# Cilantro, I love you.



## HushBull

You are good in about every application. 
Thank you for being who you are, so vibrant and edgy.


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## Barbara L

Ooooh, I love herbal poetry!  LOL

So, got any good cilantro recipes to share?

Barbara


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## HushBull

Recently eaten it a lot with fish.
Making the fish in a pouch with the cilantro as the bed provides a nice green, lively taste.
Otherwise, since I grow my own, salads, salads, salads.
Honestly, about anything I can sneak it in, I do. 

Had an omelet in mind with goat cheese, cilantro, and sundried tomatoes.


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## Barbara L

Sounds good.  Sometimes when I can't find my favorite salsa, and can't make my own (can't buy it fresh here, as I could in California), I will add cilantro to jarred salsa.  It gives it a little more of a fresh taste.

Barbara


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## HushBull

That is exactly why I have so many herbs growing.
Just that extra bit is what really can brighten or even make a dish.


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## Callisto in NC

I love cilantro.  I have some that dried up in the fridge because I forgot to put it in a jar of water   It's just not the same to try and dry the stuff.


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## BreezyCooking

Another Cilantro fan here.  For me, salsas, guacamole, tacos, chili, enchiladas, Thai & Indian dishes, etc., etc. just aren't the same with a healthy dose of fresh chopped Cilantro.

And of course I also use the ground dried seeds (Coriander) in many of the same applications as well.


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## Callisto in NC

Add some lime, cilantro, garlic, and black pepper to sour cream and you have a nice dip for tamales and taquitos.


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## chefmiker

Try cilantro and mint for a double whammy effect!


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## DramaQueen

_Add my name to the cilantro fan club.  I love this herb, I love the way it smells as well as the fresh kick it gives to so many things especially coupled with lime juice.   I've posted my all time favorite cilantro pesto and it gets better every time I make it.  _


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## Claire

Me too.  My best cilantro story was that I couldn't get the stuff to grow in my garden in Florida (previous assignment was Hawaii, where I could grow it all the time).  I tried and tried, but all it did was bolt.  My husband was mowing the lawn one day and said, isn't this an herb?  Took me to the middle of the yard and sure as heck, it was a cilantro plant.  He asked what to do about it, and we decided I'd clip what I needed before he mowed, and he'd mow over it.  I think we got a couple of years out of it.  Here it "volunteered" after a very harsh winter.  That's a bit strange.  I think cilantro has its own personality and does what it wants.  But, for me, a fresh salsa or a Thai or Vietnamese meal isn't right without it.


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## TheCook

I love cilantro!  Pico de gallo, omellettes, and anything that has lime in it (other than desert)


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## geonerd20

Here is the Afghan/Indian cilantro chutney recipe.

8oz Cilantro leaves
2 to 4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
3 to 6 fresh green chilies, depending on heat and heat tolerance
Juice of 2 limes (start off with juice of 1 lime)  May use vinegar instead.
4 fresh mint leaves
1 tbl spn olive oil
Water
2 tbl spns walnuts, chopped
Salt to taste

Place all ingredients in the blender. Add just enough water to allow the ingredients to move in the blender. Grind to a medium smooth paste. Add salt to taste, adjust lime juice content to suit your taste. Allow to stand for at least 1 hour before serving.


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## MexicoKaren

Oh, add me to the list of cilantro-lovers. Sometimes, I can be found in the produce section of the grocery store, standing in front of the heap of cilantro, just breathing in the wonderful fragrance....


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## snack_pack85

I too, chop my cilantro up and put it in salads. I make an avocado and grapefruit salad with lots of cilantro. YUM


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## merstar

Barbara L said:


> Sounds good.  Sometimes when I can't find my favorite salsa, and can't make my own (can't buy it fresh here, as I could in California), I will add cilantro to jarred salsa.  It gives it a little more of a fresh taste.
> 
> Barbara



Ditto!


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## expatgirl

I amoro cilantra...........desayfortunado....el esposo does not like it....I could "keel "him..............how can you not like it...............what is wrong with him..............forgive the language..........but how can you not like cilantro........this man will eat the most disgusting culinay stuff but not cilantro..........how can you eat squid in its own ink and not cilantro........      ok I've raved enough...........I'm finished...........  sorry.......


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## geonerd20

Ok...I love cilantro as much as the next gal/guy...but cilantro poetry???  Seriously!!


