Bad timing on the cilantro

[Vlynn]

It's ready to harvest now, but ripe tomatoes in my garden are at least 2 weeks out. Would cilantro keep that long in the fridge? I've heard it loses a lot of flavor when frozen. Could I dehydrate it in measurements I need for my salsa and use it in place of the fresh cilantro that's called for? What if I chop it and add it to the lemon juice now (both in the amounts called for in my salsa recipe)?

[Virginia]

How do you know its ready? I have a very small patch and don't know what to do with it.

[Vlynn]

Originally Posted By: Virginia

How do you know its ready? I have a very small patch and don't know what to do with it.

I judge mine as being ready when it looks like the stuff they sell in the produce section at the store. It looks a lot like a bunch of flat-leaf parsley. One year, I waited too long, and it started going to seed (then I think it's coriander).

[Stephanie]

Hi Vlynn and Virginia too!

 

I'm no expert, but I can tell you my experience with cilantro.

 

If left uncut, it will go to seed, but if you cut it, it continues to grow. Once it has gone to see, you have coriander.

 

It doesn't store well, here's an article and at the very bottom talks about how to harvest.

 

http://www.howtodothings.com/home-and-gard...t-cilantro.html

[Virginia]

Thanks. I bought a small pot at the farmer's market, and it is doing fine. I have never grown herbs so it is all new to me. I think mine may be ready to cut, but I have such a small plot it won't be much. I may let it go to seed.

[Stephanie]

Go ahead and harvest what you have Virginia and enjoy it, you should be able to do that a couple of times and then all of the sudden it will shoot up and go to seed. I LOVE Cilantro in all kinds of dishes!

[Vlynn]

I picked my cilantro, put it in a food saver canister and sucked the air out. That's supposed to keep things fresh a long time. Maybe it'll hold it until the tomatoes are ripe.

[pricklypear]

You didn't have to dry it first?

[Vlynn]

Originally Posted By: pricklypear

You didn't have to dry it first?

I didn't dry it. It only has to keep a week or two. If it's not fresh when time comes to make salsa, I'll pitch it out and chalk it up to a lesson learned.

[Robert Z]

a side note, once it goes to seed (and becomes coriander), if you pick the seeds they are cumin. One of the few plants we get 3 different herbs / seasonings from.

[Tracie]

the seeds are not cumin. The seeds are coriander, which is often used *with* cumin in both mexican and indian cooking. but they are not interchangeable. Cumin is an elongated seed. Coriander is a round seed.

 

 

[Robert Z]

whoops!

I am not sure where I got that from. I remember watching something on good eats (alton brown). I think what I was thinking with the 3 uses was that we also use the roots. My mistake.

 

so

Leaves = cilantro

seeds = coriander

roots = used most commonly in Asian cuisine

 

I will sulk away and begin prying my foot from my mouth

[MommaDogs]

I keep pinching mine and it stays a few weeks longer before going to seed. Just keep pinching the apical meristem just above the last set of "branches" and you will get a nice, bushy plant.

[Virginia]

Well, I'm thinking of letting it go to seed, can't decide what to do with it since I have never used it. There is also something that must have been in the pot, looks kinda like carrot tops, but smaller and it has already gone to seed.

[Necie]

I LOOOOOOVE cilantro. You want to harvest when it's about 6 inches tall. I go right down the row and snip about an inch above the ground. Toss it in a tub full of water and wash like lettuce to get any sand/dirt off. Then I stuff it in the food processor and chop it up and stuff it into baggies (I use pint size). Seal the bag to the corner and suck the air out and then squish the baggie down flat and freeze. My cilantro is ALWAYS done before the tomatoes and it works best this way to make salsa or pico de guillo-just like fresh. I make my salsa in 5 gal buckets and one pint of cilantro is just right. I have cilantro still in the freezer from last year. When I need some for a recipe, I just bust a chunk out of the baggie and toss it in. Even in menudo or pozole rojo you can't tell the difference from just picked.

