All the World Loves Cilantro : Piercing, complex and pure, it’s the international herb

To me, the flavor of cilantro is a blend of flat-leaf parsley, juniper berries, mint and lovage (which is like celery with depth). Others have compared the flavor to orange peel and sage.

However you perceive it, cilantro is piercing, complex and pure and evokes a strong response. Some people loathe it, but most love it. Those who keep track of such things say cilantro’s the most popular herb in the world.

Cilantro is a Spanish word (pronounced Mexican-style, since it first entered American cookery from Mexico). The leaves come from the coriander plant ( Coriandrum sativum ). The ground coriander used as a spice is the dried berry--at once the fruit and the seed--of the same plant. Some cuisines use coriander as an herb, others lean to the spice.

The herb form is used throughout Latin America, but it is particularly prominent in Mexico. This is because in pre-Columbian times, Aztec cooks used Lippia graveolens , a similar-looking herb that tastes like a very loud cilantro; it’s still used, under the name culantro .

In Mexican cuisine, the leaves are thrown on an immense variety of dishes, starting with salsa. For example, in Diana Kennedy’s “The Art of Mexican Cooking,” I find chopped cilantro in zucchini with grated cheese, chicken with potatoes and green beans, shredded beef with tomatoes and mixed vegetables, in the hominy-and-tripe soup menudo and in a lively sauce of cactus paddles for shrimp fritters.

No wonder that here in California, bunches of cilantro are heaped as high at the market as bunches of parsley. Typically we top avocado halves with cilantro, sprinkle it over scrambled eggs, stir it into chili, add it to tomato sauce for pasta and toss it into all sorts of salads: cole slaw, potato, bean, chef’s, even fruit. A bit of chopped cilantro added to Waldorf Salad (apples, celery and walnuts with mayonnaise) breathes new life into this American standard.

I find the clean fresh flavor of cilantro has a special affinity for citrus. Have you ever discovered what cilantro does for a salad with orange or grapefruit? And cilantro is great with lime juice. In the Caribbean, cilantro is often paired with lime. All you need for a breathtaking shrimp salad is a dressing of olive oil, lime juice, chopped green onions and cilantro.

I suppose the reason cilantro is so valued worldwide is that it’s as successful with simple flavors as with those that are complex. As it gives body to the light tastes of rice and fish, it lightens the earthiness of dried beans and meat. It also has the capacity to pull a collection of flavors into sharp focus.

The Chinese, who embraced the plant 2,000 years ago, recognize this quality. Once upon a time, they served the leaves as a vegetable. Even today, a Sichuan recipe calls for a whole plant to be tucked inside a duckling before roasting. But most often, a handful of roughly chopped cilantro is added at the last minute to a stir-fry. Because it’s so much a part of Chinese cuisine, one English name for cilantro is Chinese parsley.

Cilantro is used widely in Southeast Asia, notably in the bunch of herbs in the Vietnamese taco-like dish rolled up in rice crepes.

It has been said that cilantro is to Indian cookery what basil is to Italian. Like the pesto of Northern Italy that enhances everything from pastas to poached meats, a fresh chutney of coriander leaves ground with coconut, green chilies and fresh ginger turns the simplest dish into a poem.

From India to North Africa, from Kazakhstan to Arabia, the most common garnish on shish kebab is sliced onions with cilantro. In Turkey, chopped cilantro garnishes bulgur pilaf and egg-lemon soup. In Morocco, the leaves enhance braised squab, sweet pepper salads and goat cheese. It goes into stews and sauces in Iran and the Caucasus.

Even the tender stems are filled with flavor.

But this is a gardening column. Why, you may ask, should you bother growing coriander when you can get bunches of it so easily in supermarkets?

The answer: because there’s more to enjoy from the plant than its leaves and stems. The roots, for instance, are one of the most common ingredients in Thai cuisine. For a unique seasoning to brush over chicken before grilling, pound coriander roots to a paste with equal parts garlic and pepper.

Cilantro should be used fresh; keeping it in the refrigerator is an uncertain business. Once in a while, I find they keep for a week plunged in a glass of water. More often, the branches wither in a couple of days. If you to grow coriander yourself, the flavor will be the finer for its freshness and you’ll have a constant supply.