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## pacanis

So in other words cilantro _does_ have a flavor?
I bought some for some pico. I've used it a few times in different things. The other night when I was chopping some I picked some up, smelled it and ate it. And I was thinking of starting a thread in the spice section asking if it actually had any flavor or scent, or is it merely a garnish, because I didn't notice anything.
Or does it need "coupled" with something else, such as lime (I read lime several times), to bring out any flavor? It ceratinly isn't rosemary or thyme, two other fresh spices I purchased at the same time...


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## BreezyCooking

Oh for heavens sake - YES Cilantro does have A FLAVOR!!! A VERY pronounced & distinctive scent & flavor.  I would have thought you, Pacanis, would have known better.

I don't know what you bought, but if it didn't have a lively pungent scent & flavor, than it WASN'T CILANTRO!! 

Italian flat-leaf parsley has frequently been taken for Cilantro at the checkout counter. I can only hope that's what happened to you. There's absolutely NO mistaking Cilantro for any other herb. It absolutely does NOT need to be COUPLED with anything else to bring out its flavor. 

I'm thinking you need to start shopping at better stores.


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## pacanis

Huh. OK, I'll certainly take your word for it.
BTW, it was in a plastic container marked "cilantro", so I'm pretty sure it was the herb I was paying for. Those three spices were my first ever experience with fresh herbs. I used the rosemary last night and that was fine, all smelly and tasty, but the nachos I made the other night that I used some fresh made pico for..... the cilantro definitely was like chewing on a blade of grass. It had me thinking I should stick with dried spices.....


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## GB

It is possible your cilantro was mislabeled pacanis. It looks almost exactly like flat leaf parsley which could have very little flavor sometimes.

Cilantro has a very strong flavor. It is one of the most powerful herbs IMO. 

I am a cilantro lover. It is my favorite herb bar none.


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## pacanis

I'll pick up a different brand next time. I saw one of the stores I shop had a different brand.


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## MexicoKaren

ExPat girl - I have read that, for some people, cilantro tastes like soap. In fact, a quick Google, and I found an entire website devoted to the hatred of cilantro! 
I Hate Cilantro - an anti cilantro community    Who knew?


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## Barbara L

Cilantro is definitely an acquired taste.  I started out with small amounts in fresh salsa.  I like it now in salsa and guacamole but haven't had it in anything else yet.  

Barbara


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## QSis

Yep, I'm a cilantro-hater.  Can't eat the stuff.  Tastes exactly like chewing plastic, on my taste buds.

Can't eat papaya, either.  Tastes like turpentine to me.

Lee


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## pacanis

QSis said:


> Yep, I'm a cilantro-hater. Can't eat the stuff. Tastes exactly like chewing plastic, on my taste buds.
> 
> Can't eat papaya, either. *Tastes like turpentine to me*.
> 
> Lee


 
Did someone say, gin? 
I can't belive I used to drink the stuff when I smell it.
Still looking for some not-so-bland cilantro when I get out again.... just to see if I like it or not.


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## Russellkhan

I don't generally think of cilantro as an acquired taste, more as something that some small percentage of people just don't like. They seem to "taste it wrong". The description I hear most often from these people is "it tastes like soap". 

Note to Pacanis (and any others new to cooking with cilantro): I tend to think of cilantro's flavor as "fresh", and really as more of an aromatic. Used properly, it can give a whole dish a very garden fresh flavor. Things it pairs well with include lime (which also helps with the "fresh effect") and chili peppers. Cuisines that use cilantro include Thai, Mexican, Vietnamese and (East) Indian. 

When cooking with cilantro the most commonly used part is the leaves. Try to add them at the very end of the cooking process, saving some to add as a garnish. To get the flavor cooked into a dish, the best way is to use the last half inch or so of stems and the first half inch or so of roots, smashed with the flat of a knife and minced. Unfortunately, not many stores sell cilantro with _any_ roots attached. If you can't find cilantro with roots, just smash, mince and cook with the last inch or so of stem.


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## Barbara L

Maybe it was just me (and a few friends).  lol  I like it much better now than I used to.  It just took me awhile to get used to it at first.

Speaking of tasting like soap, that is how I feel about raspberries.  I can eat them in some things, but most raspberry flavored things taste like soap to me.

Barbara


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## Russellkhan

I suppose we'll have to wait around to hear if others have had similar experience to yours. For me, I've liked it since first taste. 

Looking around the anti-cilantro site that MexicoKaren linked, I see that the soapy description seems to be a common theme among the complaints, and that they suspect it (dislike of cilantro) is a hereditary trait.


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## Russellkhan

Oh, and to get back on the topic of cilantro poetry, there's a whole page of anti-cilantro haiku over there.


