My nooi is in 'n nartjie, my ouma in kaneel ...

My nooi is in ’n nartjie,
my ouma in kaneel,
daar’s iemand … iemand in anys,
daar’s ’n vrou in elke geur!

Sproeireën by D.J. Opperman

Some smells can take you home in an instant. For me, one of those smells is cinnamon.

The smell of cinnamon makes me think of warm melkkos, kerkbasaar-pannekoek and freshly made melktert. But more than that, it is a smell I connect with love. A mother’s love. An ouma’s kitchen. The kind of love you feel in a big, lekker hug from someone you love. There is something about cinnamon that feels warm and familiar, even before you taste it.

As the seasons change, I find myself thinking about cinnamon differently. We probably can’t make pannekoek every time it rains, although, between you and me, I wouldn’t mind trying! But sometimes, just a little cinnamon is enough to make a familiar dish feel a little more special.

My relationship with cinnamon has also changed over the years. It started with the sweet things I remember from home, but slowly found its way into my savoury cooking too. Today, one of my favourite places to use it is in our Durban Lamb Curry. Just a little cinnamon adds warmth and depth, and makes the curry feel like something that has been cooking in a family kitchen for generations.

And perhaps that is why cinnamon feels so at home in South African cooking. Long before it became part of my memories, it had already travelled a very long way to get here.

Cinnamon began its journey far from South Africa, in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka. It was harvested, packed and taken to the coast, where it was loaded onto ships. The VOC helped carry cinnamon and other spices thousands of kilometres across the Indian Ocean, around the Cape and into Europe.

But the journey did not end when the ships reached the Cape. The people who travelled with them also brought their recipes, cooking traditions and memories. Slowly, these flavours found their way into local kitchens and mixed with the ingredients and traditions already here. Over time, cinnamon became part of the food we now know and love as South African.

So, the next time you smell cinnamon, perhaps you’ll think of more than just pannekoek. Maybe you’ll think of home, Mum and Ouma, the first rain, warm kitchens, and all the people and places that helped bring this little brown spice into our lives.

A lot of history, love and memories, all wrapped up in one beautiful smell.

And if it does rain this week? Well… I’m ready for some pannekoek. ❤️

Kom kuier. Die koffie staan al klaar.

Groete, Marnella & Andreas