Cinnamomum cassia elongated leaves that are long and have a decidedly reddish colour when young. Chinese cassia is a close relative to Ceylon cinnamon ("C. verum"), Saigon cinnamon ("C. loureiroi"), also known as "Vietnamese cinnamon", Indonesian cinnamon ("C. burmannii"), also called "korintje", and Malabar cinnamon ("C. citriodorum") from Sri Lanka. In all five species, the dried bark is used as a spice. Chinese cassia's flavour is less delicate than that of Ceylon cinnamon. Its bark is thicker, more difficult to crush, and has a rougher texture than that of Ceylon cinnamon. Most of the spice sold as cinnamon in the United States,
Five-spice powder Five-spice powder Five-spice powder is a spice mixture of five or more spices used predominantly in Chinese and Taiwanese cuisine and also used less commonly in other Asian and Arabic cuisines. Five-spice powder is used for cocktails as well. While there are many variants, a common mix is: Other recipes may contain anise seed, ginger root, nutmeg, turmeric, "Amomum villosum" pods (砂仁), "Amomum cardamomum" pods (白豆蔻), licorice, Mandarin orange peel or galangal. In Southern China, "Cinnamomum loureiroi" and Mandarin orange peel are commonly used as substitutes for "Cinnamomum cassia" and cloves respectively, producing a slightly different flavour profile for southern