The coriander (cilantro) discussion thread

[Australian rePublic]

Ah coriander (or Cilantro as it's known in North America), is a herb with so many haters that there are at lesst two facebooks pages all around the world dedicated to hating it.

So I just ate a garden salad loaded with coriander. I'm not even saying a dash of coriander I'm saying with coriander. So I just a garden salad loaded with coriander, which got me thinking about starting a thread about the green herb.

So, what's your opinion of the green herb known as coriander (or cilantro in North America). Me, personally, I don't mind a bit of it, but too much of it is just disgusting. And I don't know what kind of monster puts coriander in a garden salad, but I guess some restaurateurs just to see the world burn in a sea of coriander. So, NSG, what's your opinion of coriander?

[Reploid Productions]

I apparently have the gene that makes it taste about as appetizing as soap, so... yeah. Even a single leaf of the stuff can ruin an entire dish for me. Not going to waste my effort on actively hating on it though, I'll just keep on quietly trying to avoid it in my food.

[Odreria]

It tastes good and is very easy to choke on.

[Big Jim P]

I apparently have the gene that makes it taste about as appetizing as soap, so... yeah. Even a single leaf of the stuff can ruin an entire dish for me. Not going to waste my effort on actively hating on it though, I'll just keep on quietly trying to avoid it in my food.

I agree. To me it tastes exactly like a stinkbug smells. The least amount in a dish and I can't eat it.

[Cetacea]

I like it generally, but one of the local resteraunts does a pasta that contains corriander and it taste like Sunlight Liquid - which also isnt unpleasant for me, though it is soapy

[Dakini]

Coriander is tasty business. Not just the leafy green bits, but the seeds too. It is a delightfully versatile herb.

[Dakini]

In my huble opinion, you should have dosed up on the full range of herbs before starting a thread about Herbs.

Garlic isn't exactly a herb (it's a root) but I would say it's the only herb-like ingredient which you can't have too much off. I used to think basil, but then I spent my money on a bunch of basil and ate the whole thing, with lemon, and it did not agree with me. So now I'm say garlic, and only garlic, can be added without fear of too much herb.

Coriander is nice. I can easily imagine too much Coriander though. Also coriander root, quite strong.

Agreed. There is definitely no such thing as too much garlic. I made toum a month ago or so and it was glorious. I was putting that stuff on my sandwiches for a week.

Coriander is tasty business. Not just the leafy green bits, but the seeds too. It is a delightfully versatile herb.

The word "coriander" always makes thing "and 'er what, exactly?"

So maybe now I will call it Cilantro!

Either way is fine by me.

[New Jacobland]

Coriander is all right in small quantities, but loaded ? No thanks.

[Page]

I love cilantro. Mayo on the other hand can die in a car fire.

[Dakini]

Agreed. There is definitely no such thing as too much garlic. I made toum a month ago or so and it was glorious. I was putting that stuff on my sandwiches for a week.


Either way is fine by me.

I know a takeaway cook who makes fried potatoes more garlicy than garlic itself. Maybe he deep-fries them in garlic oil I don't know. The only way to find out is humbly ask him for a job behind the counter ...

Toum it seems is a kind of mayonnaise made with garlic instead of egg? I'm pretty sure I have eaten it, very white and with pungent raw garlic flavor!

We should not indulge the imagination of garlic too much. It's not the topic. Does Sumac count as a herb? I first discovered it sprinkled over Humus (same takeaway cook, actually, I asked him) and later discovered that it's great sprinkled over a green salad.

Yeah, toum is basically mayo, but replace the egg for garlic. I think aioli is the same idea in principle (or at least originally).

I haven't really tried sumac. It's one of those things I will have to try as soon as I figure out where to get decent spices around here (I just moved to Romania and don't know where anything is yet).

[Australian rePublic]

You know what ruins Vietnamese food? coriander. I've tried Vietnamese food without coriander, and guess what, it's bloody delicious. However, for some reason, Vietnamese people like to add way, way too much coriander to their otherwise excellent cuisine, and ruin it. Another few dishes ruined by coriander!

[An Alan Smithee Nation]

I like lots of coriander leaf chopped up as a garnish for a curry. Apart from that I am not too keen, as to me it smells like a cat litter tray that needs cleaning.

[The Free Joy State]

I like lots of coriander leaf chopped up as a garnish for a curry. Apart from that I am not too keen, as to me it smells like a cat litter tray that needs cleaning.

That's how I mostly use coriander, too: chopped up as garnish to Thai or Indian food. I enjoy the taste, but find a little goes a long way.

Although, there is one recipe that uses a small amount of stalk chopped up in the marinade for pork skewers. I remember that being tasty.

[New haven america]

Cilantro's great.

[Philjia]

I like coriander. The stems are the really good part.

[The Blaatschapen]

I love coriander.

It goes well with my pineapple on a pizza

[New haven america]

I love coriander.

It goes well with my pineapple on a pizza

Delete this.

[Dakini]

I love coriander.

It goes well with my pineapple on a pizza

Pineapple is definitely a superior pizza topping. I've never tried it with coriander though.

[Samudera Darussalam]

I don't have any problem at all with coriander, though maybe that's because most of the foods I grew up with involve a lot of coriander (the seeds to be exact).

You know what ruins Vietnamese food? coriander. I've tried Vietnamese food without coriander, and guess what, it's bloody delicious. However, for some reason, Vietnamese people like to add way, way too much coriander to their otherwise excellent cuisine, and ruin it. Another few dishes ruined by coriander!

Depends on the culture and people's own preference, I guess. Since there are many Indonesian traditional foods that also use coriander, that might be a Southeast Asian thing. Or maybe not.

[Drongonia]

I've actually never tried a dish where it's the prevailing flavour tbh

[The Free Joy State]

I love coriander.

It goes well with my pineapple on a pizza

That's one thing I've never tried... coriander with delicious pineapple-topped pizza.

[Nevertopia]

Koriand'r is my favourite Titan right next to Raven.

[Rusozak]

Fun fact: Cilantro aversion can actually be genetic. The way our sensory organs are structured affects how we perceive stimuli, and some people have a genetic trait that makes cilantro have a soapy or overpowering taste that is often revolting. So you really hate cilantro, it could be your genes!

[Adamede]

I like it quite a bit. Especially on tacos, with diced onions and your meat of choice on a corn tortilla.

[Spaincio]

Cilantro, is a herb made from heaven.