Cilantro or not?

Same goes for fish that are past it, now that I mention it. Which, going off on a tangent, reminds me of some neighborhood fish shops in NYC, where salt water is nearby but sleazy merchants won't pitch what they haven't sold, where they frequently wash down the fish with a Clorox solution, creating a horrible reek of ammonia and Clorox mixed together.

Doesn't that create a compound like ammonium chloride which is used in expectorants and antiperspirants? Hmmm, I can see it now ... sea bass hacking their lungs out without breaking a sweat.

You already know where I fall on this one, but I'll say it again just for the record.

I am member of I Hate Cilantro.

Check out the Haiku section. There are some people there who hate it more than I do!

There are certain restaurants here in Santa Fe where I never eat the salsa because you just know the soapweed is lurking, waiting for a chance to attack.

If you can plan ahead a little, call the restaurant and let them know you will be coming, then nicely ask if they will make a batch of salsa without the cilantro. I bet they will honor your request.

Karen, I haven't tried to put cilantro in my reefer yet, but hey, I'm open-minded.

Otherwise, I couldn't imagine life without it. Indian, Thai, Chinese, Middle East, Mexican, it's all good.

So, where do you put your cilantro? For storage, that is.

Here's the two possible life cycles of cilantro Chez Yaniger:

1. I buy a bunch and make a nice dinner that uses most of it.

or

2. I buy a bunch, make one dish with it, stick it in the fridge's vegetable drawer, maybe get one more day from it, then it turns to a soggy brown puddle which I throw away.

It's so blessed cheap around here, I stopped resenting the now-omnipresent by-the-bunch-only pricing. If I were a whole lot less lazy than I am, I'd start a compost heap with all the tossed-out cilantro, celery, scallions, and bean sprouts...

Here's the two possible life cycles of cilantro Chez Yaniger:

2. I buy a bunch, make one dish with it, stick it in the fridge's vegetable drawer, maybe get one more day from it, then it turns to a soggy brown puddle which I throw away.

I go behind Door #2, but I place the bunch or the remnants thereof into a glass of water which is what I do with parsley, celery, and other leafy greens which need to be pepped up or preserved. It's no different than dealing with fresh cut flowers. Soggy-brown-puddle-ostasis is thus delayed by about 5-7 days.

We like it wet and not on top. When recipes call for just sprinkling it on top, we put it in, and then maybe put a little crumbled dry cilantro on top.

Agree with Gary. It does not hold. We try to buy a bunch the size we need for a single dish. Sometimes we end up with more than a recipe calls for, and this is usally fine with us and use the whole thing.

Every time I do this with cilantro or basil, it wilts overnight. It stays green, but it goes absolutely limp. What am I doing wrong?

I do the same, Gary, but cut the bunch at the bottom as soon as I get it home -- at a slight angle --, then pull three or four sprigs down to serve as stilts for the others so they'll take up water, put them in a one pint plastic container from the Market Basket, add water to the lowest leaf, then put the container in the fridge.

Works well for asparagus, broccoli, dill, basil, etc. I'm always impressed with grocery stores that display their produce this way, and wait for the day that I can buy packs of vegetables in water that I can carry home in the water packs.

They keep for two weeks or more. And many times -- asparagus and broccoli especially -- improve during that time.

Regards, Bob

Every time I do this with cilantro or basil, it wilts overnight. It stays green, but it goes absolutely limp. What am I doing wrong?

Check out Bob Ross' post above. And like I said, I treat them like fresh cut flowers which includes the angular snip which Bob mentions. Lukewarm water works better than cold for me. Try it outside the fridge and out of the sun. And if you're doing all that and it is still going limp, then I am out of suggestions.

By the way, have you ever considered just growing the stuff in pots out on your deck? I have basil right now and it keeps going and going and going as long as you pluck the flowers.

I've got a deck??? Cool!

I've got a deck??? Cool!

Townhouse living. It has skewed my perception of reality. Please interpret that phrase as "whatever you have behind your house." Any other side would do as well. Roof is not so good.

I have a deck on each floor but no property to speak of.

