The name coriander does not signify one thing — it represents a seed, a leaf and a powder used in Central America, South America, all of Asia, the Mediterranean basin, the Southwest of the United States, and in any menu that replicates the flavors of one or all of these regions. Coriander-the-leaf is also known as Cilantro and Chinese Parsley. The profusion of names and forms are replicated in the range of flavors created by this coriander: the whole dried seeds are nutty and warm, the powder intense, the leaf vibrant or soapy — depending on what camp the taster is in. In any form, though, when coriander is present, it is known.
