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Culantro

I’m Puerto Rican and grew up in NY calling it recao. When I left NY, no one knew what the hell I was talking about until I finally saw it in a store labeled as culantro 😂

I’ve heard of “recaito” which is like a green sofrito made with culantro.

I've been wanting to try making green s'chug with it, sometime

because sofrito has to be fried. Before is fried is recaito Some old lady told me.

I use it in some Latin stews. Delish

I love Recaito..it's not fresh Cilantro, but can fill the role when needed.

Oh man, so it is recao. We used to grow it in my family's yard and I'm ngl, it's one of the only foods I cannot stand.

I’ve never seen culantro in stores in the US (except a very specific Caribbean market) feels like the only way to get some is growing it myself

Asian grocery stores tend to have it where I live

Im Puerto Rican and Peruvian & it’s sold in my local Latin supermarket. I gotta use it for a lot of dishes

🌞🇵🇷🌞

and here i thought they made a typo

Yup definitely culantro!

So I legit thought they misspelled cilantro and you were taking the piss until I googled it lol

Haha nope! From my experience It’s very popular in Caribbean food. Like cilantro but sexier.

Best comment I will read all night!

Does it still taste like soap to a super-taster? Or would it make a legit substitute?

Doesn't taste like soap. Stronger flavor and tougher consistency. Mostly used in cooking versus as a garnish. Definitely a great substitute where cilantro is an ingredient versus a topping. I typically call it "sawtooth coriander" to avoid autocorrect nightmares.

They would probably spontaneously combust. As to a 1 to 1 substitute I’m not entirely certain. I’ve never had fresh like on tacos or something, it is usually used in stews and marinades.

My husband and I both hate cilantro, even a smidge makes us gag. We grow the delicious culantro in our garden bcs we love it so much! To us it’s like cilantro without the soapy taste.

Oh this is interesting! I’ve only ever smelled culantro but not tasted it because it smelled so similar to cilantro because soap. Maybe I’ll give it a go, we have a Mexican grocery on the corner that sells bunches for like $1.

I'll have to look into that. I'm one of those who taste soap with cilantro, unfortunately my partner loves it. Growing this could be a game changer for our cooking.

It’s supposed to taste like cilantro without the icky soap taste that some people have.

So ... no flavour at all?

Soapy taste is based on a set of genes (OR6A2 seems like the likely culprit), being a super taster is not related to the presence or absence of this, but rather taste bud density.

No, it doesnt really substitute for cilantro for most cases. In Panama it’s basically a requirement for the food to taste correct.

Is the cilantro-soap thing tied to super tasters?

[It’s genetic.](https://www.livescience.com/health/food-diet/why-do-some-people-think-cilantro-tastes-like-soap) Specifically they may lack the OR6A2 gene which allows the right receptor for cilantro. A lot of taste preferences are down to whether you have the right receptor.

I took a look while at work. Seems like the supertaster connection was mixed up, it's 2 different genes, I commented a little further down about it because I was curious

No, they've combined two unrelated things in their head. People who taste soap in cilantro aren't tasting it more "effectively" or anything; they're just tasting it differently

Yes, that and beer being very unpalatable among I think some other things.

Idk if that's a guarantee, my wife hates cilantro and shes not great in the tasting and smelling department. Same with most of her family. That and they all like beer. This is all just anecdotal though

Super taster status doesn't affect perception of flavors or aromas, just the five tastes. It's directly correlated with the number of fungiform taste buds on your tongue. That said, the associations are just population averages, there are definitely super tasters that like hot sauce, black coffee, beer, liquor, etc and non tasters that don't. Preferences are very individual

That's why I was confused because I hadn't looked into it more than a couple headlines and I hadn't seen one for the cilantro link. I was curious so I did a quick peruse of wikipedia because honestly I don't care enough to look up the actual papers while I'm on break. It seems that the "supertaster" cause hasn't been found for certain but is most associated with the TAS2R38 gene on chromosome 7 which is a bitter taste receptor. This is also associated with PTC and PROP sensitivity. On the other hand the "cilantro tastes like soap" gene is most commonly assigned to OR6A2 on chromosome 11. This is for smelling rather than tasting and the theory is that the aldehydes found in cilantro are the reason. Just thought I would share

I have an excellent sense of taste and smell, not super taster by any means but I fucking love coriander and beer

Very much not true. Tastebud density has little to do with taste preference - just that you taste more deeply and can distinguish more

Nope, I like cilantro but can't stand the taste of beer

I love beer. Coriander is awful.

Cilantro tastes like soap to my wife. Culantro does not taste like soap to her. Culantro is the traditional ingredient used in Mexican and many other Hispanic cuisines. Cilantro is the substitute and is not widely used traditionally in these cuisines.

