Flavor of coriander seeds

In US, Coriandrum sativum seeds are called coriander, while its leaves are called cilantro. In other parts of the world, they’re called coriander seeds and coriander leaves. The plant is also known as Chinese parsley.

Coriander is a very fresh-tasting spice. Its mildly sweet, lemony flavor is often harnessed in conjunction with other spices in savory recipes.

The ground coriander seeds are a basic ingredient in curries and many other Indian foods. Ground coriander is great for curry pastes and doughs while whole coriander seeds are ideal for pickling, adding to meat rubs or on top of bread.

Coriander extract appears to act as a diuretic, helping human body flush excess sodium and water. This may lower the blood pressure

Coriander seeds, extract, and oils may all help lower blood sugar. In fact, people who have low blood sugar or take diabetes medication should practice caution with coriander because it’s so effective in lowering blood sugar.
Flavor of coriander seeds

Coriander: Seeds and essential oil

Coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) – an annual of the Apiaceae family, is one of valuable medicinal, seasoning and oliferous plants.

The leaves and seeds of the plant has been used in traditional medicine for ages to counteract several disorders, such as dysentery, dyspepsia, giddiness spasm, neuralgia, and gastric complaints. C. sativum is useful in food preparation (as a flavoring agent and adjuvant) and preservation as well in preventing food borne diseases and food spoilage.

The seeds, in whole form, or the powder, possessing a mild, sweet, and slight pungent odor, are extensively used as condiments as well in the preparation of curry powder, pickling spices, sausages and seasonings. The seeds are also used as a flavoring agent in different foods namely pastries, cookies, buns, cakes and breads.

The essential oil can be extracted from various parts of plants including the leaves, flowers, stem, seeds, roots and bark; however, the composition of the essential oil can vary among different parts of the same plant.

The seeds of coriander are small, almost ovate globular, approximately 3 to 5 mm in diameter; when dried, are usually brown colored, but in some cases may be offwhite or straw-colored.

The C. sativum oil from fully ripe and dried seeds is a colorless or pale-yellow liquid with a characteristic odor and mild, sweet, warm and aromatic flavor, and linalool is its major constituent. Coriander seed essential oil as well as seed extract possessed antibacterial, antioxidant, anticancer and antimutagenic activities.

Coriander fruit contains about 0.2%–1.5% of volatile oil and 13%–20% of fat oil; however, it has been recorded that some cultivars contain up to 2.6% of volatile oil.

The raw coriander consisted mainly of linalool (72.7%) followed by l-terpinene (8.8%), a pinene (5.5%), camphor (3.7%), limonene (2.3%), geranyl acetate (1.9%) and p-cymene (1.5%). The coriander seed contains plant oil, which is a rich source of the rare monounsaturated isomer of oleic acid, namely petroselinic acid (C18:1n12). The oil composition changes, depending on the maturity of the seed.

Coriander oil has a pleasant odor with odor descriptors, such as floral, turpentine-like, pleasant, green, herbal, cooling, earthy, spicy, sweet, and rose-like.
Coriander: Seeds and essential oil