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## SunnyFL

I LOVE cilantro.

My DH doesn't and so I have to sneak it into recipes.  I make a mean taco salad that he loves and put a healthy dose of cilantro in it -- that's about the only time he actually likes it.


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## DramaQueen

*I've mentioned this before is other cilantro threads, but here goes again.  I never buy cilantro until the day I'm going to use it.  For some reason, cilantro loses it's flavor and most of its scent after a couple of days in the fridge.  Cilantro has a powerful flavor and aroma when fresh and can "make" a dish, especially Mexican style soups.  You know it's there, no mistake about it. *
** 
*I can't do without it but only if it's less than 3 days old.   So if your cilantro has lost it's punch it may be beyond the freshest point.   Don't buy limp cilantro either.*


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## pacanis

OK. I bought a bunch of "loose" cilantro. What is the best way to keep it fresh?
And, when you purchase a fresh spice, before it goes bad (not that I would know), would it make sense to dry it and still keep it for use?

Thank you.


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## B'sgirl

Cilantro is the best! We put it in almost every Mexican and Asian dish we eat. We've tried to grow it so we always have it fresh but we failed the last two year. Third time's the charm, eh?


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## marigeorge

I like to add a handful of cilantro when marinating shrimp in red curry paste or sambal oelek, garlic and fresh ginger. Also lots of it in pico de gallo and salsa. I think it is an herb you either love or hate.

Pacanis, I usually pick all the dead/wilted pieces out of the bunch and then put it in a glass of water with a loose fitting plastic bag over it. It is pretty fragile and doesn't keep well like Italian parsley. I haven't found any dried cilantro that tasted anything like when it is fresh.


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## pacanis

marigene said:


> I like to add a handful of cilantro when marinating shrimp in red curry paste or sambal oelek, garlic and fresh ginger. Also lots of it in pico de gallo and salsa. I think it is an herb you either love or hate.
> 
> Pacanis, I usally pick all the dead/wilted pieces out of the bunch and then put it in a glass of water with a loose fitting plastic bag over it. It is pretty fragile and doesn't keep well like Italian parsley. I haven't found any dried cilantro that tasted anything like when it is fresh.


 
Thanks marigene. In the fridge?


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## marigeorge

Yes, in the fridge.


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## GB

pacanis said:


> And, when you purchase a fresh spice, before it goes bad (not that I would know), would it make sense to dry it and still keep it for use?
> 
> Thank you.


Dried cilantro is basically flavorless.


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## DramaQueen

marigene said:


> I like to add a handful of cilantro when marinating shrimp in red curry paste or sambal oelek, garlic and fresh ginger. Also lots of it in pico de gallo and salsa. I think it is an herb you either love or hate.
> 
> Pacanis, I usually pick all the dead/wilted pieces out of the bunch and then put it in a glass of water with a loose fitting plastic bag over it. It is pretty fragile and doesn't keep well like Italian parsley. I haven't found any dried cilantro that tasted anything like when it is fresh.


 
*If you're buying yellowed and wilted cilantro, you're wasting good money.  It has long past it's prime and has little of the punch and aroma fresh cilantro has.  I throw out any cilantro that is 4 days old.   When I buy it, it's very green (every leaf) very fresh and very flavorful.  *

*Dried cilantro is NOTHING like the fresh stuff.  Same with basil.  Don't even go there.  It will add nothing to your dish.  Trust me.*


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## pacanis

I'll heed your advice, but like a lot of people here, I can't justify a trip to the grocery store just to pick up a bunch of cilantro whenever I feel like having some. That's probably the main reason I have stayed away from the fresh spice area in the produce section. I need my produce to have _some kind _of shelf life.


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## BreezyCooking

Frankly, I don't understand any of this.  I've been buying fresh Cilantro for years now & simply keep it in the crisper drawer of the fridge where it remains perfectly fine - & POTENT - for well over a week.  Have absolutely no idea why some of you have such problems keeping it.


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## sattie

pacanis said:


> I'll heed your advice, but like a lot of people here, I can't justify a trip to the grocery store just to pick up a bunch of cilantro whenever I feel like having some. That's probably the main reason I have stayed away from the fresh spice area in the produce section. I need my produce to have _some kind _of shelf life.


 
PAC... I buy it at the local farmers market, I store it in the bag it comes in and put it in the crisper drawer and it keeps for up to a week. No flavor loss. Then when I am done using it for whatever... I make that cilantro sauce I love soooo much!


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## pacanis

Hey, great! Thanks for the sauce recipe.


