Cilantro - which one do we mean???

[Guest guest]

Actually there is supposedly a third but I have read it is hard

> to find although you could try an Asian market:

> ketumbar = daun ketumbar

 

Daun ketumbar is Bahasa Indonesia for *coriander* - which is what is sold here

in

Canada under the name 'cilantro' - it has small leaves, very much like Italian

flat-leaf

parsley (well, somewhat like it). It supposedly has a milder taste than long

coriander

or what is also called cilantro - the ones with long leaves like spears. I have

to ask

for 'cilantro' if I don't see it, because if I ask for coriander leaves (or

plant) I get

shown the spice section where the little round seeds are in packets. This was

also

true in English Canada.

 

I wonder if this is the problem we are all having over 'cilantro'??? Some of us

call

coriander leaves/plant (meaning the little green leaves, stem and root) by that

name

and some of us by cilantro truly mean what is otherwise called 'long coriander'.

 

I tend to use the words 'coriander leaves' and 'cilantro' interchangeably in

recipes

since I have been back in Canada, and since no one has picked me up on it (and I

felt that surely someone would have mentioned it!) I have assumed that everyone

understands the same plant by it. But perhaps not?

 

Feedback please??? In Thai dishes, asian dishes, by the say, which is what I

mainly give recipes for (not Mexican, since it's a cuisine I can enjoy but do

not

properly understand), it is coriander, daun ketumba, that is used - not long

coriander

or cilantro.

 

(I am reminded of the common confusion between the use of the words sweetpotato

and yam . . . )

 

So, do *you* people out there mean coriander or long coriander when you say

cilantro???

 

Best,

 

Pat

[Guest guest]

Hmm...I was always under the impression that the term " corriander " referred to

the seeds, and " cilantro " referred to the plant, so I would say that in essence

" long corriander " and " cilantro " are one in the same?

 

pengwhyn <veggiehound wrote:

Actually there is supposedly a third but I have read it is hard

> to find although you could try an Asian market:

> ketumbar = daun ketumbar

 

Daun ketumbar is Bahasa Indonesia for *coriander* - which is what is sold here

in

Canada under the name 'cilantro' - it has small leaves, very much like Italian

flat-leaf

parsley (well, somewhat like it). It supposedly has a milder taste than long

coriander

or what is also called cilantro - the ones with long leaves like spears. I have

to ask

for 'cilantro' if I don't see it, because if I ask for coriander leaves (or

plant) I get

shown the spice section where the little round seeds are in packets. This was

also

true in English Canada.

 

I wonder if this is the problem we are all having over 'cilantro'??? Some of us

call

coriander leaves/plant (meaning the little green leaves, stem and root) by that

name

and some of us by cilantro truly mean what is otherwise called 'long coriander'.

 

I tend to use the words 'coriander leaves' and 'cilantro' interchangeably in

recipes

since I have been back in Canada, and since no one has picked me up on it (and I

felt that surely someone would have mentioned it!) I have assumed that everyone

understands the same plant by it. But perhaps not?

 

Feedback please??? In Thai dishes, asian dishes, by the say, which is what I

mainly give recipes for (not Mexican, since it's a cuisine I can enjoy but do

not

properly understand), it is coriander, daun ketumba, that is used - not long

coriander

or cilantro.

 

(I am reminded of the common confusion between the use of the words sweetpotato

and yam . . . )

 

So, do *you* people out there mean coriander or long coriander when you say

cilantro???

 

Best,

 

Pat

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

> Hmm...I was always under the impression that the term " corriander " referred to

the

seeds, and " cilantro " referred to the plant, so I would say that in essence

" long

corriander " and " cilantro " are one in the same?

 

You're dead right. Yes, 'coriander' generally means the seeds - the kind we

grind up

and put in curries etc. I think there's still a bit of confusion, though (or

maybe it's just

me!) regarding the plant. Let me try again:

 

Coriander leaves (Latin: coriandrum sativum) are what are generally used in or

on

asian dishes - chopped - and generally here in Canada at least called

'cilantro'. This

is what I also use on Mexican-style dishes. This is the plant I mean when I say

'coriander leaves or cilantro' in my recipes.

 

See here for a photo of what I mean by coriander leaves, also called 'cilantro'

and

'Chinese parsley' in this article. (This is the Daun ketumbar Gary referred to

in his

email.)

 

http://www.thesneeze.com/mt-archives/000086.html

 

Is that what we're all using? Okay, then, no problem! Pick the leaves off the

stem,

they taste milder and different, if you don't like the more pungent flavour. Or

skip

them altogether.

 

**Or** does anyone use 'long coriander' or 'Mexican coriander', 'ketumbur jawa'

in

Malay, 'walangan' in Indonesian) (Latin: Eryngium foetidum)? It's a different

plant.

See a photo and description here:

 

http://www-ang.kfunigraz.ac.at/~katzer/engl/generic_frame.html?Eryn_foe.html

 

and here: http://www.sandmountainherbs.com/coriander_mexican.html

 

(For those who have difficulty growing the other kind of 'cilantro' or coriander

leaves,

this one is hardier, it seems. Worth considering.)

