Cilantro: For Your Health
Reuters reports that cilantro -- also known as Chinese parsley -- contains a chemical known as dodecenal, which has been found to kill Salmonella bacteria that cause foodborne illness. Dodecenal is present not only in the leaves of cilantro, but also in its seeds, which are more commonly known as coriander.
Personally, I find the flavor and aroma of cilantro to be overbearing and its usefulness to be limited outside of Latin American or Chinese cooking. Furthermore, the amount of dodecenal in cilantro is too miniscule to stand a chance against the hordes of bacteria that are present in most of the foods that can cause illness. So while it's nice to know that this herb is doing its best to keep us healthy even as we dismember and consume it, I probably won't be stocking up on the stuff.
Comments
Aw. Yeah I'm hip. I have a few friends that just don't give a rats patute about it. I couldn't live without it. I usually have a bunch or two in the crisper, tops and goes into many dishes. We did a paella the other day, it found its way in there too. Yum central.
Posted by: Dr. Biggles | May 26, 2004 05:00 PM
What a shock - something I like turns out to be GOOD for me?? I'll have to stop eating so much - it'll ruin my reputation! ;-)
I love cilantro leaves - have you tried them with chopped tomatoes as a relish on grilled tuna steaks? If not, you are missing out on one of life's great pleasures...
Posted by: Jeanne | May 27, 2004 05:29 AM
I tried it on Vanilla ice cream last night, it wasn't very good. Blech.
Posted by: Dr. Biggles | May 27, 2004 11:22 AM
See Biggles, you've got to know the limitations of your ingredients.
Now, a cilantro-lime-roasted tomato sorbet: that might be interesting. Like frozen salsa.
Posted by: Jeremy | May 27, 2004 11:28 AM
Yeah, I believe you are correct. As my wife says, "Hey Blockhead, they have recipes for that you know?"
Back on to my beaten path and off to the butcher, I be needin' a few racks of pork ribs.
Posted by: Dr. Biggles | May 27, 2004 05:28 PM
Cilantro rules. The leaves rule in Sorbets, like pineapple or mango. The seeds rule whe you are cooking lamb, either in the braising liquid or as a crust for a leaner cut. But then again, some people think it tastes like soap.
Posted by: Matt Kantor | June 1, 2004 12:58 AM
Well, I saw this guy the other day at Taco Cabana, and he was eating crazy mass amounts of cilantro just plain. After he finished his food, he filled up his tray from the condiment counter and just started shoveling it into his mouth, somtimes putting it in one of those tiny ketchup cups and doing cilantro "shots", other times just with his hands. It was totally wack. Then he returned like 2 more times to the counter to get more cilantro. He emptied the whole thing. Really, I think the only logical explanation is that he is an alien and the aliens' weakness is salmonella. Don't you think so too? We really need to remember this when they're killing us all. Your blog has been so helpful. Thank you for doing your best to fight aliens with me. They don't stand a chance.
Posted by: Emmanuel | January 11, 2005 04:00 PM