Coriander

详情

   Coriander  also known as cilantro Chinese parsley or dhania,is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae.

     Coriander is native to regions spanning from southern Europe and northern Africa to southwestern Asia. It is a soft plant growing to *0 cm  tall. The leaves are variable in shape, broadly lobed at the base of the plant, and slender and feathery higher on the flowering stems.

     The flowers are borne in small umbels, white or very pale pink, asymmetrical, with the petals pointing away from the center of the umbel longer  than those pointing toward it .The fruit is a globular, dry schizocarp *5 mm in diameter. The seeds are generally used as a spice or an added ingredient in other foods or recipes, although sometimes they are eaten alone.

     All parts of the plant are edible, but the fresh leaves and the dried seeds are the parts most traditionally used in cooking. Coriander is common in South Asian, Southeast Asian, Indian,

Middle Eastern, Caucasian, Central Asian, Mediterranean, Tex-Mex, Latin American, Brazilian, Portuguese, Chinese, African, and Scandinavian cuisine.

     The word coriander in food preparation may refer solely to these seeds, rather than to the plant. The seeds have a lemony citrus flavour when crushed, due to terpenes linalool and pinene. It is described as warm, nutty, spicy, and orange-flavoured.

     The variety C. s. vulgare has a fruit diameter of *5 mm, while var. microcarpum fruits have a diameter of 1.*3 mm. Large-fruited types are grown mainly by tropical and subtropical countries, e.g. Morocco, India and Australia, and contain a low volatile oil content . They are used extensively for grinding and blending purposes in the spice trade. Types with smaller fruit are produced in temperate regions and usually have a volatile oil content of around 0.**1.8%, so are highly valued as a raw material for the preparation of essential oil.