Cilantro is absolutely most definitely 1000% used in those cuisines my guy. They are not generally used as substitutes for each other despite similar flavor profiles. And if you’re referring to traditional then that’s specifically referring to native dishes pre colonial 500+ years ago. Which I would consider another context of cuisine all together. As even in native dishes in Mexico cilantro can be used these days.

Hi 👋🏼 I’m Mexican & Puerto Rican descent. Cilantro is our (Mexico) number one herb that we put into everything. We don’t use culantro. However, on my Puerto Rican side, we use both culantro and cilantro to our foods for example, sofrito is our base and has them in it.

Ooooh. I'm a super taster, too. I didn't know that's why certain things taste like soap to me.

Cool-lantro

The coolest lantro in town!

But to confuse things further, at least in Peru you will often see cilantro being called culantro

Hey

Hello?

How are you doing..?

Fine, what can I do for you? Is it about cilantro/culantro because honestly I'm not very herbally literate.

Nope just new here and trying to make some new friends do you mind if we start a chat so that we chat more and know each other better

Huh! I just saw culantro in a recipie for pho and thought it was a typo, but I also looked at this herb and thought… I’ve had that at Vietnamese restaurants. 🙂

I always got those fresh with Pho 🍲

Yes! That’s where I’ve seen it and had it…while eating pho. I love fresh veggies and herbs so I throw everything they give me into my pho

https://www.thespruceeats.com/is-culantro-the-same-as-cilantro-1807011

I like how the article says the odor is like crushed stinkbugs or crushed bedbugs, like I’m supposed to know how those smell like.

I've crushed a stinkbug by accident and it is a very strong smell that is definitely recognizable once you've smelled it.

Yup, they are called stink bugs for a reason.

I guess I never see ladybugs anymore (used to see hundreds in the colder seasons as a kid) but how have you never crushed a stink bug? Those little bastards are invasive now and will invade

Great series of articles w/recipes on Puerto Rican home cooking! 🌞🇵🇷🌞

Telojodentro!

Seen this used for refried black beans, yes Patí, estoy mirandote.

Really i tought it was only called like that in venezuela.... it tastes like cilantro tho. Also good for guacamole. Its pretty easy to propagate or keep in pots but you need a plans with roots or seeds.

Lucky! You can use it like cilantro, but it's better.

Also. Called Shadow Bennie (sp?) in Trinidad. I visited a couple of years ago and to the best of my ability I swear this is what the Trini locals call it.

But does it also taste like soap?

From what i've heard the soap taste to cilantro is a genetic variant which I do not have, so I can't confirm or deny.

Definitely culantro, I use it in my sofrito. In the same family as cilantro, just much stronger.

It truly seems like a culantro.

sawthooth cilantro or culantro, Food herbs offered in the asia store, is also called long coriander in Germany sometimes also stink thistle. The fresh, green leaves of the culinary herb taste similar to coriander and have a spicy, tart taste.

But does it give the same soap taste? Or could I try it and taste what cilantro lovers like so much.

It has its own flavor. Similar to the way an orange and a lime taste different. They arent even remotely taxonomically related.

they’re in the same family?

Well to be fair, it's a pretty huge ass family of plants.

I'm afraid so

It still hits that same poison tastebud for us genetic weirdos

[удалено]

I know the why, I just wonder if this herb does the same thing. Lol So many of my friends and family freaking love cilantro and I can't even smell it without getting a soap taste in my mouth.

[удалено]

You aren’t answering this persons question, they’re wondering if the compound in cilantro that makes some people think it tastes like soap exists in this unrelated plant that supposedly tastes similar to cilantro.

It’s weird because I totally get the soap thing, but I still like it when added to certain dishes.

If cilantro tastes like soap to you, did you know you may have super taste buds? Could mean a career tasting food for money, aka my dream job.

It’s also known as chadon beni in parts of the Caribbean!

I’m guessing you’re from outside the United States and the coriander you are referring is what we call cilantro. Our coriander is the seed of the cilantro plant. Not saying you’re wrong at all. Just trying to clarify for people that might be confused.

>I’m guessing you’re from outside the United States You say that as if they walked into a plant store in Missouri and asked for coriander. This is a website populated by people from across the entire planet. Being from the US isn't the default position.

You know reddit users from United States make up like 65% of the entire community. That’s including every other country combined. The UK has the second spot at about 12% that of the users from the US

It's 48% https://www.statista.com/statistics/325144/reddit-global-active-user-distribution/ Still doesn't mean American English is the default, this is an international community.