There are also the flowers; coriander’s small blossoms are lacy white or pinkish umbrellas; they have a spicy flavor and make a beautiful garnish. The flowers bloom in mid-summer, just in time to be strewn over bright-colored fruits.

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After flowers come the seeds. Coriander seeds are among the most venerable of spices. They’ve been found in ruins from the Bronze Age; in the Bible, manna is compared to coriander seeds with their delicate pungency. To me, the silvery flavor of coriander seed is a blend of white pepper, cardamom and clove with a hint of orange.

I find coriander especially good with pears; add a teaspoon of whole coriander seeds to every pint of pear chutney. You can also substitute ground coriander for mace and nutmeg in apple recipes. I think of coriander seeds as a winter spice, probably because I find the flavor warming. These things are subjective, however; in the medieval Near East, it was the only spice considered cooling. The seeds have been prized as a digestive aid since ancient times. Ground coriander is a marvelous addition to gingerbread, chocolate cake and butter cookies; a pinch of coriander in your coffee is delicious.

The seeds aren’t just for flavoring sweet food. In Singapore, small pieces of chicken are rolled in ground coriander before being threaded on skewers and grilled. In Southeast Asia, ground coriander is sprinkled over fish. Coriander is the most common spice in India, so common that in most languages its Sanskrit name has been replaced by a word that merely means “seed” (dhania). It is used in most curry blends and in garam masala, the mixture of sweet and hot spices sprinkled on Indian dishes just before they are served.

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Anything a la grecque is spiced with coriander; in Arab cookery, it flavors the crunchy stewed ribs of Swiss chard. In Mexico, coriander seeds-- semillas de cilantro --turn up among the spices in such sauces as mole poblano .

You might not think of coriander as an traditional American spice, but it is. You see it in pickling spice, and it’s one of the flavorings of hot dogs. A coriander seed is the traditional surprise at the center of an old-fashioned comfit, the small hard round ball of sugar candy.

Coriander couldn’t be easier to grow, and it’s charming in the border. However, its life is brief. The best way to use plants in the landscape is as a fast gap-filler between slow-starters. Among squashes, for example, or peppers and tomatoes.

Start plants from seeds. Sow them in place in moderately rich well-draining soil or in a container of potting mix; allow one gallon to each plant. Coriander flourishes in anything from full sun to light shade with average water. You can skip the fertilizer.

Look for a strain of seeds described as slow to flower (bolt is the gardening term) because it ordinarily grows so fast. Sow a few seeds every few weeks here and there in the garden.

An airy mound of coriander can reach a foot and a half high. Young leaves look so much like flat-leaf parsley that sometimes only the scent differentiates them. As the plant matures, there’s a giveaway: an occasional branch is made up of very thin leaves, like young tarragon. Watch for snails.

Coriander is hardy. Even now, when there’s ice in the bird bath, our coriander is going strong. In fact, it survives to 10 degrees. Unless you live in the mountains and high desert, you can sow coriander seeds now. Where winters get to be 10 degrees or colder, start sowing seeds in early spring. Wherever you live, early spring is the best time to sow coriander if you want a supply of spicy seeds.

When the first seeds have dried on the plant and the rest seem close to being dry, pull up the plants and hang them upside down in a dark cool place, a cloth beneath them. Be in no hurry to gather the seeds; the drier they are, the better they’ll keep. When the plants are brittle, tuck them into a sturdy pillowcase. Gather the top closed, then whack the bag until all the seeds have burst free. Shake the stuff through quarter-inch hardware cloth to sift out the chaff. Store seeds in a tightly covered jar in a cool dark dry place and use within one year. As with all seeds, before adding them to a dish, lightly toast them, shaking them in a dry skillet until you can smell them. Grind them just before you need the spice, using a blender, coffee or pepper mill.

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Sources: Richters in Canada offers seeds of two strains of coriander that are slower than most to flower: Chinese and Long Standing. Richters, Goodwood, Ontario, Canada LOC 1A0.