What is coriander?
A: Coriander is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae.
It is also known as what?
A: Chinese parsley, dhania, or cilantro.
All parts of the plant are edible, but the fresh leaves
and the dried seeds (which are both an herb and a spice) are what?
A: The parts most traditionally used in
cooking.
Most people perceive coriander as having a tart,
lemon/lime what?
A: Taste.
To nearly a quarter of those surveyed, the leaves taste
like what?
A: Dish soap, linked to a gene that detects some specific aldehydes that can
produce soapy sensation from the odorant substances.
It is a soft plant growing to how tall?
A: 50 cm (20 in).
The leaves are variable in shape, broadly lobed at
what?
A: The base of the plant, and slender and feathery higher on the flowering
stems.
What is the Spanish word for coriander?
A: Cilantro.
It is the common term in American English for coriander
leaves, due to their extensive use in what?
A: Mexican cuisine.
About 500 milliliters (17 US fl oz) of coriander
mericarps were recovered from what tomb?
A: The tomb of Tutankhamen.
The Ebers Papyrus, an Egyptian text dated to around
1550 BC, mentioned what?
A: Uses of coriander.
Coriander seems to have been cultivated in Greece since
when?
A: at least the second millennium BC.
One of the Linear B tablets recovered from Pylos refers
to the species as being cultivated for the manufacture of what?
A: Perfumes; it apparently was used in two forms - as a spice for its seeds
and as an herb for the flavor of its leaves.
Later, coriander was mentioned by whom around 400 BC?
A: Hippocrates.
The fresh leaves and the dried seeds are the parts most
commonly used how?
A: In cooking.
All parts of the plant are edible and the roots are an
important element of what?
A: Thai cooking.
The fresh leaves are an ingredient in many
foods, such
as what?
A: Chutneys and salads, salsa, guacamole, and as a widely used garnish for
soup, fish, and meat.
As heat diminishes their flavor, coriander leaves are
often used how?
A: Raw or added to the dish immediately before serving.
In Indian and Central Asian recipes, coriander leaves
are used in large amounts and cooked until what?
A: Until the flavor diminishes.
The leaves spoil quickly when removed from the plant
and lose their aroma when what?
A: Dried or frozen.
Dried coriander fruits are often called "coriander
seeds" when used as a what?
A: A spice.
Linalool, a terpenoid, is a major contributor to what?
A: The fragrance of coriander.
The dry fruits are what?
A: Coriander seeds.
The seeds have a lemony citrus flavor when what?
A: Crushed, due to terpenes linalool and pinene.
How is the taste described?
A: As warm, nutty, spicy, and orange-flavored.
Roasting or heating the seeds in a dry pan does what?
A: Heightens the flavor, aroma, and pungency.
Outside of Asia, coriander seed is used widely in the
process for what?
A: Pickling vegetables.
In Germany and South Africa, the seeds are used while
making what?
A: Sausages.
In Russia and Central Europe, coriander seed is an
occasional ingredient in what?
A: Rye Russia Trivia Quiz bread as an alternative to caraway.
Coriander seeds are used in brewing certain styles of
what?
A: Beer, particularly some Belgian wheat beers.
Coriander seeds are one of the key botanicals used to
flavor what?
A: Gin.