Coriander

Going gluten free required me to drastically change the way I cook. I couldn't rely on my family's collection of recipes (mostly casseroles) that relied on cream-of-something soup and pre-packaged seasonings. Instead, I started to cook with more spices and herbs. It took some time and experimenting to learn how to use these spices and herbs to create delicious, flavorful meals. I'm still learning, but one of the things I would like to do with this blog is provide a few features on spices and herbs so that I can learn more and share what I am learning.The first spice I want to feature is coriander.

Do you ever stop while you are cooking to smell the spices you are putting in? It's one of my favorite parts. I love opening the spice bottle and enjoying the smell for a few seconds before I start measuring and dumping it into my pan. I did this recently while I was making White Chicken Chili and I remembered how much I love coriander. It added such a fresh feel to the chili, and I thought about how flat the finished product would have been without it.

Coriander is also known as cilantro or Chinese parsley. The coriander plant has a couple of different parts. You are probably most familiar with the leaves, which we know as cilantro. The leaves have a more citrus flavor than the seeds. Interestingly, there are a lot of people (supposedly there is a genetic component to this) who experience an unpleasant soapy taste when they eat cilantro leaves. Cilantro leaves are used in many different types of cuisine including Mexican (guacamole, salsa), Russian (salads), and Indian/Thai (garnish).

When we use the term coriander in cooking, we are referring specifically to the seeds. The seeds have a lemony, citrus flavor that is described as warm, nutty, spicy, and orange flavored. Coriander seeds are used both whole or ground, but if ground they are best when ground fresh. Coriander is commonly used in Indian cuisine (garam marsala, curries), for pickling vegetables, in German sausages, and occasionally as an ingredient in rye bread in Russia and Central Europe.

In addition to its use as a spice, coriander has antioxidants which help prevent food from spoiling and contains chemicals which have antibacterial benefits. Folk medicine also uses coriander for all of the following: relieving colds, relieving anxiety and insomnia, treating type II diabetes, lowering cholesterol, and having a diuretic effect.