WHETHER you call this green pungent herb by its Indian, English or American name, you either love it, or absolutely hate it. Known as dhaniya locally, the English and Aussie’s call the fresh leafy herb coriander, and for the Americans it is known by its Spanish name, cilantro.
The pro-coriander camp love its floral aroma and cooling freshness, while the anti-coriander camp say it smells like socks and tastes like soap! It is one of the few herbs that has such a polarising reputation.
One of my previous island resort owners in Australia was definitely in the “yuk” camp. When I submitted a new food and cocktail menu, he faxed my menu back with each reference to coriander crossed out in thick black pen, and at the top of the page he wrote “take it off…rabbit food…no one eats this smelly weed!”
If you have grown up with coriander like me, it’s hard to work out what all the negativity is about, but there is scientific evidence that some people may smell and taste coriander different to the rest of us and some people are allergic to it. Lots of studies show this ancient herb is also a superfood with lots of power to heal.
Tastes like soap
A German friend of mine swears coriander tastes and smells like soap to him. I thought he was just being fussy but many people find that cilantro has an unpleasant soapy taste. This isn’t usually because of a coriander allergy.
Studies show this intense unpleasant flavour may be genetic. A 2012 study by a consumer genetics company in the US, looked at the genomes of thousands of European participants who answered whether they thought cilantro tasted like soap or not. They found a strong association between those who think cilantro tastes like soap and those who have a genetic variation that impacts a particular olfactory receptor gene, called OR6A2.
Olfactory receptor genes affect your sense of smell. The receptor that gene affects is sensitive to aldehyde chemicals, which are a major part of what gives coriander its smell. Aldehyde chemicals are found in both coriander and soap. So this study suggests that dislike of coriander is driven more by its smell and is because of how your genes code your nose to respond to the chemicals that give coriander its smell.
If you are one of those anti-coriander folks, at least you know that it’s not really your fault, you can blame your European heritage.
Cilantro or coriander?
Coriander has been a part of human cuisine for a long time and gets its English name from the plant’s botanic name coriandrum sativum.
Dried traces of the herb were found in a cave in Israel that dated around 6000 BCE. Remnants were also found in King Tutankhamen’s tomb in ancient Egypt around 1325 BCE, and it was the Egyptians who first learned to cultivate the plant for it’s green seeds, the fruit of the plant, as well as its pungent leaves.
The fresh seeds were crushed as a food ingredient as well as used as medicine. The fresh leaves were also used by the ancient Hispanics and like a great many herbs, the plant eventually made its way to the Caribbean islands and quickly spread into Mexico and New Mexico (US) by the early 1600s as colonists followed the Spanish conquistadors. The Spanish had long adopted coriander into their cuisine, and it is around this point in early American history that coriander becomes known as cilantro, its Spanish translation.
In the US, the leaves are today referred to as cilantro and the dry seeds are called coriander.
And now, to get you really confused, there’s another herb out there called culantro. That’s another herb entirely. Culantro is a herb that is native to the Americas and very popular in Caribbean cuisine, and can be found at various outdoor markets. It is called sawtooth coriander, serrated coriander and often called dhaniya in Fiji.
An ancient superfood
The health benefits of fresh herbs are often overlooked. However, they can be just as essential to a healthy diet as fruits and vegetables thanks to their high antioxidant content.
Consuming plant-based foods of all kinds has long been associated with a reduced risk of many lifestyle-related health conditions including non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Some studies suggest increasing consumption of plant foods like coriander decreases the risk of obesity, overall mortality, diabetes, and heart disease while promoting healthy skin and hair, increased energy, and overall lower weight.
And there is a growing body of evidence that coriander may one day be useful as an analgesic and anti-inflammatory drug. Is this the long forgotten medicinal use of coriander that ancient Egyptians somehow knew?
How to eat more coriander
Adding coriander is a great way to add flavour to a dish or beverage without adding extra calories, fat, or salt. Coriander is a tender herb (along with mint and basil) which has gentle leaves best added raw or near the end of cooking in order to maintain their delicate flavour and texture.
When preparing coriander, separate the leaves and green stems but keep the white bottom stem and root for marination and stir fry to get the most of the plant. Cutting with a blunt knife or over-chopping will bruise the herb, and much of the flavour will be misplaced onto the cutting board surface. So always be gentle!
Coriander pairs well with many dishes, especially Mexican or South East Asian dishes and those with beans, cheese, eggs, and fish. It is also great with creamy vegetable dips and as a topping or garnish for soups and salads.
Sometimes nature’s medicines don’t always smell or taste great, but for me, a fresh bunch of coriander is an aromatic boutique that I add to just about everything including salads, soups, guacamoles, salsa, steam with fish, sandwiches, or just eaten raw. For some, it will always smell like feet.
*Join Chef Lance Seeto for lunch at Malamala Beach Club. www.malamalabeachclub.com