 

Okay, not trying to be a smart ass here - just trying to see if we are all on

the same

page.

 

Anyway, we're all agreed that you either love it or hate it. I rather think the

'long

coriander' with the spear-like leaves, Eryngium foetidum (well named, eh?),

provides

more to hate!

 

My vote? I'm definitely coming down on the side of coriander leaves, Chinese

parsley, daun ketumber, aka 'cilantro' - can't cook without it!

 

Best,

 

Pat

[Guest guest]

> http://www.thesneeze.com/mt-archives/000086.html

>

> Is that what we're all using? Okay, then, no problem! Pick the

> leaves off the stem,

> they taste milder and different, if you don't like the more pungent

> flavour. Or skip

> them altogether.

 

That's the cilantro I mean--the one that is liberally sprinkled on

Indian dishes in some restaurants. Picking the leaves off the stem

makes no difference to my taste buds--they still taste like soap. The

first time I ever had it, I bought it as " Chinese parsley " and used it

in tabouli. Big mistake! While eating it, I kept thinking I must

have used a bowl that had dish soap left in it, and I wound up

throwing away the whole batch. It was only when I tried to use the

" Chinese parsley " in another dish that I found out that IT was the

soap taste.

 

I've heard that this is a genetic thing, that some of us taste it this

way. My question is, what does it taste like to those of you who LIKE

it? I've asked my husband, but he can't describe it. When something

tastes this bad to me (and I'm an adventurous cook who likes most

foods), it's hard to imagine what makes it edible to others.

 

Susan

[Guest guest]

I can't think of a good description of how cilantro tastes to me

but it has no taste which reminds me at all of soap.

 

Gary

 

 

>

> > http://www.thesneeze.com/mt-archives/000086.html

> >

> > Is that what we're all using? Okay, then, no problem! Pick the

> > leaves off the stem,

> > they taste milder and different, if you don't like the more pungent

> > flavour. Or skip

> > them altogether.

>

> That's the cilantro I mean--the one that is liberally sprinkled on

> Indian dishes in some restaurants. Picking the leaves off the stem

> makes no difference to my taste buds--they still taste like soap. The

> first time I ever had it, I bought it as " Chinese parsley " and used it

> in tabouli. Big mistake! While eating it, I kept thinking I must

> have used a bowl that had dish soap left in it, and I wound up

> throwing away the whole batch. It was only when I tried to use the

> " Chinese parsley " in another dish that I found out that IT was the

> soap taste.

>

> I've heard that this is a genetic thing, that some of us taste it this

> way. My question is, what does it taste like to those of you who LIKE

> it? I've asked my husband, but he can't describe it. When something

> tastes this bad to me (and I'm an adventurous cook who likes most

> foods), it's hard to imagine what makes it edible to others.

>

> Susan

 

[Guest guest]

it all gets really confusing huh?

 

when i say cilantro, i mean coriander (leaves). it's

the plant that grows from coriander seeds. here's a

pic and some info:

http://www-ang.kfunigraz.ac.at/~katzer/engl/generic_frame.html?Eryn_foe.html

cilantro is very common in the u.s. and is found in

most grocery stores (at least in the south and

southwest). it is what is used in mexican/tex-mex,

indian, and asian cooking. i've also seen cilantro

referred to as " chinese parsley " .

 

long coriander is also known as culantro and, imo, is

very different than cilantro. here's a pic of

culantro:

http://www-ang.kfunigraz.ac.at/~katzer/engl/generic_frame.html?Eryn_foe.html

i only recently discovered culantro (it's not very

common in the states and i've never seen it sold in

markets). they serve it in the salad/accompaniment

plate at this little vietnamese place i go to. i like

it.

 

susie

 

--- pengwhyn <veggiehound wrote:

 

> Daun ketumbar is Bahasa Indonesia for *coriander* -

> which is what is sold here in

> Canada under the name 'cilantro' - it has small

> leaves, very much like Italian flat-leaf

> parsley (well, somewhat like it). It supposedly has

> a milder taste than long coriander

> or what is also called cilantro - the ones with long

> leaves like spears. I have to ask

> for 'cilantro' if I don't see it, because if I ask

> for coriander leaves (or plant) I get

> shown the spice section where the little round seeds

> are in packets. This was also

> true in English Canada.

>

> I wonder if this is the problem we are all having

> over 'cilantro'??? Some of us call

> coriander leaves/plant (meaning the little green

> leaves, stem and root) by that name

> and some of us by cilantro truly mean what is

> otherwise called 'long coriander'.

 

> Feedback please??? In Thai dishes, asian dishes, by

> the say, which is what I

> mainly give recipes for (not Mexican, since it's a

> cuisine I can enjoy but do not

> properly understand), it is coriander, daun ketumba,

> that is used - not long coriander or cilantro.

 

> So, do *you* people out there mean coriander or long

> coriander when you say

> cilantro???