Corriander leaves-Cocunut chutney.jpg

Coriander (;coriander
in the Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary ''Coriandrum sativum'') is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae. It is also known as Chinese parsley, dhania, or cilantro ().cilantro
in the Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary All parts of the plant are edible, but the fresh leaves and the dried seeds (which are both a herb and a spice) are the parts most traditionally used in cooking.

Most people perceive coriander as having a tart, lemon/lime taste, but to nearly a quarter of those surveyed, the leaves taste like dish soap, linked to a gene that detects some specific aldehydes that can produce soapy sensation from the odorant substances.

Botanical description

Coriander is native to regions spanning from Southern Europe and Northern Africa to Southwestern Asia.

It is a soft plant growing to 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 center of the umbel longer () than those pointing toward it (only long). The fruit is a globular, dry schizocarp in diameter. Pollen size is approximately .

Etymology

First attested in English during the late 14th century, the word "coriander" derives from the Old French , which comes from Latin , in turn from Ancient Greek ''koríannon'' (or ''koríandron''), possibly derived from or related to ''kóris'' (a bed bug), and was given on account of its foetid, bed bug-like smell.

The earliest attested form of the word is the Mycenaean Greek (variants: , , ) written in Linear B syllabic script (reconstructed as ', similar to the name of Minos' daughter Ariadne) which later evolved to ''koriannon'' or ''koriandron'', and ''Koriander'' (German).

' is the Spanish word for coriander, also deriving from ''coriandrum''. It is the common term in American English for coriander leaves, due to their extensive use in Mexican cuisine.

Origin and history

Coriander grows wild over a wide area of Western Asia and Southern Europe, prompting the comment: "It is hard to define exactly where this plant is wild and where it only recently established itself." Recent works suggested that coriander accessions found in the wild in Israel and Portugal might represent the ancestor of the cultivated coriander. Article number 138. They have low germination rates and a small vegetative appearance. The accession found in Israel has an extremely hard fruit coat.

Fifteen desiccated mericarps were found in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B level (six to eight thousand years ago) of the Nahal Hemar Cave, published in Kislev 1988, and eleven from ~8,000–7,500 years ago in Pre-Pottery Neolithic C in Atlit-Yam, published as Kislev ''et al.'' 2004, both in Israel. If these finds do belong to these archaeological layers they are the oldest find of coriander in the world.

About of coriander mericarps were recovered from the tomb of Tutankhamen, 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 Ebers Papyrus, an Egyptian text dated to around 1550 BC, mentioned uses of coriander.

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; it apparently was used in two forms - as a spice for its seeds and as an herb for the flavour 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.

Later, coriander was mentioned by Hippocrates (around 400 BC), as well as Dioscorides (65 AD).

Uses

The fresh leaves and the dried seeds are the parts most commonly used in cooking, but all parts of the plant are edible and the roots are an important element of Thai cooking. Coriander is used in cuisines throughout the world.

Leaves

The leaves are variously referred to as coriander leaves, fresh coriander, Chinese parsley, or (in the US and commercially in Canada) cilantro. The fresh leaves are an ingredient in many foods, such as chutneys and salads, salsa, guacamole, and as a widely used garnish for soup, fish, and meat. As heat diminishes their flavour, 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 flavour diminishes. The leaves spoil quickly when removed from the plant, and lose their aroma when dried or frozen.

The taste of the leaves and the seeds are distinct. The seeds exhibit citrus overtones.The dominant flavorants in the leaves are the aldehydes 2-decenal and 2-dodecenal. The main flavorant in the seeds is (+)-linalool.

Seeds

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

The variety ''C. sativum'' var''. sativum'' has a fruit diameter of , while var. ''microcarpum'' fruits have a diameter of , and var. ''indicum'' has elongated fruits. Large-fruited types are grown mainly by tropical and subtropical countries, e.g. Morocco, India, and Australia, and contain a low volatile oil content (0.1-0.4%). They are used extensively for grinding and blending purposes in the spice trade. Types with smaller fruit are produced in temperate regions and usually have a volatile oil content around 0.4-1.8%, so are highly valued as a raw material for the preparation of essential oil.

Coriander is commonly found both as whole dried seeds and in ground form. Roasting or heating the seeds in a dry pan heightens the flavour, aroma, and pungency. Ground coriander seed loses flavour quickly in storage and is best ground fresh. Coriander seed is a spice in '' garam masala'' and Indian curries, which often employ the ground fruits in generous amounts together with cumin