[Sca-cooks] Coriander/Cilantro

[rcmann4 at earthlink.net]

On 5 May 01,, Chris Stanifer wrote:

> --- rcmann4 at earthlink.net wrote:
> > The Spanish sources call for "culantro verde" --
> > green coriander.

> Hmmmnn.. in Puerto Rico 'culantro' is another herb
> altogether, with a taste similar to oregano, but a
> much larger, fleshier leaf.  I have a culantro plant
> growing on my patio... I wonder if the period sources
> are using this plant rather than cilantro, or if my
> plant has been mislabelled (it was sent to me from
> Puerto Rico, but this is no guarantee that it's the
> right herb).

The RAE dictionaries say that "culantro" is another name for
"cilantro".  I know that the English settlers in North America gave
Old World names to New World species that resembled plants from back
home.  Quite likely the Spaniards did the same thing.

Aha!  Found a web page that gives the lowdown.
"Culantro (Eryngium foetidum L., Apiaceae) is a biennial herb
indigenous to continental Tropical America and the West Indies.
Although widely used in dishes throughout the Caribbean, Latin
America, and the Far East, culantro is relatively unknown in the United
States and many other parts of the world and is often mistaken and
misnamed for its close relative cilantro or coriander (Coriandrum
sativum L.)."  More details are at:
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1999/v4-506.html
However, in Nola, "culantro" would be an alternate name for
cilantro/coriander.


Lady Brighid ni Chiarain
Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)
mka Robin Carroll-Mann
now at a new address: rcmann4 at earthlink.net