I'm a fan.
I always taste a leaf from the bunch before using to make sure I didn't grab the parsley by mistake. The taste doesn't bother me a bit.

We are a BIG cilantro lovin' household. In fact, cilantro is basically catnip for my sister. If I want to cheer her up, I throw cilantro into dinner.

The soapy thing is interesting. Given that I love it, I never understood this descriptor -- until a couple of years ago. I got a particularly strong bunch, and darned if it didn't have a soapy quality to it! Since then, every once in a while, there will be a batch that tastes that way, and it is off-putting. I should get into John's habit of tasting a leaf for QA purposes.

hate it - and lovage too though you didn't ask.

If I were a whole lot less lazy than I am, I'd start a compost heap with all the tossed-out cilantro, celery, scallions, and bean sprouts.

Add to that fresh spinach & potatoes and you've got our kitchen to a tee.

Richard

Every time I do this with cilantro or basil, it wilts overnight. It stays green, but it goes absolutely limp. What am I doing wrong?

You may know this but basil doesn't like to be cold. I keep mine, stems cut, in a cup of water on the kitchen window sill. Keeps for weeks and always roots. I never pay more than $0.99 for my entire season's worth of basil. I root the first stock, plant it and it just keeps going.

rwj

I'm on the dislike side. I will put up with a tiny bit of it, occasionally, just to be polite, when I am a guest. I never cook with it. If I am using a recipe that calls for it, I substitute parsley.

I'm with Martha on this one. I will tolerate it. And, I can tolerate the leaves more than the stems. I will pick the stems out every time, no matter how much it insults the cook! But, Indian and Mexican food isn't the same without it. So, there is something about it that appeals to me -- but too much of it quickly becomes a bad thing -- like a visiting relative!

I'm amazed by the reaction to this innocuous herb....

I don't use it much except in a Madhur Jaffrey dish (chicken cooked with ginger, lemon and a lot of coriander). Doesn't seem very pungent to me.

I'm amazed by the reaction to this innocuous herb....

I don't use it much except in a Madhur Jaffrey dish (chicken cooked with ginger, lemon and a lot of coriander). Doesn't seem very pungent to me.

That's because it's one of those "asparagus pee" things that some people smell and some people can't. I can't smell certain roses that other people say are extremely fragrant. It's in your genes.

It's in your genes.

Yes. I should have picked my parents more wisely! And I should have picked wealthier ones while I was at it!

I'm amazed by the reaction to this innocuous herb....

I don't use it much except in a Madhur Jaffrey dish (chicken cooked with ginger, lemon and a lot of coriander). Doesn't seem very pungent to me.

Peter, out here on the U.S. west coast this herb is omnipresent and hard to escape if you don't like it, but do like Mexican and many Asian/Indian cuisines. (I imagine it's quite same in other places in the western U.S. as well.) The leaves can be rather pungent.

Are you using the fresh leaves or the seeds?

I'm amazed by the reaction to this innocuous herb....

I don't use it much except in a Madhur Jaffrey dish (chicken cooked with ginger, lemon and a lot of coriander). Doesn't seem very pungent to me.

Peter, out here on the U.S. west coast this herb is omnipresent and hard to escape if you don't like it, but do like Mexican and many Asian/Indian cuisines. (I imagine it's quite same in other places in the western U.S. as well.) The leaves can be rather pungent.

Are you using the fresh leaves or the seeds?

I should have said leaves.

Yes, corinander leaves also used a lot by Indian restaurants, of which we have many.

Errrrm.... I hate to bring this up, because I really don't know, but is it possible that you just don't get very good quality cilantro in England? My limited experience with it was that it was extremely mild, lacking the punch of the Cal-Mex variety we get around here. Terroir? Clone? Far too limited sample?

[Robin Garr]

is it possible that you just don't get very good quality cilantro in England? My limited experience with it was that it was extremely mild, lacking the punch of the Cal-Mex variety we get around here. Terroir? Clone? Far too limited sample?

I was thinking exactly the same thing and would add "short, cool growing season." Cilantro's natural habitat is in subtropical to tropical regions.