Coriander

[Suvir Saran]

Do they do the same thing to food?  Leaves and seeds that is?

Are they from the same plant?

Favorite ways of using them?

[Sandra Levine]

Seeds and leaves are from the same plant, although harvested from different varieties.  Here is a link to more information about coriander (also called cilantro).  Like chilis, coriander is used liberally in both Latin American and Asian cookery.  People either love the strong, herbal taste of the leaves or hate it.  There seems to be a genetic component involved for those who hate it, perhaps a receptor that others do not have.  Coriander haters describe the taste as bitter and soapy.

I use coriander leaves as I do parsley, but when I want what is to me a more exotic, Asian or Latin American flavor.  The seeds have a completely different taste.  They provide the dominant flavor of pastrami, for example.  My favorite use for the seeds is to combine them with pepper, crush both seeds together coarsely and press the mixture onto tuna steaks (as one would do to make steak a la poivre.) When grilled rare with the coriander-pepper combo, the tuna reminds me of pastrami, but of course, with all the good healthy qualities of fish and none of the bad, fatty qualities of beef.

[Suvir Saran]

Sounds wonderful.  Yes all those friends of mine that hate cilantro leaves find them soapy and some even call them fishy.   Strange.  I love them.  I know many Indians that cannot stand the fresh leaves.  

I love coarsely ground coriander with fish a lot myself.  Even with lamb chops with some crushed walnuts and peppers.  Or coriander seeds, chives and pistachio rub.  Another wonderful coriander based rub.

I use lots of coarsely ground coriander in my Indian stir fried vegetables.  The seeds when partially ground have a wonderful nutty texture and a great flavor.  They are also considered to be great digestives.

[Monica Bhide]

I guess I am a Cilantro lover, at many of my booksignings, I have served a garlicky cilantro spread on lightly buttered baguette.. so far so good!

[Suvir Saran]

I guess I am a Cilantro lover, at many of my booksignings, I have served a garlicky cilantro spread on lightly buttered baguette.. so far so good!

Recipe please..

[Stone]

I've never noticed a strong flavor from the seeds -- perhaps I'm not toasting them properly? I use copious amounts of powder to thicken curries.

[Suvir Saran]

I've never noticed a strong flavor from the seeds -- perhaps I'm not toasting them properly?  I use copious amounts of powder to thicken curries.

Are you using old seeds? If you pound whole coriander seeds, there is a great citrus flavor... and when you have toasted them.. it is a little less pronounced. What recipes do you use them in?

[Simon Majumdar]

As with all spices, I think people underestimate their use in sweet dishes ( ever the Bengali, sweet dishes are at the very front of my mind )

I recently made a superb Ice Cream with Corriander and Papaya. The combination was one I had not seen and thought it worth trying

I made a rich egg custard and folded in some finely chopped leaves and some pulped papaya and some chunks of papaya. I did not have an ice cream maker so I had to keep returning to the freezer to mix the ice to stop the crystals. The end result was smooth and rich with a satisfying flavour.

S

[helenas]

Although cilantro looks like a fragile herb, it withstands quite well a long braising. I picked the idea from Madison's "Vegetarian cooking for everyone", but cilantro is used in many different ways in one of my favorite cuisine, Georgian, of former Soviet republic. I've just made a beef stew using a full bunch of cilantro, stems and all, other ingredients being potato, ground canned tomatoes and some dried new mexico peppers. Incomparable aroma (mainly, due to cilantro)! ( a lot of taste also, but it's partially due to amoount of butter, that the recipe calls for)

[snowangel]

As with all spices, I think people underestimate their use in sweet dishes ( ever the Bengali, sweet dishes are at the very front of my mind )

Me, too.

I make great lime and cilantro cookies. Once people get past the idea of green leaves in their cookies, they can't get enough of them.

[Saffy]

People either love the strong, herbal taste of the leaves or hate it.  There seems to be a genetic component involved for those who hate it, perhaps a receptor that others do not have.  Coriander haters describe the taste as bitter and soapy.

I am one of those corriander haters. I really can't stand the stuff at all, soapy is a perfect description of how it tastes to me. It tastes like I have licked the washcloth in the bathroom. It obviously does not taste like this to my husband who adores it.

The seeds I use in cooking quite frequently.. but the leaves --- BLAH .. they just plain taste bad to me.

[tigerwoman]

I make great lime and cilantro cookies.  Once people get past the idea of green leaves in their cookies, they can't get enough of them.

That sounds intriguing - pretty please post the recipe. TIA.

[=Mark]

I use ground coriander seed along with cumin and black pepper to season a marinade of soy sauce, rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil and minced garlic and scallion for beef satay. Skewar and grill, serve with a spicy peanut diping sauce.

[Stone]

I've never noticed a strong flavor from the seeds -- perhaps I'm not toasting them properly?  I use copious amounts of powder to thicken curries.

Are you using old seeds? If you pound whole coriander seeds, there is a great citrus flavor... and when you have toasted them.. it is a little less pronounced. What recipes do you use them in?

I just ground some fresh seeds this weekend. The aroma was there. Terrific.

[Suvir Saran]

I've never noticed a strong flavor from the seeds -- perhaps I'm not toasting them properly?  I use copious amounts of powder to thicken curries.

Are you using old seeds? If you pound whole coriander seeds, there is a great citrus flavor... and when you have toasted them.. it is a little less pronounced. What recipes do you use them in?

I just ground some fresh seeds this weekend. The aroma was there. Terrific.

Coriander seeds ground fresh have a great aroma.

A magical sweetness that is just a tad savory, like what a little salt can do to brownies. Something I learned recently courtesy of Lesley Chesterman (from the Best ever brownies she steered me to).

I am glad you finally enjoyed the flavor of coriander seeds.