Herbs and Spices

May 5, 2004 5:52 AM

Gernot Katzer's spice pages - everything you need to know about herbs and spices - 117 of them, in fact, indexed in multiple languages. It seems some Metafiltarians (among others) have a low opinion of coriander...It's my favourite herb, and I was suprised that some people can't handle it, but this site suggests repulsion against it may be genetic! Lots of great stuff to be found, including plenty of herbs you've never heard of.
posted by Jimbob (17 comments total)

This is an excellent site which I've had bookmarked for a while - I've found Herr Katzer's magnificent obsession to be a very useful point of reference.
posted by misteraitch at 6:33 AM on May 5, 2004

I love this site and I love coriander/cilantro. (kalustyans is great for tracking down hard to find spices/herbs from around the world)
posted by shoepal at 8:09 AM on May 5, 2004

[this is good]
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 9:10 AM on May 5, 2004

Thanks for posting this and count me in with the cilantro and culantro lovers. It is one of my very favorite smells/tastes especially in tomatillo salsa.
posted by janespeed at 9:18 AM on May 5, 2004

Nice! Not to be a nit-picker, but Cilantro (or Chinese Parsley), not Coriander, is the herb. Coriander, the ground mature seeds of the same plant, is a spice.
posted by Gilbert at 9:24 AM on May 5, 2004

Except in Britain, where the green stuff is "fresh coriander" and the seeds are "coriander seeds" (I think.)
posted by Johnny Assay at 9:34 AM on May 5, 2004

This is so wonderfully thorough! Mahlab is one of my tests to see how inclusive a book, site, etc. is and he even has images of the fruit. Thanks for a great site!

On the cilantro/coriander thing--I often see it referred to as "fresh coriander"(Chinese) or "coriander leaves"(Persian).
posted by lobakgo at 9:36 AM on May 5, 2004 [1 favorite]

There is, however, much disagreement about the flavour of coriander leaves, roots and unripe fruits: Many people of European heiritage find it displeasing, soapy, like “burnt rubber” or even like crushed bedbugs or the evil-smelling gnats living on rose bushes.

Great advice. If you've ever picked up parsley instead cilantro, just use crushed bedbugs in your salsa.
posted by eatitlive at 10:21 AM on May 5, 2004

He who controls the spice, controls the universe.
posted by urlnotfound at 10:30 AM on May 5, 2004

This is a great link, thanks!
posted by dejah420 at 10:44 AM on May 5, 2004

As an Indian, of course I love coriander. As a guy who runs a South-east Asian restaurant, I love it even more.

I've been referring to this site for a long time now. It's great.

Another noteworthy site, which goes far beyond herbs, is http://www.foodsubs.com

Go visit it now. Go!
posted by madman at 11:55 AM on May 5, 2004

You're right, Johnny Assay. And in Australia they call arugula, "rocket" or "roquette."

Eatitlive, I hate when I grab parsley instead of cilantro. But, I love when I get charged for parsley when it's really cilantro in the bag.
posted by shoepal at 11:56 AM on May 5, 2004

Yay, Kalustyans! I impressed the hell out of some New Yorkers when I, a mere visitor, introduced them to the place.
posted by MrMoonPie at 12:39 PM on May 5, 2004

Terrifically great! This is one of those resources I just know that I'll be referring to again and again.

Plus, it's another reminder for me to head over to The Spice House and get the non-tea ingredients for some mind-blowingly tasty custom chai.
posted by SteelyDuran at 3:34 PM on May 5, 2004

Speaking as someone who is only aware of three spices (salt, pepper and cheese), this site is not only useful, but reasonably entertaining to just sit and read. Thanks Jimbob.
posted by Hildago at 5:09 PM on May 5, 2004

Jimbob - I like Coriander. Coriander and Cilantro may help to chelate heavy metals - "Dr. Omura recently informed us that he discovered almost by accident, that the leaves of the coriander plant can accelerate the excretion of mercury, lead and aluminum from the body...."

Curry is good too : Hot tip - Curry May Protect Aging Brain" ( "Spices protect brain cells, could prevent Alzheimer's disease" )

"elderly (aged 70-79) residents of rural India, who eat large amounts of curry, appear to have the lowest incidence of Alzheimer's disease in the world: 4.4 times lower than that of Americans.2 Does that mean that curry helps prevent Alzheimer's? Perhaps, but it's impossible to say, because innumerable other factors (dietary, genetic, social, economic, lifestyle-related, etc.) would have to be taken into account, and systematically ruled out, before any such conclusion could be drawn. But the correlation is suggestive
posted by troutfishing at 7:56 PM on May 5, 2004

Another good spice source: Kitchen Market. They're based in NYC, but have a mail-order catalog, too.
posted by metrocake at 3:02 PM on May 6, 2004