Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
« Falafel: Wicked Good | Main | Spit-fired Lamb, or Hungry Sam Meets Mike Isabella »
Wednesday
Apr142010

Cilantro: A Chef's Gateway Herb


I love Cilantro. Cilantro, the popular name for the leaves and stem of the plant that also gives us the coriander spice, is an herb I can nearly never over-buy. However ridiculously large the bunches in which Cilantro is sold, I can always find a use for epic quantities thereof.


It is, in many ways, a wonderful gateway herb (of the legal variety); it's easy for beginning chefs to understand how to use cilantro when so many other spices require a more developed skill. Cilantro imbues whatever it touches with a strong flavor that manages to not be overpowering; it's difficult to overuse insofar as few dishes become completely unpalatable if you dump the whole cutting board's worth in on accident. It strengthens mild, mayo-based dressings (as for chicken, potato and noodle salads), adds complexity to spicy stews and chilis, and complements perfectly tangy sauces and marinades.

Some people love Cilantro as much as (or awkwardly more than) I do: see here.
Others really can’t stand it. I always sort of figured there was something wrong with these people who could not enjoy the wonder of the leaves of coriandrum sativum. I’m right, as it were – some individuals are genetically predisposed to dislike cilantro.
Though this genetic (I’m going to call it a) disorder is not fully understood understood, an article in today’s New York Times describes one theory behind “cilantrophobia.” Apparently the substances “flavor chemists” have identified as those that lend cilantro its aroma are chemically similar to lipid (fat) molecules called aldeyhdes, also found in many soaps and lotions. Taste and smell, evolutionarily speaking, developed as an additional way to find food and mates as well as avoid poisonous substances. So, when an individual with a certain genetic predisposition connects an aroma or flavor more powerfully with, say, industrial cleaning agents, those sensations evoke a powerful and negative emotional response. Hence: www.IHateCilantro.blogspot.com.

There is, however, hope. Neuroscientist Dr. Jay Gottfried, points out that this is all flavor pattern recognition – if you can make new associations and patterns for cilantro, you have a chance of redemption. He himself once disliked cilantro, but, in his own words, “’I love food, and I ate all kinds of things, and I kept encountering it. My brain must have developed new patterns for cilantro flavor from those experiences, which included pleasure from the other flavors and the sharing with friends and family.’”
So I basically have two conclusions at the end of the day:
1. I should have been a flavor chemist
2. I need to do serious vetting before I marry anyone who might prevent my children from loving cilantro as much as I do. Does that count as eugenics? Awwww…

References (2)

References allow you to track sources for this article, as well as articles that were written in response to this article.
  • Response
    There are many recopies for the people. Its blessing that we may get information for different recipes. There are many dishes which are costly in restaurants. People may get index and get start working omit. Its best that after some practice the home made recipe touches the level of big returned. ...
  • Response
    good information it is useful and informative there are a lot of thing and info

Reader Comments

There are no comments for this journal entry. To create a new comment, use the form below.

PostPost a New Comment

Enter your information below to add a new comment.

My response is on my own website »
Author Email (optional):
Author URL (optional):
Post:
 
Some HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>