citrus · floral · nutty
Coriandrum sativum
Latin name
same plant as cilantro leaf
Russia & India
top producers
Russia leads volume; India leads quality
Citrus + floral
aroma profile
from linalool, the primary volatile
70
% linalool content
in premium Moroccan and Indian seed
Coriander, or Coriandrum sativum, is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae. The leaves are known as cilantro in the US. Most people perceive the leaves as having a fresh, slightly citrus taste. Due to variations in the gene OR6A2, some people perceive its flavor to be more soaplike or rotten.
Coriander seed — Coriandrum sativum — is the dried fruit of the same plant whose leaves are called cilantro or fresh coriander. The seed has almost nothing in common with the leaf: it tastes citrus-floral raw, and opens into warm roasted orange peel and pine the moment it hits a dry pan. Rajasthan in India is the volume leader, but Bulgarian and Moroccan origins are prized for essential oil content. Coriander is the quiet backbone of Indian garam masala, Ethiopian berbere, Moroccan chermoula, Mexican mole and Belgian witbier. It is one of the few spices that genuinely benefits from toasting before grinding.
Tasting notes
citrus · floral · nutty
Bright and citrus-floral up front, with orange peel and light pine from linalool, then a warm nutty tail from gamma-terpinene. Unlike the leaf, it has none of the polarizing soapy aldehyde. Dry-toasting deepens it toward toasted bread and beeswax.
Flavor compass
The reference small-fruited Coriandrum sativum var. microcarpum, grown in the Doukkala and Tadla plains. Pale-straw round fruit 2-3 mm with high linalool (65-78%) — sweeter, more orange-peel than Indian grades, the backbone of Moroccan ras-el-hanout and Syrian baharat.
The continental grade from the Thracian Valley around Stara Zagora and Plovdiv, biennial-sown. Rounder 3-4 mm fruit with balanced linalool-geraniol, the traditional distillation grade for Bulgarian coriander oil and the anchor of eastern-European sausage spicing.
The large-fruited Coriandrum sativum var. vulgare cultivar bred at Jobner Agricultural University, dominant on Kota-Ramganj mandi auctions. Oval olive-green fruit 5 mm, lower essential oil but higher petroselinic acid — the everyday grade of North Indian garam masala and Punjabi channa masala.
Seeds sown in dry, well-drained soil in India's Rajasthan or Morocco's Tadla-Azilal plain. Coriander is drought-tolerant; deep watering twice monthly is sufficient.
Delicate white umbels flower for 3–4 weeks. Bees are essential pollinators. Fields smell unmistakably of fresh green coriander during this phase.
Seeds turn from green to pale yellow-brown over 3–4 weeks. Linalool content peaks just before full ripeness — the optimal harvest window is 5–7 days wide.
Stems cut and threshed in the field or sun-dried in windrows. Moroccan coriander is often stone-dried on flat rooftops in the Atlas foothills for 4–5 days.
30 sec in a dry pan releases linalool from within the seed husks. Use a pestle, not a grinder — partially cracked seeds give textured, layered delivery in a dish.
The molecules that make it taste like Kampot — and not like anything else.
Coriander seed is unusual: a single monoterpene alcohol carries 60–80% of the aroma, with a supporting cast of pine and pepper terpenes.
0.8–1.4%
Essential oil
of dry seed weight
70%
Linalool
average in Indian/Moroccan seed
8.5%
Moisture
after threshing & drying
55+
Volatile compounds
in GC-MS profiles
Floral, lavender, citrus peel — the signature note.
Bitter citrus rind, herbal.
Pine resin, fresh forest.
Cool, medicinal — adds depth.
Sweet rose, fruity warmth.
Carrot top, dry citrus.
Bright orange peel.
| Pepper | Piperine | Oil |
|---|---|---|
★ Indian (Eagle) Rajasthan · large-seeded type | 70% | 1.2% |
Moroccan small-seeded · highest linalool | 72% | 1.3% |
Russian bulk grade · lower aromatics | 65% | 0.9% |
Bulgarian Plovdiv · balanced | 68% | 1.1% |
Egyptian Nile delta · softer profile | 66% | 1.0% |
Kota, Baran and Jhalawar, Rajasthan · est. 1978
“The Kota-Baran cooperative that consolidates Rajasthan's Eagle coriander belt — bold round seed with a deep lemon-carrot profile and low bitterness.”
MethodsPost-kharif rabi sowing October, 110-day cycle, hand harvest February, tarp threshing, multi-deck sieve, gravity table, optical colour sort, magnetic stone removal, steam sterilisation, 25 kg PP jute.
How the world cooks with it.
4 signature dishes
Coriander is the silent backbone of Indian masalas — toasted whole, ground fresh, never optional.
Coriander makes up to a third of the blend — its citric warmth balances cumin and clove.
Whole seeds bloomed in ghee at the start, ground coriander finishes the gravy.
The South Indian lentil-soup spice — coriander dominates the roast.
Parsi lentil-and-meat stew where coriander softens the heat of the dhansak masala.
What it's called, from Phnom Penh to Palermo.
Coriander seed
Graine de coriandre
Koriandersamen
Cilantro en grano
Semi di coriandolo
Semente de coentro
Korianderzaad
كزبرة
گشنیز
Kişniş
כוסברה
धनिया
ধনে
கொத்தமல்லி
芫荽籽
コリアンダー
고수씨
ลูกผักชี
Hạt ngò
Ketumbar
Кориандр
Protein
Plant
Sweet
Drink
Very little. The leaf's 'soapy' note comes from C6 and C9 aldehydes — compounds largely absent from the ripe seed. The seed's dominant compound is linalool (up to 70%), which gives a citrus-floral character. People who hate fresh coriander leaf often love coriander seed. They are chemically distinct foods.
Sources