SEPTEMBER 2010
Cilantro- Love it or Hate it!
Cilantro Flower
Cilantro, Coriandrum sativum, is an herbaceous annual. It originated in areas around the Mediterranean. Both the leaves and the seeds (coriander) are used for flavoring and for medicinal purposes.
Cilantro may be one of the first cultivated herbs, as its use dates as far back as 1550 BCE as both a spice and a medicine. The Egyptians added the leaves to wine to make it more intoxicating and the seeds were found in King Tut's tomb dating from 1323 BCE. The Spanish introduced it to Latin America where it was taken into the local cuisine. It arrived in the US before 1670, but was used mostly as a flavoring for liquor. Cilantro became popular as a culinary herb in the US in the late 20th Century and is now found and used in many parts of the country as people learn to enjoy food from varied cultures that have influenced our palates.
Cilantro is a short season annual which is fairly cold tolerant, so if you live in the northern tier of the US, you can plant it in early spring. Cilantro seed germinates best at soil temperatures of 55 - 68 deg. F. Seeds should germinate in 7 - 14 days. Direct seeding works best, but small transplants can also be used. As with many herbs, we in the South find Cilantro does not do well in our hot, humid summers, so we grow it as a cool season annual. I'm planting Cilantro now to grow out in the fall and winter. Succession type planting works well. Plant a few seeds every 3 weeks or so, and you'll have fresh cilantro ongoing through the season.
Click on the seed packet to purchase Cilantro Seed.
The plant grows to about 18" tall or so, and the seed stalk can shoot up to almost 3 feet. As the flower stalks start to shoot up, the leaves change from parsley look-alikes to a more ferny appearance. I use these leaves as well as the flowers to season food. The roots of the Cilantro plant are also flavorful and can be cleaned, sliced and added to stir fry dishes for a burst of cilantro flavor.
If you want to collect the seeds to provide the spice Coriander, let the flowers bloom- they're very pretty and attract a lot of beneficial insects to the garden. Then, as the seeds start to turn brown, cut the stems and hang the seed heads upside down inside of a paper bag. Shake the plants to remove the seeds when they are ripe and they'll fall inside the bag. If you're worried about hitchhikers from your garden in the seeds, place the seed in the freezer for a few weeks. Remove and store in a cool dry place.
Cilantro Seed not quite ready to harvest.
Cilantro is sometimes known as Chinese Parsley, and is found in many recipes for Asian and Southeast Asian cooking as well as Southwest style dishes. It blends well with basil, especially Thai and Lemon Basil in Vietnamese and Thai dishes.
The leaves are best used fresh, as its leaves dry with little to no flavor. Cilantro leaves should be added only a few minutes before the end of cooking time, as the flavor does not hold up when cooked. Freshly chopped or torn leaves can be stirred into a dish right at the end of the cooking period for a fresh burst of cilantro flavor. Try sprinkling fresh cilantro over a green salad, adding to sandwiches, soups and dips.
Wash cilantro, dry. Mix ingredients in food processor or blender until smooth. Chill and serve with fish or pasta as sauce or as a vegetable dip.
C o m b i n e a l l t h e i n g r e d i e n t s , c o v e r , a n d r e f r i g e r a t e f o r a n h o u r . ( M a k e s 2 1/2 c u p s )
Coriander seeds are used to improve taste in many medicines, especially bitter laxatives. The seeds aid digestion, reduce gas and improve the appetite. Coriander tea has been used to treat anorexia. The essential oil can added to ointments or carrier oils and be used to treat the pain of rheumatoid arthritis and sore muscles.
Cilantro has been found to be an antiseptic herb. It contains the chemical dodecenal, which has been shown to fight against Salmonella bacteria. One would have to eat a LOT of cilantro to gain the benefits of dodecenal against Salmonella, but research is looking at making a food additive from dodecenal to prevent food borne illnesses. Here is the complete article on this topic.
According to an article on rawfoodinfo.com: This came about accidentally when he (Dr. Yoshiaki Omura) noticed that mercury levels in urine increased after an individual consumed Vietnamese soup. The healthy soup contained coriander, or, as it is better known in this country, cilantro. And when cilantro was used concurrently with natural antiviral or antibiotic agents and/or omega-3 fatty acids, the infections could be eliminated for good.
Dr. Omura's discovery resulted in a novel technique, which greatly increased the body's ability to clear up recurring infections, both viral and bacterial. By chance, he also discovered an inexpensive, easy way to remove -- or chelate -- toxic metals from the nervous system and body tissues. Chelation therapy using chemical agents like EDTA has long been used to help remove heavy metals, but cilantro is the only natural substance I'm aware of that has demonstrated this ability.
All it takes is adding a quantity of cilantro to your diet daily, for two or three weeks. You can add a handful of fresh cilantro to a salad, mix a couple of teaspoons of cilantro pesto with whole wheat pasta, spread the pesto on toasted Italian bread, or have it with your favorite fish (good in soups). Any of these dishes will give you the dosages Dr. Omura used in his research."
Some folks describe the flavor of Cilantro as "soapy" or "like hand lotion". Not to put anyone off... but according to the authoritative Oxford Companion to Food, the word "coriander" is said to derive from the Greek word for bedbug, that cilantro aroma "has been compared with the smell of bug-infested bedclothes". There's an "I Hate Cilantro" Facebook page with hundreds of fans and an I Hate Cilantro blog.
According to an article in the NY Times: "Flavor chemists have found that cilantro aroma is created by a half-dozen or so substances, and most of these are modified fragments of fat molecules called aldehydes. The same or similar aldehydes are also found in soaps and lotions and the bug family of insects.
Soaps are made by fragmenting fat molecules with strongly alkaline lye or its equivalent, and aldehydes are a byproduct of this process, as they are when oxygen in the air attacks the fats and oils in cosmetics. And many bugs make strong-smelling, aldehyde-rich body fluids to attract or repel other creatures."
If you are one of those who detest the flavor of Cilantro, you might be interested to know that if the herb is chopped up or torn and left to sit for a bit before being added to food, the enzymes are given the chance to convert the aldehydes into other substances with no aroma.
Again, according the the NY Times article: "...cilantro pestos to be lotion-free and surprisingly mild. They actually have deeper roots in the Mediterranean than the basil version, and can be delicious on pasta and breads and meats. If you're looking to work on your cilantro patterns, pesto might be the place to start."
It is interesting to me that we keep discovering the reasoning behind why a varied diet is so good for us. Eating a variety of fresh herbs as a matter of habit will help keep us healthy. Who knew Cilantro, a favorite of many and detested by others, would prove to have such health benefits. I just eat it in food because I like it. I'm glad the season has progressed into Fall, when I can plant Cilantro in the garden and enjoy its flavor all winter and into next Spring.
QUOTE FOR THE MONTH
Walking is man's best medicine. -Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine (460-377 BCE)
Good Growing to You,
Cindy Meredith, proprietor
The Herb Cottage
442 CR 233
Hallettsville, TX 77964
phone & fax: 979-562-2153
http://theherbcottage.com/
The Herb Cottage is proud to offer high quality seeds from Botanical Interest, Inc., a family owned seed business located in Broomfield, Colorado.