Fresh Coriander is tender hollow stemmed plant in the Apiaceae family, of the genus: Coriandum. Its scientific name is Coriandum sativum.
Pleasant, aromatic and spicy, the seeds have been in use since ancient times in cooking as well as in various traditional medicines.
Fresh Coriander is warm and citrusy at the same time, coriander seed is enjoyed in curries and chili, cookies and cakes.
A sister to cilantro—both come from the same plant—coriander seed has a lovely, fragrant aroma once ripened, while cilantro is often described as foetid.
Detailed Description:
• This herbaceous plant grows up to 2 feet in height with branching stems, featuring deep green soft, hairless, bi or tri-lobed leaves.
• The mature plant bears small light pink color flowers that subsequently turn into globular or oval-shaped fruits (seeds).
• The seeds measure about 4-6 mm in diameter with central hollow cavity containing two vertical vittae containing some important essential oils.
• The characteristic aromatic flavor of coriander seeds comes from the many fatty acids and essential volatile oils. Some important fatty acids in the dried seeds include petroselinic acid, linoleic acid (omega 6), oleic acid, and palmitic acid.
• The seeds contain essential oils such as linalool (68%), a-pinene (10%), geraniol, camphene, terpine etc. Together; these active principles are responsible for digestive, carminative, and anti-flatulent properties of the seeds.
• Coriander is also rich in of dietary fiber. 100 g seeds provide 41.9 g of fiber. Much of this fiber is metabolically inert insoluble fiber, which helps increase bulk of the food by absorbing water throughout the digestive system and help easing constipation condition.
• In addition, dietary fibers bind to bile salts (produced from cholesterol) and decrease their re-absorption in colon, thus help lower serum LDL cholesterol levels. Together with flavonoid anti-oxidants, fiber composition of coriander helps protect the colon mucus membrane from cancers.
• The seeds are an excellent source of minerals like iron, copper, calcium, potassium, manganese, zinc and magnesium.
• Unlike other dry spice seeds that lack in vitamin C, coriander seeds contain an ample amount of this anti-oxidant vitamin. 100 g of dry seeds provide 21 mg or 35% of RDI of this vitamin.
If you'd like to save coriander (cilantro) seeds, you'll need about 100 days to get them. Simply collect them when they turn light brown, just before they begin dropping on their own. This is about 2 to 3 weeks after the plant finishes flowering.
