First, let’s define terms.
The strongly-scented leaves of the coriander plant are cilantro. They’re not a spice, they’re an herb. And they’re not uniquely healthful.
The sweet, nutty seeds of the coriander plant are the spice coriander. And they’re really good for you.
Coriander is one of the world’s oldest spices—seeds were found in a Neolithic archeological dig dated around 7000 BCE. They were also in Tutankhamen’s tomb. Coriander is mentioned in Exodus (the Bible, not the movie) and was used as a spice in ancient Greece.
In ancient Asia, practitioners of Chinese medicine used the seeds to treat all varieties of digestive ills. (It’s still an ingredient in over-the-counter preparations for relieving gas and constipation.) The Ayurvedic physicians of India used it for many purposes, including as a diuretic. A quick tour through the annals of planetary folk medicine shows it’s been used for a variety of other health problems, including bladder and urinary tract infections, allergies, diabetes, anxiety, high blood pressure, insomnia, and vertigo. Today, scientists are discovering why it’s an effective healer.
Coriander is 85 percent volatile oils, containing at least 26 of these energetic compounds. Two of those oils—linalool and geranyl acetate—are powerful, cell-protecting antioxidants, and are probably behind many of coriander’s curative powers. Such as its ability to soothe digestive ailments.
Ending Digestive Woes
Coriander is a classic remedy for tummy troubles.
Soothing irritable bowel syndrome. Gastroenterologists studied 32 people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a chronic digestive complaint that afflicts 10 to 20 percent of Americans, two-thirds of them women. The symptoms of IBS include abdominal pain, cramping, and bloating, along with diarrhea and constipation (usually one or the other, but sometimes both, alternating). They divided them into two groups: one received Carmint, a preparation that contains coriander; the other received a placebo. After eight weeks, those taking Carmint had three times more improvement in abdominal pain and discomfort than the placebo group. The findings were published in Digestive Diseases and Sciences.
Easing chronic constipation. In another study on digestive ills, 86 residents at a nursing home in Pennsylvania were given either a coriander-containing laxative tea (Smooth Move) or a pla cebo tea. Over the next month, those drinking Smooth Move had more bowel movements.
Stopping intestinal spasms. “Coriander is traditionally used for various digestive disorders,” observed a team of scientists from Pakistan and Morocco in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology. In an experiment with laboratory animals, they found the spice works like an antispasmodic drug, relaxing the contracted digestive muscles that cause the discomfort of IBS and other “overactive gut disorders.” (That same relaxing effect—working on arteries—may be one reason why the spice can help lower blood pressure, they noted.) They also found the spice delayed the movement of food from the stomach—a possible explanation for why it’s effective in easing indigestion and gas.
More proof. Researchers in Saudi Arabia also found that coriander protected animals against laboratory-induced stomach ulcers, confirming “the traditional use” of coriander for stomach problems. It’s probably the powerful antioxidants in coriander that protect the stomach lining, they theorized.
Commission E agrees. It’s no surprise that the German Commission E—which helps guide physicians and other health professionals in Germany in the medical use of natural remedies—declared that coriander is safe and effective for the treatment of digestive complaints, loss of appetite, bloating, flatulence, and cramp-like stomach upsets.
Coriander’s Curative Cornucopia
Coriander passes the gut check. But its soothing powers don’t stop there.
Reducing the redness in inflammatory skindiseases (eczema, psoriasis, rosacea). Dutch researchers asked 40 volunteers to expose small patches on their backs to intense UV radiation—the same type of radiation from the sun that causes sunburns, wrinkling, and skin cancer. After the exposure, the researchers applied coriander oil—and it significantly reduced redness. Coriander “could be useful in the . . . treatment of inflammatory skin diseases” such as eczema, psoriasis, and rosacea, concluded the researchers.
Diabetes. Coriander is a traditional remedy for “indigestion, diabetes, rheumatism, and pain in the joints,” noted a team of researchers in Phytotherapy Research. Testing an extract of the spice on animals with laboratory-induced type 2 diabetes, they found it decreased blood sugar levels and increased insulin (the hormone that controls blood sugar).
Decreasing “bad” LDL, increasing “good” HDL. “Coriander has been documented as a traditional treatment for cholesterol,” said a team of researchers in India in the Journal of Environmental Biology. In their study, animals given coriander had a decrease in “bad” LDL cholesterol and an increase in “good” LDL cholesterol—that type of change would dramatically lower the risk of heart disease in people.
