First, the health concerns. The major reason is, we don’t want poisonous pesticides in our foods because these chemicals are known carcinogens. But this is not the only reason. During the manufacturing process, most herbs and spices are irradiated to kill any possible bacteria. The irradiation process, however, also leaves behind by-products which can be carcinogenic. Sometimes a toxic chemical called ethylene oxide is used which has been shown to cause central nervous system problems and cancer in workers exposed to it on a regular basis. Certified organic herbs and spices aren’t subjected to these dangers processes.
The cheapest and safest way to procure these herbs and spices is to grow them yourself. Most herbs can easily be grown on your kitchen counter or window sill. Later we will share our our herb growing journey. The one spice we can’t really grow ourselves is cinnamon.
My recommendation if you aren’t going to grow them yourselves is to buy Simply Organic brand. Cinnamon needs to be Ceylon Cinnamon rather than Cassia Cinnamon. Most Cassia Cinnamon is grown in China whereas most Ceylon is grown in Sri Lanka. Simply Organic sells an actual Ceylon Cinnamon.
Chinese products tend to be less safe to consume because their products are often adulterated with unsafe additives. And you may be one of those individuals that tries to avoid Chinese products altogether for political reasons.
Ceylon Cinnamon is preferable to Cassia Cinnamon because Cassia Cinnamon contains high levels of naturally occurring Coumadin, which is a blood thinner. If you need to take blood thinners, then perhaps that’s something for you to look into. But the average person does not need blood thinners. Cassia contains about 1200 times the Coumadin that Ceylon contains.
The flavor of Ceylon is also sweeter and more delicate than Cassia.
I hope you will consider using certified organic herbs and spices in all your cooking.
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