. For example, anyone here care to guess the lethal dose of
>>nutmeg? (This is a take-home quiz. You may use whatever resources are at
>>your disposal.)
>>
>>Dick
>>
>
> I wouldn't risk any more than a pinch of nutmeg - certainly not a spoonful.
>
> Dave J
Good call, Dave. A quarter teaspoon is an effective hallucinogenic dose.
The LD50 is around one teaspoon. [LD50 = dose that will kill 50% of the
adults taking it]
Kenneth Stewart
"Medical Botany -- Plants affecting Man's Health" from 1977 published by
Wiley & Sons, NY.
"Cassia species yield a purgative that was introduced into European
medicine in the ninth or tenth century by the Arabs. Its native use
antedates historic record. Purgative action is due to anthraquinones
(emodin being the most important derivate), whose chief effect is to
speed the passage of the colonic contents. Most species of Cassia
probably act only on the large intestine; the better known include C.
absus seeds (India), C. alatta roots (Guatamala), C. angustifolia dried
leaflets (tinnevelly senna, widely cultivated as a source of senna), C.
fistula pulp or dried fruit (purging cassia) of panropical cultivation
and widely used medically, C. javania bark (Indonesia), C. marilandica
leaflets (eastern U.S.), C. moschata leaflets (Colombia), C. senna dried
leaflets (Alexandria senna from Egypt and cultivated, is a source of
commercial senna), and C. sophera leaflets, bark and seeds
(pantropical). Extracts from a number of these species (e.g., C. absus
and C. sophera) are also used as anthelmintis."
Perusing this tome, cassia in any form is not ingested but used
externally ONLY, like for snake bite or skin disease like ringworm.
Cassia is listed in a table entitled "Some Important Toxic Plants
Having Cyanogenic Glycosides Arranged Phylogenetically" -- under
Fabaceae.
In another section it states, "Cassia spp. are toxic though not
fatal to sheep and other animals in the U.S.; elsewhere fatalities to
hogs, sheep and cattle have been reported, as well as human deaths from
overdoses of herbal remedies involving Cassia. Some species are known to
contain hydrocyanic acid. Most species contain anthraquinones, which are
also toxic in overdose."
Any questions?
KLee
Rose Kish
West Indian ground nutmeg is potent - 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg is enough for
3 dozen oatmeal cookies. I used an extra dash for a recent batch of
oatmeal cookies - people have called asking for the specific spice used
- mmm I would like to think the cookies put them in a good mood! But I
will be sure to use it judiciously in the future.
Without checking resources my first guess was 3 tablespoons, way off.
Dave J
news:3CD08CEA...@fuse.net...
That just about says it Kenneth!
--
Dave J
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