In another study on blood fats, coriander’s cholesterol-lowering powers led researchers to conclude, “Coriander has the potential to be popularized as a household remedy with preventive and curative effect against” high cholesterol.
Coriander may help prevent and/or treat:
Bloating
Cholesterol problems (high “bad” LDL cholesterol, low “good” HDL cholesterol)
Colic
Colon cancer
Constipation
Diabetes, type 2
Diarrhea
Eczema (atopic dermatitis)
Flatulence
High blood pressure (hypertension)
Indigestion
Insomnia
Irritable bowel
syndrome
Lead poisoning
Liver disease
Psoriasis
Rosacea
Stomachache
Ulcer
Vaginal yeast infection
Insomnia. “Coriander has been recommended for relief of anxiety and insomnia in . . . folk medicine,” noted a team of Middle Eastern researchers in the Journal of the American Medical Directors. In a study on laboratory animals, the researchers found the spice was a potent sedative and muscle relaxant.
Colon cancer. In an animal study, Indian researchers blocked the development of tumors in chemically-induced colon cancer. Their conclusion in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology: “The inclusion of this spice in the daily diet plays a significant role in the protection of the colon against . . . carcinogenesis.”
Liver disease. Researchers in India found that coriander extracts protected the liver from damage. They noted that the powerful antioxidants in coriander not only protected the “integrity” of cells in the liver, “but at the same time increased the regenerative and reparative capacity of the liver”—good news if you’re one of the tens of millions of Americans with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), hepatitis C infection, or cirrhosis.
Yeast infection. Brazilian researchers tested coriander essential oil against Candida albicans, the fungus that causes yeast infections, and found coriander could limit its growth. Coriander essential oil “could be used . . . to treat or prevent Candida yeast infections,” concluded the researchers in Food Chemistry.
Lead poisoning. Researchers in India found that coriander extracts could “significantly protect” laboratory animals from the damage caused by lead exposure. In a second group of animals, the extracts also reversed damage from lead exposure. The mechanism: coriander’s power as an antioxidant, said the researchers in Biological Trace Element Research.
Getting to Know Coriander
Coriander is the seed from the pink and mauve flowers of a delicate plant that resembles parsley (and is from the same botanical family). When ripe, coriander seeds are deliciously sweet, with a nutty taste of sage and orange. (When unripe, they have an unpleasant bug-like smell—perhaps the reason the Greeks called it koris, meaning bedbug.)
Coriander is the seed from the pink and mauve flowers of a delicate plant that resembles parsley.Even in the unlikely event that coriander isn’t in your spice cabinet, it is in your diet. Americans eat a lot of coriander—more than 900,000 pounds a year, much of it used to flavor some of America’s favorite foods, including hot dogs, sausages, lunch meats, pastries, and cookies. It’s also a flavoring in gin and other types of alcohol.
Coriander seeds are used extensively in sweet and savory dishes in cuisines around the world—in Europe, India, Latin America, Mexico, North Africa, and the Middle East.
In Europe, the French flavor cheese with coriander. It’s also the flavoring in the French liqueur Chartreuse. It is a key ingredient in the Spanish hot sausage chorizo.
Coriander is one of the most popular spices in Indian cuisine and is a key ingredient in all forms of curry spice mixes. Indians use the entire plant—seed, root, stem, and leaf—to make chutneys and sauces.
In Java, an island of Indonesia, both coriander and cilantro are rubbed into satay, a meat dish.
Moroccans rub the ground seeds into meat and put them in couscous, stews, and salads. Coriander is a key ingredient in North African spice blends, including baharat, tabil, and ras-el-hanout. In Yemen, cooks mix coriander with dried fruits, green chiles, and other spices to make a condiment called jhoug, which is also popular as a dip. It is also used to flavor Turkish coffee.
Mexicans make liberal use of cilantro—in salsa, to make a hard sugar candy called colaciones, and in bread pudding.
