The stick was the cave cook’s first utensil, no doubt. And handy, once she installed fire. A deft union of form and function, a stick serves as pot, potholder, plate and fork — in one.

Though neither twig nor skewer nor sword counts as tasty.

Consider, then, the cinnamon stick. The bark of the cinnamon tree is peeled, dried, polished and rolled into yard-long tubes called quills. Trimmed and bottled, the sticks lounge on the spice rack until summoned, once a year, to twirl cider.

Why not hand them a summer job? Pat together a meatball of lamb, mint and garlic. Thread it onto a length of cinnamon and grill. The stick serves as pot, potholder, plate, fork — and an infusion of flavor. Leaving the modern cook, and the cook’s happy guests, something delicious to chew on.

• 8 cinnamon sticks
• 1 pound ground lamb
• 1/2 cup any combination of finely chopped mint, parsley, chives and cilantro
• 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• Olive oil
• Mint dip (recipe follows), optional

Soak cinnamon sticks in bowl of cold water, weighed down with a plate, at least 15 minutes, to keep sticks from burning and allow you to unfurl them, yielding multiple skinnier sticks.

Gently mix all remaining ingredients except olive oil.

With damp hands, roll mixture into 16 (1-ounce) balls. Slide each onto a cinnamon stick and press into a 2-inch-long blimp-shaped meatball at one end; stick and meat together will look like a child’s drawing of a tree. Drizzle each with a little oil.

Grill directly over high heat or broil about 4 inches from flame, turning frequently, until browned and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Makes 16 kebabs. Serve with mint dip, if desired.

Mint dip: Stir together 1 cup whole-milk Greek yogurt, 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint, 2 tablespoons ­olive oil, finely grated zest of 1 lemon, 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1 tablespoon honey and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Nutritional information unavailable