Coriander

For other uses, see Coriander (disambiguation).

"Chinese parsley" redirects here. This can also refer to the unrelated Heliotropium curassavicum.

Coriander
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Apiales
Family:	Apiaceae
Genus:	Coriandrum
Species:	C. sativum
Binomial name
Coriandrum sativum L.

Coriander leaves, raw

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	95 kJ (23 kcal)
Carbohydrates	4 g
Dietary fiber	3 g
Fat	0.5 g
Protein	2 g
Vitamins	Quantity %DV†
Vitamin A equiv.	37% 337 μg
Vitamin C	30% 27 mg
†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults, except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies.

Coriander (Coriandrum sativum) is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae. It is also known as Chinese parsley or, particularly in the Americas, cilantro. Coriander is native to southern Europe and North Africa to southwestern Asia. It is a soft, hairless plant growing to 50 cm [20 in.] tall. The leaves are variable in shape, broadly lobed at the base of the plant, and slender and feathery higher on the flowering stems. The flowers are borne in small umbels, white or very pale pink, asymmetrical, with the petals pointing away from the centre of the umbel longer (5-6 mm) than those pointing towards it (only 1-3 mm long). The fruit is a globular dry schizocarp 3-5 mm diameter.

The word derives from Latin “coriandrum” in turn from Greek “κορίαννον”. The Mycenaean Greek form of the word, koriadnon is "similar to the name of Minos' daughter Ariadne, and it is plain how this might later evolve to koriannon or koriandron."

Uses

All parts of the plant are edible, but the fresh leaves and the dried seeds are commonly used in cooking. Coriander is common in Middle Eastern, Central Asian, Mediterranean, Indian, South Asian, Mexican, Texan, Latin American, Chinese, African and Southeast Asian cuisine.

It is used in the Belgian wheat beer witbier.

Leaves

The leaves are variously referred to as coriander leaves, cilantro (in the Americas, from the Spanish for the plant), culantro (in some regions of Latin America; this is also a common name for Eryngium foetidum, which causes confusion).

The leaves have a different taste from the seeds, with citrus overtones. Some perceive an unpleasant "soapy" taste or a rank smell and avoid the leaves. Belief that this is genetically determined may arise from the known genetic variation in taste perception of the synthetic chemical phenylthiocarbamide; however, no specific link has been established between coriander and a bitter taste perception gene.

The fresh leaves are an ingredient in many South Asian foods (particularly chutneys), in Chinese dishes and in Mexican salsas and guacamole. Chopped coriander leaves are a garnish on cooked dishes such as dal and curries. As heat diminishes their flavor quickly, coriander leaves are often used raw or added to the dish immediately before serving. In Indian and Central Asian recipes, coriander leaves are used in large amounts and cooked until the flavor diminishes.) The leaves spoil quickly when removed from the plant, and lose their aroma when dried or frozen.

Coriander leaves were formerly common in European cuisine. Today western Europeans usually eat coriander leaves only in dishes that originated in foreign cuisines, except in Portugal, where they are still an ingredient in traditional dishes.

Dried coriander fruits

Coriander Seeds close-up

Fresh coriander leaves, known as кинза (kinza) in Russian (from Georgian ქინძი), are often used in salads in Russia and other CIS countries.

Fruit

The dry fruits are known as coriander seeds or coriandi seeds. The word coriander in food preparation may refer solely to these seeds (as a spice), rather than to the plant itself. The seeds have a lemony citrus flavour when crushed, due to terpenes linalool and pinene. It is described as warm, nutty, spicy, and orange-flavored.

It is commonly found both as whole dried seeds and in ground form. Seeds can be roasted or heated on a dry pan briefly before grinding to enhance and alter the aroma. Ground coriander seed loses flavor quickly in storage and is best ground fresh.

Coriander seed is a spice (Hindi name: धनिया dhania), in garam masala and Indian curries, which often employ the ground fruits in generous amounts together with cumin. It acts as a thickener. Roasted coriander seeds, called dhana dal, are eaten as a snack. It is the main ingredient of the two south Indian dishes: sambhar (சாம்பார்) and rasam (இரசம்). Coriander seeds are boiled with water and drunk as indigenous medicine for colds.

Outside of Asia, coriander seed is used for pickling vegetables, and making sausages in Germany and South Africa (see boerewors). In Russia and Central Europe coriander seed is an occasional ingredient in rye bread as an alternative to caraway. Coriander seeds are used in European cuisine today, though they were more important in former centuries.

Coriander seeds are used in brewing certain styles of beer, particularly some Belgian wheat beers. The coriander seeds are used with orange peel to add a citrus character.

Roots

Coriander roots

Coriander roots have a deeper, more intense flavor than the leaves. They are used in a variety of Asian cuisines. They are commonly used in Thai dishes, including soups and curry pastes.

History

Coriander grows wild over a wide area of the Near East and southern Europe, prompting the comment, "It is hard to define exactly where this plant is wild and where it only recently established itself." Fifteen desiccated mericarps were found in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B level of the Nahal Hemel Cave in Israel, which may be the oldest archeological find of coriander. About half a litre of coriander mericarps were recovered from the tomb of Tutankhamun, and because this plant does not grow wild in Egypt, Zohary and Hopf interpret this find as proof that coriander was cultivated by the ancient Egyptians. The Bible mentions coriander in Exodus 16:31: "And the house of Israel began to call its name Manna: and it was round like coriander seed, and its taste was like that of flat cakes made with honey."

Coriander seems to have been cultivated in Greece since at least the second millennium BC. One of the Linear B tablets recovered from Pylos refers to the species as being cultivated for the manufacture of perfumes, and it appears that it was used in two forms: as a spice for its seeds and as a herb for the flavor of its leaves. This appears to be confirmed by archaeological evidence from the same period: the large quantities of the species retrieved from an Early Bronze Age layer at Sitagroi in Macedonia could point to cultivation of the species at that time.

Coriander was brought to the British colonies in North America in 1670 and was one of the first spices cultivated by early settlers.

Similar plants

• Eryngium foetidum has a similar taste and is also known as culantro.
• Vietnamese coriander leaves have a similar odour and flavor to coriander.
• Bolivian Coriander, or quillquiña, has been described as "somewhere between arugula, cilantro and rue".

Potential medical uses

Coriander has been used as a folk medicine for the relief of anxiety and insomnia in Iranian folk medicine. Experiments in mice support its use as an anxiolytic. Coriander seeds are used in traditional Indian medicine as a diuretic by boiling equal amounts of coriander seeds and cumin seeds, then cooling and consuming the resulting liquid. In holistic and traditional medicine, it is used as a carminative and as a digestive aid.

Coriander juice (mixed with turmeric powder or mint juice) is used as a treatment for acne, applied to the face in the manner of toner.

Coriander can produce an allergic reaction in some people.

Additional reading

• Katzer, Gernot Coriander Seeds and Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum)
• Noxon, Heather and Meyer, Alex (2004). Genetic Analysis of PTC and Cilantro Taste Preferences. MindExpo 2004