# Cilantro/Coriander Essence - How To Ideas?



## manofgirolles (Sep 29, 2015)

Hey guys!

I'll cut right to the chase. I'm looking for a way to get the most out of cilantro. I want to make some sort of liquid that, when eaten, tastes like you've just chewed on a bunch of the stuff. What would be a technique to use to go about doing this?

PS: I'm not looking to make an infused oil.

Thank you in advance for your time!


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## sgsvirgil (Mar 1, 2017)

You could make a cilantro extract with alcohol or vinegar. Im not going to vouch for how good it will taste or work in your dishes.

Another method would be to crush a large amount of cilantro with a mortar and pestle and a little water. Press the liquid from the cilantro paste and repeat until you have enough cilantro liquid for your purposes. 

You could also make a cilantro "stock" or tea by boiling it the same way you would make a beef or chicken stock. Reduce it until you reach the desired concentration of flavor. 

Good Luck.


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## someday (Aug 15, 2003)

Do you have a juicer? That might work...you'd need a LOT of cilantro for a little juice.


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## sgmchef (Sep 30, 2006)

Hi manofgirolles,

Almost sounds like a perfect application for spherification. Not sure about using sodium alginate, I yield to the molecular folks...

Good luck!


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## manofgirolles (Sep 29, 2015)

sgmchef said:


> Hi manofgirolles,
> 
> Almost sounds like a perfect application for spherification. Not sure about using sodium alginate, I yield to the molecular folks...
> 
> Good luck!


Thank you! I hadn't thought of that! This is what I'm going with  You're the best!


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## manofgirolles (Sep 29, 2015)

someday said:


> Do you have a juicer? That might work...you'd need a LOT of cilantro for a little juice.


Unfortunately, no juicer :/ but I definitely love the idea and would use it to make beads!


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## manofgirolles (Sep 29, 2015)

sgsvirgil said:


> You could make a cilantro extract with alcohol or vinegar. Im not going to vouch for how good it will taste or work in your dishes.
> 
> Another method would be to crush a large amount of cilantro with a mortar and pestle and a little water. Press the liquid from the cilantro paste and repeat until you have enough cilantro liquid for your purposes.
> 
> ...


Thank you! I'm going to try the mortar and pestle method, then add some sodium alginate to create some beads! You guys rock!


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## jimyra (Jun 23, 2015)

Puree in blender with a little water and freeze in ice trays.


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## pete (Oct 7, 2001)

What is the final application to be used for?


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## fatcook (Apr 25, 2017)

manofgirolles said:


> I want to make some sort of liquid that, when eaten, tastes like you've just chewed on a bunch of the stuff.


A glug of pinesol would do the trick for me 

A smart arsed way to say - don't forget that not everyone likes cilantro, be sure to include it in the description.


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## jay lancaster (Aug 26, 2016)

Vitamix...cheese cloth...


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## hrmn (Feb 8, 2017)

sgmchef said:


> Hi manofgirolles,
> 
> Almost sounds like a perfect application for spherification. Not sure about using sodium alginate, I yield to the molecular folks...
> 
> Good luck!


 You can purree the cilantro in a vitaminx with a small amount of liquid. Pass through a chinois and freeze into half-sphere molds. Use a ratio of 3 parts alginate to 500 parts water to sphere-ify your frozen purée. Use a perferated serving spoon like available from JB Prince, or a "sphereification spoon" to dip the frozen purée into the alginate for 20+ seconds. Do not let them touch each other or they will break during this step. Carefully transfer to a room temp. water bath and hold to order. They should remain stable for a few days upto a week before the outer skin starts to decintigrate and leak out.


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## Iceman (Jan 4, 2011)

So ... What will this be used for?


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## BigBoyBoston (6 mo ago)

manofgirolles said:


> Hey guys!
> 
> I'll cut right to the chase. I'm looking for a way to get the most out of cilantro. I want to make some sort of liquid that, when eaten, tastes like you've just chewed on a bunch of the stuff. What would be a technique to use to go about doing this?
> 
> ...


I froze cilantro in a bag and I froze green alcohol in a jar. Then I put the frozen cilantro in the frozen alcohol and shook it every three days for a week. I strained the alcohol/cilantro blend through a coffee filter and placed the alcohol in a relatively flat Akia spice tin (The kind with the magnets on the back).

I then placed the tin on the flat surface with a 6 inch fan placed about 10 inches away to help with evaporation. At first the alcohol which we doing with that wonderful herbal smell of cilantro. You see, I have a ton of cilantro in my garden and while I wanted some of her to go to seed so that I could have whatever the heck that spice is called, I can’t remember, I wanted to see if I could process the cilantro in a way that it would keep for a long time. But then something strange happened . As the alcohol began with operate there was no more aroma and no more flavor!

No I’ve been doing the same process with cannabis sativa for the past 15 years and you can let it go until you literally have hash oil at the bottom of the chin. But you can either stop the process so there’s still a little bit of liquid or you can stirring some olive oil over very low heat for about five minutes.

Making pain salve for my arthritis in this manner I add organic beeswax and coconut oil lecithin and vitamin E. It doesn’t lose any of its potency.

But with my cilantro I was left with about an inch of green alcohol they had no flavor whatsoever.
can anybody explain what the heck happened?

Perhaps the solution is to not try to evaporate it at all but to bottle it up right away. I could use a dropper bottle and put a couple droppers in soups and stews at the appropriate time so the alcohol burns off and I’m left with the flavor. That’s my goal. To have a range of herbal alcohol solutions that will hold the flavor and last a long time. I don’t know whether you called them absolutes, or essential oils, or extractions, or infusions but I’m obviously confused!


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## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

You may be proving that cilantro is not alcohol soluble, and that might be why it is frozen, dried or used as an infused oil as alternative to fresh. Fresh is always the true taste of cilantro, though. 

Coriander is the seed. Worth letting some go to seed but beware the insect that eats the innards out of the seed immediately prior to harvest. 

I had no idea that cilantro would grow in Boston…


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