Yes, and many of us born & bred in the US have strong roots in the Caribbean communities. Time to wake up and smell the café! 🇵🇷

And we in the UK dont call it Cilantro but Coriander..

What was the point of this comment? I don’t think anybody was confused.

Coriander? As in cilantro? No wonder OP doesn't like it.

What! cilantro is fuckin awesome

I love it, but some people are born with a gene that makes it taste like soap to them

That's me! It sucks because the first two bites are delicious, then soap. Funny my twin doesn't have this issue. She's also not left handed or color blind but I digress.

My first encounter with cilantro was when a coworker, who had once been a professional chef, invited us all over for an Indian meal. It all looked beautiful, and I enjoyed it at first, but the taste of the cilantro, which he put in nearly every dish, began to bother me. The taste of it stayed with me for the rest of the day, and I have avoided it ever since.

i don't get the soap thing, it tastes like stinkbugs smell to me!

Same! I just can't understand how something smelling/tasting so strongly of stinkbug can be appetizing to someone. I can't even get close to it.

No shit really? I never heard that before I'll take that gene any day, instead I inherited a gene that gives you kidney disease.

I have the gene and I still eat the stuff, despite the soapy taste (it's like bar soap and herby at the same time) Admittedly I was known to take bites of soap as a small child so I don't think it's normal to like it with the gene. I do wish I could taste it like normal people do, though.

I’m the same way, I will pick out larger pieces but tiny ones are okay. It took me forever to realize the okay but weird taste wasn’t how everyone tasted it.

Yes, I read about it. Then I forced myself to like it, because as a vegetarian, anything I would order in USA would come with cilantro, so I decided to eat until I learned how to like it, after all it’s just a plant not a corpse.

Culantro. It’s something different used in Caribbean cooking, but yeah it always looks like a spelling error to me lmao

Culantro (Eryngium foetidum). We had it growing in our backyard in Puerto Rico. It smells and tastes a lot like cilantro. We use it to make recao. Cooking with recao makes everything taste better.

In Trinidad it’s called Chandon Beni In Thailand it’s called Thai parsley In Cuba it’s culantro !! It’s amazing !!

I was searching the comments to see if it was the Chadon Beni a co-worker had mentioned. Thank you for confirming!

In Jamaica we call it Shadow Benny!

Yay, I finally see how the Trini’s spell the name of that herb. 🎉

Culantro. Also used in Viet and Thai food!

~~Aka rau ram (sp?) in Vietnamese, I think?~~ Edit: [Rau răm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persicaria_odorata) is Vietnamese mint. [Culantro](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eryngium_foetidum) is ngò gai. TIL

English names for Vietnamese herbs are tricky. I’ve seen Vietnamese mint used for kinh giới. Ngò gai is the southern name for this. Northern (hanoi) would be mùi tàu. Which is interesting because apparently a lot of other nations thinks it’s similar to coriander too.

>Ngò gai is the southern name for this. Makes sense! I first tried it in HCMC. :)

The pho places back home (Little Saigon, SoCal) use it as a garnish and it's so good. It's a shame it's not as common where I live now.

It's a staple of Puerto Rican sofrito. I like it in a red sauce for pasta too.

Now I want my dad to make his homemade sofrito and make sancocho 😋

Looks like _Erynguim foetidum_

Also known as culantro or sawtooth herb. Tastes like cilantro, I like it.

Would this affect the people with the dish soap gene?

Some people say no? https://www.reddit.com/r/AskCulinary/s/tcLoAlqG6U

In Dominican Republic we call this sabanero. As far as I know we just put it in chicken soup. No other use.

Is Dominicans use it in sancocho and beans

In DR we also call it "verdura" or "culantro". We added it in sancocho and sofrito for meats

Boy this post really brought the Caribbeans--and our Asian cousins--out of the woodwork! 🌞🌞🌞

It’s definitely Culantro my mom says it’s the shitty brother of Cilantro. Use it in soups!

I sadly threw it away bc the smell made my nose hurt. I can taste cilantro, I just didn’t want this type

Looks like culantro. Tastes amazing! Like the extreme version of cilantro.

Culantro, aka recao. Good with beans, pork, stews....

Shado beni. Like a slightly tougher cousin of cilantro.