Coriander pairs well with all spices, but particularly well with:
Allspice
Cardamom
Clove
Coconut
Cumin
Fennel seed
Garlic
Ginger
Sun-dried
tomato
Turmeric
and complements recipes featuring:
Beans
Cakes
Fish
Fruit, especially apples
Lentils
Mushrooms
Pastries
Pork
Poultry
Potatoes
Spice mixes
Vegetables
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Other recipes containing coriander:
Apple Pie Spice
Baharat
Berbere
Caribbean Curry Paste
Chaat Masala
Cocoa Rub
Colombo Powder
Dukkah
Garam Masala
Ginger Carrot and Squash Soup
Hot Curry Powder
Madras Curry Paste
Madras Curry Powder
Malaysian Curry Paste
Ras-el-hanout
Sambaar Masala
Tabil
Thai Red Curry Paste
Vindaloo Curry Paste
How to Buy Coriander
Coriander seeds come in two main varieties: European and Indian. European is more flavorful because of its higher concentration of volatile oils, including a large proportion of linalool. Indian coriander, however, contains oils not found in European coriander, giving it a more lemony scent. Both are used the same way in cooking.
Most of the coriander found in American markets is European. You can tell the difference between the two by their size and color. European coriander is a spherically-shaped, ribbed seed, about a quarter-inch in diameter, and tan in color. Indian coriander is slightly smaller, more egg-shaped, and pale yellow with a greenish tinge.
Other varieties of coriander come from Morocco and Romania. Moroccan seeds are larger than European seeds, and Romanian coriander is the smallest.
Whole coriander seeds are a husk with two dry seeds inside. The seeds should appear uniform in color and clean, with no signs of grit. (A tiny tail on the end of the seeds is natural and not a sign of grit.)
Coriander is sold powdered, but it’s best to buy whole seeds, as the oils dissipate fairly quickly once ground. (If you purchase coriander ground, buy it in small quantities.) The seeds stay fresh for a year a more, but ground seeds are only good for a few months.
You can buy dried parsley but you can’t buy dried cilantro—the leaves don’t hold up in the drying process. When buying fresh cilantro, try to buy leaves with their roots intact, which keeps leaves freshest the longest. Store the leaves upright in water in the refrigerator and cover them with a plastic bag. They’ll stay fresh for several days.
Madras Beef CurryThis classic Indian curry is quick-and-easy to prepare. It’s even faster if you already have the curry mix pre-made. This dish will develop a more intense flavor if made a day or two ahead of time.
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons Madras Curry Paste
2 cups chopped onions
3 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
2 pounds beef cubes
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup beef stock
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ cup cilantro
1. Heat the oil in a large heavy Dutch oven. When it is hot, add the curry paste and stir until the spices release their oils and flavor, about three minutes. Add the chopped onions and fry, stirring frequently, until the onions are golden, about seven minutes. Add the garlic and fry one minute more.
2. Add the beef cubes and stir to coat in the spices and onions. Add the tomatoes, coconut milk, and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for two hours, stirring occasionally. Add the lemon juice and cook 10 minutes more. Serve over rice sprinkled with the cilantro.
Makes 6 servings.In the Kitchen with Coriander
Coriander is a versatile and useful spice that mixes well with everything—and is at its least flavorful by itself. Always combine it with other spices—especially with its favorite companion, cumin.
It’s almost impossible to use too much coriander. (In North African cuisine, some recipes call for it by the cupful!) In fact, coriander can fix a lot of errors in cooking. If you’ve gone too heavy on a particular spice in a dish, add the same amount of ground coriander, which should correct the flavor. This works particularly well when you’ve overdone a strong spice such as clove or cinnamon.
For a more intense aroma, always roast coriander seeds before they are ground. You can dry roast them (directions) or toast them in oil. The seeds are easy to grind with a mortar and pestle.
The seeds create a complex aroma when added to long-cooking braises, casseroles, or stews. When making sweet dishes, however, you should only used ground coriander.
The papery husks and coarse grain-like consistency of the ground seeds absorb moisture; use them to thicken sauces and gravies.
Cilantro is too delicate to withstand heat. Sprinkle it on a finished dish or add it during the last few minutes of cooking.
Here are some ways to add more coriander to your diet:
• Add whole or ground seeds to stews, casseroles, marinades, vinaigrettes, and pickled dishes.
• Coarsely grind coriander and rub it into meats or fish before cooking.
• Mix coriander seeds with peppercorns in the peppermill you use at the stove.
• Make a classic Moroccan rub: mix coriander with garlic, butter, and paprika and rub it on lamb before roasting.
• Sprinkle coriander on sautéed mushrooms.
• Add cilantro (fresh coriander leaves) to salad dressings or stir into mayonnaise.
• Add ground coriander toward the end of steaming rice or couscous.
• Add whole seeds to chicken casseroles.
