Coriander seed

The round, ridged, tan-coloured seed of the coriander plant — warm, sweet, faintly of orange peel — and about as far in flavour from the plant’s green leaf as two parts of one herb can be.

Where it comes from

Coriander seed was one of the first spices grown and traded — it was in Bronze Age sites in Greece and in Egyptian tombs, and the Romans carried it across their empire. Medieval Europe used it in everything from sausages to sweets, and it remains in gin, in Belgian witbier and in pickling spice for that reason. In India it is one of the two or three foundation spices, used in far greater quantity than the leaf; in the Middle East and North Africa it sits beside cumin in almost every blend.

The seed’s flavour is mild and sweet rather than pungent, with a citrus note from the same compounds as orange peel, and it acts as much as a body-builder in a spice mix as a flavour in its own right — ground coriander thickens and rounds a curry the way flour thickens a gravy. Indian cooks distinguish it from cumin by this: cumin gives the top note, coriander the base.

Varieties

• Moroccan (European) coriander — Round, pale tan, mild and sweet. The type in most Western spice racks and in gin.
• Indian coriander (dhania) — Slightly more oval and greener, with a fresher, more lemony aroma; sold whole and as a coarse or fine powder.
• Ground coriander — Loses its citrus quickly; buy in small quantities or grind whole seed as needed.

In the kitchen

Toast whole seeds briefly in a dry pan until fragrant, then crush or grind. They crack easily under a rolling pin and give a pleasant coarse texture in a rub or a coating for meat. Fried whole in oil at the start of an Indian dish they release a sweet, orangey scent.

Ground coriander is used in quantity — a tablespoon or two in a curry for four is normal — where cumin is used in teaspoons. It combines with cumin in most of the world’s spice mixes, and with cardamom and cinnamon in Middle Eastern and North African ones.

Choosing and keeping

Whole seeds keep their flavour for a couple of years in a sealed jar; ground coriander is flat within months. Seeds should be whole, unbroken and pale tan, and smell faintly of orange when crushed.

Indian shops sell it in large bags cheaply; store it away from light and heat, and toast and grind a small jar’s worth at a time.

Coriander seed is tagged on 278 dishes from 87 countries in the atlas. These notes are written from general knowledge and carry no per-fact citation — see About.