Culinary cousins, culantro and cilantro bring four seasons of flavorings to food. Two closely related herbs in the parsley family have distinctive appearances, aromas, flavors, growing preferences, and culinary uses.

Culantro, Eryngium foetidum, aka Mexican coriander is native to the Yucatan peninsula and tropical America where it can still be found growing wild. Over centuries of trade the biennial herb has moved back and forth throughout tropical Africa and Asia where it has naturalized.

The herb’s spiny, serrated long narrow dark leaves evoke images of thistles. But the prickly leaves arranged in rosettes are no problem to the palate when chopped or cooked. In fact, the pungent leaves are added to stews, soups, bean dishes, salsas, curries, and chutneys.

As a tropical plant culantro relishes moisture, heat and humidity but not direct sun. This herb requires a moist shady spot in southern summers. For a continual succession of new leaves, gardeners must pinch–off flower stalks to encourage leaf growth.

Propagation by seed takes patience. Whereas the larger cilantro seed sprouts in seven days, the small culantro seed takes three times longer.

Unlike its cousin cilantro, culantro leaves dry well, retaining color and flavor. Culantro leaves may also be chopped and frozen for future use.

The annual herb cilantro, Coriander sativum, aka as Chinese parsley is native to the Mediterranean and southern Europe. Cilantro appears in the garden and kitchen in two forms. The spicy dark green leaves resembling parsley are used for salads, guacamole, salsas, stir– fries, marinades, pastas, noodle and rice dishes, and vinegars. Cilantro comes from the coriander seed, a popular spice.

Cilantro grows best in cool weather preferring full sun to partial shade and rich, moist, well–drained soil. Although garden centers sell cilantro in spring and summer, the plant bolts in hot weather unless slow–bolting varieties are obtained. In Columbia seed started in late summer produces plants for fall and winter harvest. The aromatic and zesty cilantro leaves are usually used raw, chopped, and sprinkled on a dish or mixed in at the end of cooking to give the best flavor.

Culantro prefers a shady spot in hot humid conditions. The complementary temperaments of these culinary cousins will season your menu all year long.

Seed Sources www.johnnyseeds.com www.richters.com www.thymegarden.com
Cilantro grows best in full sun in cool weather.