Herbs & Spices

Chopped Fresh Cilantro

Prefer to skip the store entirely? See how to grow your own Cilantro.

Fresh cilantro's hub page centers on the naming confusion between cilantro and coriander — the same plant, with US usage splitting the fresh leaves (cilantro) from the dried seeds (coriander), weighing just 16g per cup, among the lightest entries on this whole site.

Its documented soapy-taste effect for a genetic subset of people (related to the OR6A2 gene) is a real, studied phenomenon worth noting, not simply a matter of differing preference.

It follows parsley's storage approach rather than basil's — stems-down in water, tolerating standard fridge temperatures for 1-2 weeks, which is a real, useful distinction to know before reaching for the wrong storage method out of habit.

Cilantro is one of the more polarizing herbs in cooking, since a meaningful minority of people (estimates suggest around 10%) perceive a soapy, unpleasant taste from it due to a genetic sensitivity to certain aldehyde compounds the plant produces — a real, documented phenomenon rather than simply a matter of personal preference, tied to specific olfactory receptor genes.

That seed-versus-leaf split also explains why a spice cabinet often holds whole or ground coriander seed right alongside fresh cilantro in the produce drawer — they're rarely used interchangeably in the same dish despite coming from one and the same plant.

Cilantro is central to Mexican, many Southeast Asian, and Indian cuisines, where it's used both as a cooking herb and a fresh garnish added at the very end, since its delicate aromatic compounds break down quickly under sustained heat — adding it too early in cooking largely wastes its distinctive fresh flavor.

Cilantro's culinary use is documented as far back as the ancient Near East and Mediterranean, well before its now-strong association with Mexican and Southeast Asian food, which reflects a much more recent wave of culinary adoption rather than its true origin.

Cilantro's leaves and roots are both used in some culinary traditions, particularly in Thai cooking, where the root is pounded into curry pastes for its more concentrated flavor — a use of the plant considerably less common in Western cooking, which typically discards the roots.

Culantro, a related but distinct herb common in Caribbean and Latin American cooking, has a considerably stronger, more concentrated flavor than cilantro despite the similar-sounding name.

Cilantro bolts (flowers) quickly in hot weather, after which the leaves turn bitter, which is why it's often grown in cooler seasons or partial shade in home gardens.

Cilantro is used across a wider range of global cuisines than many herbs, appearing prominently in Mexican, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, and Middle Eastern cooking alike.

Cilantro grows quickly from seed, often ready for a first harvest within just a few weeks under the right conditions.

Cilantro's Latin name, Coriandrum sativum, is the same plant referenced by the word coriander for its seeds.