Coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.)

Note

The term culantro, properly meaning long coriander, is sometimes misapplied to coriander leaves, especially in regions where long coriander is not known.

Coriander fruits (often termed seeds). Left the larger Indian coriander, right the smaller European cultivar.

Used plant part

Fruits, leaves and root (the latter only in Thailand). Fruits and leaves posses totally different flavour and can therefore not substitute each other. Drying destroys most of the leaves' fragrance.

Plant family

Apiaceae (parsley family).

Sensoric quality

The fruits' aroma is warm, nutty and spicy; the leaves (also the unripe fruits), however, have a strong odour that is, by most Westerners, compared with soap or crushed bedbugs. The most positive thing to be said about it is that it is an acquired taste.

Main constituents

In the ripe fruits, the content of essential oil is comparably low (typically, less than 1%); the oil consists mainly of linalool (50 to 60%) and about 20% terpenes (pinenes, gamma-terpinene, myrcene, camphene, phellandrenes, alpha-terpinene, limonene, cymen).

Aldehyds (trans-2-trideceneal and decanal) are responsible for the taste of the fresh herb (0.1% essential oil) and also appear in the fruits if harvested unripe. Similar compounds occur in a few other spices and herbs, all of which share coriander's flavour: Examples include long coriander, Vietnamese coriander and the Japanese chemotype of chameleon plant.

Origin

Probably Asia Minor. The coriander grown in Russia and Central Europe (var. microcarpum) has smaller fruits (less than 3 mm) and contains more essential oil than the oriental variety var. vulgare (greater than 3 mm), which is cultivated for fruits and leaves.

Etymology

      Coriander fruits are a common spice in many countries of Europe, Northern Africa, West, Central and South Asia. In the Mediterranean region, coriander cultivation dates back to ancient Egypt; coriander is also mentioned in the Bible, where it is compared to manna (see pomegranate). In Europe, coriander is known since the Middle Ages (see gale about its use in medieval and Renaissance beer brewing).

Coriander is an essential part of curry powder (see curry leaves) and Indian masalas as well in Northern India (garam masala, see cumin) as in the South (sambaar podi, see cumin); furthermore, Ethiopian berebere, which much resembles Indian spice mixtures, contains coriander fruits (see long pepper). Lastly, it should be noted that also Latin American cuisine makes much use of them. Roasting or frying, much practised in India and Sri Lanka, enhances the flavour.

 

 

The Greek name of the plant, koríannon, is derived from kóris "gnat", because of the aroma of the leaves. It was loaned to Latin coriandrum and eventually entered all Western European languages. The term cilantro, used in Latin America for coriander leaves, goes back to the same Latin word, but was probably transferred via Medieval Latin celiandrum.

Coriander (flowering plant)

Coriander leaves (also called coriander green) are popular over the most part of Asia. Used in India regionally (e.g., in Maharashtra), they are indispensible in Thailand (for green curry paste both the root and the leaves are needed, see coconut), Vietnam and parts of China, where the chopped leaves appear as decorations on nearly every dish (sometimes combined with or substituted by peppermint or Vietnamese coriander). They are less enjoyed in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Coriander leaves resemble European parsley leaves in a number of ways: They have similar shape and are both best used raw, as the flavour vanishes after prolonged cooking. In both plants, the root has a similar flavour than the leaves, and its flavour turns out to tolerate boiling or simmering much better. These similarities have motivated names like Indian or Chinese parsley for coriander leaves.

Arabic cooking makes use of both coriander leaves and fruits. Zhoug (or zhug), a spicy paste typical for Yemeni cookery, is a recipe that contains both coriander leaves and fruits besides green chiles, garlic, cardamom and black pepper. Further, optional ingredients are cumin, lemon juice and olive oil. Several recipes name caraway as an ingredient, but I am not sure that this is not a translation error. All components are processed to a thick paste. Zhoug may be used as a relish, bread dip or condiment.

Arabic spice mixtures containing coriander fruits alone are berebere from Ethiopia (see long pepper) and baharat from the Gulf states (see paprika).

Use of coriander leaves is also frequent in Latin America, especially México (e.g., in salsa, see long coriander, or ceviche, see lime). The Méxican herb Epazote is sometimes substituted by cilantro leaves, especially outside México; but the two plants have little in common. Coriander leaves are most often used raw; cooking or even short frying tends to diminish their fragrance.

Being confronted with coriander leaves for the first time, most Westerners find their taste unbearable. This may change after some time of forced exposure to this herb; after two months in Vietnam, I found myself unable to enjoy noodle soups (see Vietnamese cinnamon on Northern Vietnamese and Vietnamese coriander on Southern Vietnamese noodle sops) without coriander leaves, although I pretty much had disliked the taste when I had entered the country. Today, I shouldn't even dream of preparing Vietnamese soups without first finding a supply of coriander green; I have, however, noticed that my guest usually have not yet reached the necessary degree of mastership over their own taste buds and, thus, prefer their soup bowls without coriander leaves.