To this day, I remain mightily confused when a recipe calls for coriander. This herb smells sensational but a good number of people dislike its apparent 'soapy' taste.
When I go to the store, I don't ever see any fresh herb labelled, 'coriander' which I know is some kind of parsley. Sometimes, I see a similar parsley but it's labelled either 'cilantro' or 'Chinese parsley'.
At the farmer's market or morning market, I am told that the bunch of flat and delicately toothed leaves that I have in my hand is called, 'soup leaves'.
So today, I decided to read up a little on this herb that has confused so many people. I know I am not alone now because the same question has been asked by many many amateur cooks.
It seems that many people use the words cilantro and coriander interchangeably, but they refer to the herb and the spice, respectively, that come from the same plant. Cilantro is the leafy part of the plant. Coriander is the small, round seed that emerges when the plant dies.
So, there are two distinct species of cilantro, one erect and tall with a comparatively stronger main shoot and the other bushy with a relatively weaker main shoot and longer spreading branches.
Last night, I got all confused again. I watched a BBC cooking program and the host was chopping what was obviously green cilantro leaves but he repeatedly said that he was going to add the chopped coriander to the stew.
I think we need not be too concerned about the species as they probably have similar smell and uses. What is good to know is that coriander, cilantro, Chinese parsley and 'soup leaves' are basically the same. Right?