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## PanchoHambre

Love the stuff... I was wary of it at first as I never had it growing up... discovered it in all the Mexican and Asian foodin TX. 

I especially love to make pesto with it. I do this if I have a bunch leftover that I am afraid will go on me.. the above posted sauce would work too... and looks great

and pacanis its true it is a bit more frail than parsley... especially because it is hard  to find fresh cilantro in nice shape I see alot of miserable looking cilantro in the supermarkets.... sadly I had no luck growing the stuff either


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## pacanis

Tough to grow huh? I was thinking of searching through here and seeing if anyone grows their own spices year round... I wouldn't know bad cilantro if I saw it. Everything looks good sprayed with water and under grocery store lighting. And I don't get to the store every week, so, err... "growing my own" may be a good way to go. It's worked in the past


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## GB

I have had mixed results growing cilantro. This year I had it all summer long. It was great. Other years I have gotten a week or two out of it and that is it. I find it very difficult to grow, but I will continue to try each year.


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## pacanis

Do you have a link handy, GB? You grow it inside, right?
Wasn't there a hydroponics thread somewhere? was that about spices?
I'll go look....


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## GB

Sorry, I don't have a link. I just grow it by the seat of my pants. I can't grow anything inside. My cat would eat it all. I grow my cilantro outside in the summer in a pot.


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## pacanis

I found the link I was looking for, a combination of discussing hydroponics and Aero Grow (something like that). And whether or not dill weed grows well enough to eat bowling balls  
I think if I (or anyone) could find a semi-easy way to grow indoor spices, that would be perfect. Who cares if something that doesn't cost anything (after the initial investment) goes bad, but drive 30 miles round trip to buy a $0.69 bunch of fresh herb, where you use some and the rest rots in your fridge before you need it.... Well.... that's what dried spices are for I guess.


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## SunnyFL

I'm in Tampa, FL and I've been growing basil, Italian flat and curly parsley, chives, rosemary and dill for quite a while.  I bought cilantro plants twice -- the first time a cilantro-loving armadillo ate the whole darn plant and didn't bother any of the others.  The second time it just withered and died.  I'm having trouble with basil plants now, too.

I do love being able to go out the door and pick fresh herbs from the garden.  

I agree - dried herbs just don't compare to fresh.


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## Arwen

I love  chopping fresh  cilandro  or  coriander leaves and put in a  a mixer  with yoghurt to make a  smooth  cream,I add some  curry powder and  dry bay  leaves,plus  one  spoon  of  olive oil just  to  assemble all the  ingredients,then  I  pour  the  cream on  stuffed breast chiken,almost in summer  time  when the  weather is too  warm and  I am not  keen on  cooking  for  a long  time,nevertheless I'd  like  to  eat it  even  now in  winter time...it's  snowing  a lot !!!!


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## Jeekinz

Fresh cilantro and this go hand and hand.


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## Barbara L

Jeekinz said:


> Fresh cilantro and this go hand and hand.


LOL  Shame on you!

Barbara


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## smoothseas

Another cilantro fan jumping in.  Gawd, I love the stuff.


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## toni1948

I like Cilantro in moderation.  Love it in fresh salsa and Latin Sofrito and other Latin dishes.  Italian Parsley is my favorite green herb.


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## Kendall72

Cilantro was my favorite herb for a while, and I still love it, but I prefer the seeds to the plant.


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## Callisto in NC

Kendall72 said:


> Cilantro was my favorite herb for a while, and I still love it, but I prefer the seeds to the plant.


IIR coriander is the seed of the cilantro plant?  How different is the taste?


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## Chicks

Callisto in NC said:


> IIR coriander is the seed of the cilantro plant?  How different is the taste?


The taste is very different though I am at a loss for a description coriander is spicier tasting and cilantro is fresher and greener tasting, sorta kinda   Some say that cilantro tastes like soap, it is a love me hate me thing.
C


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## Callisto in NC

Chicks said:


> The taste is very different though I am at a loss for a description coriander is spicier tasting and cilantro is fresher and greener tasting, sorta kinda   Some say that cilantro tastes like soap, it is a love me hate me thing.
> C


I've definitely heard the "soap" description but I don't find that it tastes that way at all.  I love cilantro.


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## Kendall72

Callisto in NC said:


> IIR coriander is the seed of the cilantro plant?  How different is the taste?



The taste is nothing alike at all. Coriander has a really fruity taste. It's quite strange the first time you taste it. Great for dry rubs on salmon or chicken with a mango habanero sauce.


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