A spice from the seed of cilantro. Used in baking, confections and pickling. Pleasant aroma and sweet lingering flavor. Coriander also known as Chinese Parsley. Strong smelling annual perennial. Coriander also known as Coriandrum sativum.
It is difficult to say what is more surprising: that coriander belongs to the carrot family or that its name may mean bedbug. Coriander derives from what the ancient Greeks called the spice, koriannon, a name they may have formed from their word for the bedbug, koris, because the odour emitted by such insects resembles that of coriander. Despite their similar aroma, however, chefs rarely substitute bedbugs for coriander.
Seeds add fresh, spicy flavour to soups and stews. Main ingredient in chili sauces, curries and exotic dishes. Fresh, slightly bitter leaves, known as Chinese parsley, are featured in numerous international cuisines.
The dried fruit of a delicate, lacy-looking, European or Asiatic herb. The “seeds,” so called, are minute, round, and yellow-brown, with a warm flavor like a mixture of sage and lemon, and are generally used ground, in cakes and cookies, bread, puddings, etc., particularly in Danish pastry. In pickling, coriander is used whole, as it sometimes is in sausage. In England, whole coriander was often sugar-coated and sold as a comfit. A usual ingredient of most curry powders, it has been known and used from antiquity and is believed by some to have been the “manna from Heaven” that fed the Israelites.
Coriander is a spice that originates from the East and was introduced to Europe by the Romans. The plant that produces this strongly scented spice has leaves similar to those of parsley and flowers that grow around the stem in tassels. The dried seeds of this fragrant plant are utilized as a flavoring for gin and in various dishes such as curry, pickles, and gingerbread. In addition to its use as a food seasoning, coriander is also utilized to add flavor to medicine. The spice’s taste is reminiscent of a mixture of sage and lemon peel, making it an ideal addition to stuffing. Coriander is especially popular in Chinese and Hispanic cuisine.