I taste great with apples. Especially hot apples. Ants abhor me. I'm sensual. I smell bewitching. I can be used in toothpaste. Drink me and I'll ease stomach pains, period pains, indigestion and wind. Heat me, and I'll fill your house with an exotic and nostalgic aroma. I'm in the Book of Moses. I am cinnamon.

The Cinnamon House. A friend of mine is trying to sell his house. A buyer said yes; then no. James is discouraged. I suggested working unconsciously on potential buyers by appealing to their olfactory sense: the suggestion of ground coffee in the kitchen; orange oil on the balcony or patio or garden; spicy cinnamon in the bedroom: scents to make us feel warm and cosy and comfortable and mischievous; scents to make you feel at home.

For a quick home fix, heat up a couple of tablespoons of ground cinnamon with a couple of tea cups of water. Heat gently. Simmer. The scent of spicy nights in exotic locations steals through the room. It's pretty intoxicating, and will supplant unwanted smells: burned dinner; cigarette smoke; running shoes; children. Add a diced or sliced apple to the pan for an aromatic twist.

For the bathroom, reinvigorate tired pot-pourri by dripping drops of cinnamon oil onto it. Or pour cinnamon oil onto the top of a beeswax candle and light it. Alternatively, buy the largest cinnamon sticks you can find (scour the traditional markets) and stack them up like firewood in the bathroom for a sure-fire aroma boost with a quirky decorative look.

Ground cinnamon is also a fabulous ant deterrent – they just can't get over it. Find the doorway the critters have made into your house and block it up, or cordon it off, with ground cinnamon. Take the cinnamon out to the garden and use it as a bug spray. Mix cinnamon oil with liquid soap and a little water and spritz on plants as an organic pest repellent (may work on husbands too). Or sprinkle a fine layer of ground cinnamon over the topsoil.

Spice Yourself. As an aroma, cinnamon makes you feel warm and safe; it envelops you in its vapoury arms, giving you the kind of hug you used to give you teddy. If you have an oil burner, burn cinnamon while you take a bath to massage your mind and revitalize your system.

Bring bewitchment to the bedroom by making cinnamon massage oil and getting slippery with your partner: mix a teaspoon of cinnamon oil and vanilla extract with a cup of canola oil. Or use this as a post-shower moisturizer for your legs and elbows.

Cinnamon tea has a number of health uses: the Chinese drink it to improve digestion and circulation; pregnant women drink it to soothe feelings of nausea; those with a cold drink it to clear their sinuses, ease congestion, and soothe coughs; those who are cold drink it to warm up; women can drink it through their periods to soothe away cramps; and if your chi is blocked, cinnamon can move it along and get your vital energy circulating again. Cinnamon tea can be easily made by boiling up a piece of bark; cinnamon sticks are widely available in supermarkets in Jakarta – look for kayu manis.

If you're looking for a spoon full of sugar to help the medicine go down, try simmering cinnamon sticks in water for 30 minutes, chuck out the sticks and add milk and a glob of honey. Drink. Feel better. It's the perfect natural cough medicine for kids. If it's Saturday night and hot beverages aren't your cup of tea, drop a piece of cinnamon bark into your bottle of vodka and knock yourself out.

Cinnamon has anti-fungal properties and can fight bacteria – hence its use in toothpaste and mouthwashes: try gargling with cinnamon water if you have a mouth infection, toothache or bad breath. Cinnamon also contains antioxidants, essential for healthy living in Jakarta, and can help cure diarrhoea, essential if eating anywhere near Blok M.

 

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