Why do Americans call coriander cilantro?

Question

"Coriander" sounds like what it is: a herb. "Cilantro" sounds like a pharmaceutical. What's the history of this wildly differing naming?

Answer 1

Coriander is usually referred to the seed in America and cilantro (the spanish name) is the plant itself. Maybe because it is easier to distinguish between the two.

Answer 2

Coriander In Usa

Answer 3

Cilantro is the Latin derivative of the herb. With the increasing Mexican, Puerto Rican, and even South American influences in the United States, the term "cilantro" has just taken over.

My grandmother from England always referred to it as coriander and was somewhat confused by cilantro when she first moved to the states.

Answer 4

Coriander comes from latin and greek roots, mainly the word "Coriadnon" where as cilantro is the Spanish word for the exact same thing which is derived from the same roots. Cilantro is mainly used in America because of the extensive use of the herb in Spanish and Mexican cooking. The uk call coriander seed just "coriander" . In the middle ages coriander seed was called "dizzy corn" because of its narcotic effects when eaten in high quantities...

Answer 5

Because coriander is ground dried cilantro seeds and it is not just Americans that call coriander cilantro. Cilantro is not a pharmaceutical. It is an herb usually used fresh that flavors a lot of Mexican dishes and salsas. It is also used in Chinese, Thai, and Indonesian cuisines.

Answer 6

When Americans speak of coriander they are talking about the fruit of the cilantro plant used as a spice and when we speak of cilantro it's the leafy part of the plant used as an herb usually fresh.
I know we are confusing, Sorry we learn to confuse in public school it is a required coarse.

Answer 7

Coriander is the name of the whole plant including the roots. Where as cilantro is Spanish for the leaves of the coriander plant.
You can cook with the stems/stalk of the plant as well as the leaves.

Answer 8

Actually, Cilantro is the herb. It's green and leafy and all chopped up. Coriander is the seed that it grows from. Its dark and powdery. Two different things from the same plant.

Answer 9

Cilantro is the fresh green leaves of the same plant that produces Coriander seeds How come you Non- Americans don't know that???

Answer 10

There are actually 3-names for Cilantro that I know of. It is also called Chinese Parsley. However, it is usually the Cilantro in its "Dried Form" that kind of categorizes it as being a spice-on-the-shelf, so to speak; thus, that makes it more identifiable as being Coriander. Nice question. I often wondered about that myself . . . Other than Chinese Parsley, I don't know the history or the other words, the roots, etc. though. They sound to me to be quite Latin . . . Dontcha think?