greatreporter.com, October 3rd, 2007
What Is It?
The coriander plant is one of parsley's relatives. Indeed, its leaves resemble flat parsley and, like parsley, tend to be added at the end of cooking in order to preserve their fresh flavour. It's the tiny, beige, ball-shaped fruit (also referred to as the ‘seed’) that yield the plant's prized spice.
What's Its History?
Coriander was one of the first spices people used – we've been adding the stuff to food since 5000 BC! Particularly venerated by the Egyptians, dried coriander was found in the tomb of Ramses II, and it even cropped up in the Old Testament, which likened God's manna to coriander. In
England
, the spice has long been used in gin-making.
Where Does It Come From?
Coriander was traditionally cultivated in
Morocco
(which produces large seeds perfect for use whole) and
Romania
(which produces smaller but more pungent seeds). Much modern cultivation of coriander also takes place in
Canada
.
How Is It Prepared?
Coriander can be bought either as whole dried seeds or in pre-ground form. Impatient cooks might prefer the latter, but it's worth remembering that no pre-ground spice will pack the punch of something you grind yourself. Try roasting the whole seeds briefly to bring out their aroma before pounding them with a pestle and mortar.
Where Would We Use It?
With its distinctive lemony fragrance, coriander is a big feature of Indian and Thai cooking. It's an essential component of curry powder, but there's no need to reserve it for such grand concoctions; Use a dash of coriander to make your next emergency stir-fry taste more like something from a Thai take-away.
Any Health Benefits?
Although Hippocrates himself may have been a fan, coriander has not been medically proven to possess any real health benefits. That said, its been long-believed to work as a digestive aid. Its also been used as a flavouring to make some nasty medicines more palatable.
