[Sca-cooks] Culantro

[rcmann4 at earthlink.net]

On 5 May 01,, Chris Stanifer wrote:

> Culantro, at least the one I am thinking of, is of
> Carribbean or West Indies origin (Eryngium Foetidum),
> and is also know as Long Coriander, False Coriander,
> Spirit Weed, ngo-gai, Saw Leaf Herb, and many more.
>
> Maybe someone can tell us if 'culantro' in the extant
> texts refers to coriander, or if they really used E.
> Foetidum.

It seems pretty clear to me that "culantro" in the 16th century
Spanish sources refers to coriander.  The 1729 RAE dictionary
says it's another name for "cilantro" and calls it a well-known herb,
and makes no mention of it being a New World import.  The entry
reads, in part:

Culantro, well-known herb, thickly covered with small, clustered
leaves, whose seeds are small round grains, much smaller than
those of pepper, which after drying are used as one of the ordinary
spices, to season various things.  It comes from the Latin
"Coriandrum" and although today it is regularly called "cilantro", it
is closer to the original to say "culantro". [my translation]

I would add that there are no New World foods in Nola's recipes.

Likewise, Herrera makes no reference to it being an import, and
quotes Avicenna (10th-11th century) on the medical properties of
culantro.


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