volatile flavour compounds

the prawns in thai green curry were tasty; they were squeakily crunchy, perfectly done having probably been thrown into the curry just before service to cook in its residual heat. as a rule of thumb, the green curry is the spiciest of the thai curries but this was not the case here. there was mild, mellow heat, and then a gentle retreat. the chocolate chip banana bread muffins on the dessert line were great -- light and deeply-flavoured with zones of liquidy banana and chunks of chocolate (guittard, for the chocolate snobs). raelene has a light hand with the spices, and the cassia and nutmeg were just barely detectable. cassia is a type of cinnamon (Cinnamomum cassia) with a generally higher concentration of the volatile flavour compounds than the variety of cinnamon used in European cookery (C. zeylanicum). cassia is generally more pungent than Ceylon cinnamon, and tends to be the variety used in north american cooking. the abominable flavoured gums that reek of cinnamon and proliferate so inexplicably here are the archetypal cassia product -- a heavy hand with an already formidable spice -- so Raelene's variety of restraint is always welcome.