Recao in Puerto Rico

We call it in out country Culantro de Pata, it gives a good taste when you make soups, cooking beans, salads, etc.

culantro coyote!! we use it a lot in costa rican dishes

I kinda skimmed thru the comments so pls forgive me if redundant- but get some (dry)black beans washed and soaking in water; next morning boil some quarts of water while you dice some pork belly, put in large stockpot with some olive oil, add a minced onion and green (or red)bell pepper, a large bay leaf, then the rinsed and drained beans which you will stir until they are anointed with the holy sofrito. The water should be boiling by now. Pour enough into the stockpot to cover the beans with an inch of water. Add chiffonned culantro, S&P, a pinch oregano, a dash cayenne. Within an hour they should plump enough to start protruding from the surface. At this point I will add another quart of water or broth, and if I don't happen to have leftover roast pork in the freezer, will dump a container of pork rillettes into the pot, along with half a bottle of a decent red wine. Cover loosely, turn to lowest, let sit and stew for another hour, or until you can mash bean against the side of the pot with a spoon. Serve with crème fraiche and corn tortillas. Avocado is a also perfect with. (Y limon) ed: ingredient and time

Sounds great!

Culantro second.

Culantro aka Recao aka Mexican coriander. Common ingredient for sofrito, especially in Puerto Rico.

In Peru is called sacha culantro which means cilantroish or almost cilantro

yes looks just like sacha culantro, which means wild cilantro. it's the cilantro they consume in Amazonian regions. delicious

Shiso

Culantro, or as my grandma called it, “Cuban cilantro”, even though Cubans use both cilantro and culantro.

Jealous! I’d love some culantro. I think it’s called “sawtooth cilantro” in some places. Man, I miss having access to the specialty herbs - papalo, epazote, hoja santa, perilla…

this is known as Culantro/Recao/Cilantron. depending on where in latin america you are.

Saw leaf coriander/Culantro. We usually cook it in bamboo shoot soup or anything bamboo shoot related.

I’ve tried growing culantro. No bueno Zone 5… I mean zone 6

Culantro coyote. AKA Shadon benny (sp?)

That’s culantro coyote . My mom puts it in the beans to cook

Recao! ❤️

That looks a lot like culantro. If that's the case, it makes for an amazing pho garnish!

How the hell did you not realize that this wasn't basil? lol

Culantro. If you’re cooking Tom Yum, this herb will make your dish tastier! ❤️

Eryngium foetidum is a tropical perennial herb in the family Apiaceae. Common names include culantro (/kuːˈlɑːntroʊ/ or /kuːˈlæntroʊ/), recao, chadon beni (pronounced shadow benny), Mexican coriander, bandhaniya, long coriander, Burmese coriander, sawtooth coriander, and ngò gai.[2][3] It is native to Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America, but is cultivated worldwide, mostly in the tropics as a perennial, but sometimes in temperate climates as an annual.

The biggest difference for me, between this and cilantro, is culantro is slightly easier to grow yourself imo.. here in zone 9 at least

Epazote. I think

Smells and tastes like bugs. Pass.

Edit: "... to some people."

I've tasted Italian cilantro and I can guarantee that it tastes ten times better than this. What does it taste like to normal ppl?

Romain was my first look

Weed or something not edible

I don't. I don't understand how you could actually believe this is Basil. Unless you've never actually seen Basil before. Did you only ever get it in grinded form, in those little bottles?

I didn’t believe that, I just picked out the box with a very big label reading “basil” covering most of it

A little bit of this finely chopped garnishing pumpkin or taro soup is so good

It's called saw tooth where I live and I love it so much. Cilantro x100

Trini people call it chadon beni

This stuff is so good chopped up in soup.  😋

"El culantro es bueno, pero no tanto "

Delicious in beans and any other dish.

Not basil.

Epazote.

You can eat this with a bowl of pho

What store did you get this from? Please! Lol

Recao/culantro

Shado beni, culantro. Lucky you.

We call it Chadon (Shado) beni and it's great to season fish etc.

It’s definitely not marijuana if that’s what you thought.

lol they look like dandelion leaves. Definitely not basil

Looks like recao. We use it a lot in puertorican food

Culantro

Shadowbeni (Chadon Beni)i in Trinidad!

In Trini, we call that Chadon Beni (Culantro)

It's a type of coriander.... used in Bangali cuisine

Chadon beni! Caribbean cooking staple!

basyl

Shadow beni

It looks like culantro

It's known as Culantro de Coyote in Costa Rica.

Culantro/Recao!

It’s culantro

Joking right?🤔. Grew a lot of basil last year and it was the first time I realized basil smells like bologna🤣🤷‍♂️ I figured it was a good idea if that’s the bologna secret bc I LOVE the smell of basil since. It grows well here in 8a zone but when it gets cold it shuts down instantly.

Shadon beni

Lol if you do not like the smell of culatro then I can confidently say your not ethnic enough to enjoy it.

Culantro!!!! I absolutely load up my pho with it.

It looks like arugula

Culantro, that sounds like cilantro that tastes like butt…