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kolíandro

κολίανδρο

Coriander (or cilantro). The seeds are more popular than the leaves, and appear in many Cypriot dishes.

Although it may have been native to Iran, there is quite a bit evidence that it was first cultivated in Greece: the English word comes from the Greek for 'bedbug' (κόρις, kóris) and its first known mention is in a Linear B tablet from Mycenaean Pylos, where the seeds were made into perfume and its leaves were used as an herb. It was one of the plants (along with fennel) that Alexander the Great introduced to India in 327 BC, where it became far more popular than it is in Greece today.

Herbs and Spices

Text © Dana Facaros

Image by Francesco