 

When I've harvested enough cilantro, then I let it seed out. The plant will get tall and leaves will become fern like. It has little white flowers and then sets seed. I don't harvest until the whole plant is pretty dry. I stuff the plants-top sides down into a plastic grocery bag and hang in the cellar til completely dry and then I squish and roll the plant between my hands while hanging in the bag to collect the seeds. I keep the seeds (coriander) in a jar and grind as needed and whatever I have left is my seed for the next year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Robert Z]

I had a chicken soup at a Peruvian restaurant in los angles that was to die for. It was very easy to duplicate. I just use some home made chicken broth cube up some chicken breast to about 3/4" then simmer until the chicken is pretty much done then at the end take a big handful of celantro and chop it fine (stalks and all) and toss it in. Let it simmer for just a few mins, you want to use a BUNCH of cilantro, the broth should take a slight greenish tint.

 

look out this is some REALLY good soup, but pretty simple, light and refreshing!

[Tracie]

Wow, that soup sounds amazing. I'm going to have to do that this weekend after I visit the farmer's market.

[Stephanie]

Being a cilantro lover myself, I had to run a search

 

*****************************

 

Cilantro Chicken Soup

 

 

 

Begin by boiling 1lb. chicken meat, until well cooked (I used boneless, skinless, thighs). Cut chicken into small, bite size pieces. Put chicken into large soup pot.

Add in:

~two stalks of celery, sliced small

~1/2 cup sliced green onions

~8 large mushrooms sliced and sauteed (I sauteed them in minced garlic)

~1 cup cilantro leaves

~1/2 teaspoon celery salt

~1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

~1/4 teaspoon pepper

~ 48 oz. organic gf chicken broth

~15oz. can of northern beans or pinto beans (drained)

 

 

Let the soup simmer for about 2 hours on low. I served with some GF toast strips for Parker (he thought that sipping them was GREAT fun!) and some breadsticks for the rest of us.

 

 

*******************************************

 

 

[Tracie]

Or, start with a jar of chicken that you canned yourself with love...

[Stephanie]

EXACTLY

 

[Tracie]

Have you opened one of those jars of split breasts yet? How easy is it to get rid of the bones? Did you cut them in half first or partially debone? I assume you took off the skin, right? Split breasts are on sale at my grocery store this week, so guess what I'm contemplating doing tonight...

[Virginia]

Tracie, the chicken should be very easy to get off the bone.

 

Ya'll have convinced me, I am going to gather some of the stuff, and give it a try. Fresh has to be better.

[Robert Z]

that sounds like a pretty good recipe!

 

I have also made my egg drop soup recipe with a bunch of cilantro in it as well.

 

once again start with 2 quarts home made chicken broth. in a bowl mix 1 tablespoon of flower with 1 tablespoon of oil and mix until thoroughly combined and add pasty mix to broth and mix in. pitch in a good handful of minced cilantro and bring to a rolling boil. place a zesta cracker box on its end close to the pot, put a fork on top of the box hanging over the broth and put a book or something on the fork to hold it there. now crack a couple of eggs into a bowl and scramble gently, you do NOT want to whisk a bunch of air into them, just mix them about until they are loosely scrambled. Turn the heat off and wait for the boil to just stop, begin stirring your broth in one direction at a constant slow speed (maybe one revolution per second) while stirring slowly pour your egg through the tines of the fork, this will give you light velvety ribbons of egg, just like at the restaurants! give it a shot or two of soy sauce and enjoy!

[Stephanie]

I haven't opened one yet, my mom has used some of hers and said it was the most tender meant she ever tasted. Because the meat is in one piece, I'm thinking it will fairly easy to just take that one bone part off. I removed the excess fat.

 

I'll tell you a couple of things, if you're going to leave it whole, you'll need a widemouth jar, thankfully I had both ready and available. Also, I think it was Violet who said that the heat could be absorbed much easier int pieces instead of one chunk. I think she does the boneless, skinless, chunks?

 

BTW I haven't opened one yet because the pickles that we made aren't ready yet So, in a couple of weeks, we'll open a jar of the pickles, one of the chiken and one of the baked beans and taste our canning attempts.

[Violet]

I make egg flower soup, too, but have never tried cilantro in it. It would be really good ! The Vietnamese use a lot of cilantro, also mint. I have a friend, who is more like a sister to me, who is Vietnamese. One of the best things she makes is pineapple soup ! Oh, just heavenly to me.

I do cut up the chicken for density reasons. I add broth and can it.

Stephanie, I agree, it is the most tender thing there is.Beef does the same thing. I use chuck roast or steaks to can. I think they are the best.

I think I am going up to the store and get some more of the boneless, skinless chicken thighs to can.