Anyone know where to find Cilantro?

[srivsquare]

Was all over St. Lawrence Market yesterday, as well as Harvest Wagon and Pusateris Yorkville, and could not find cilantro. Any help would be appreciated. Also, why is there such a dearth of chili pepper varieties? Harvest wagon has a decent selection, but at the Market, supply was exptremely limited. Thanks!

[embee]

That's strange. Cilantro is everywhere these days. By everywhere, I mean Loblaw's (including the No Frills stores), Dominion, A&P, Sobey's, IGA, and even Wal-Mart. Many stores even leave the roots on (great in Thai food), at least in some neighbourhoods. Other possible names include coriander (it's the same plant as the spice, but leaves and roots as opposed to seeds) and Chinese parsley. If Pusateri's and Harvest Wagon didn't have any, it was simply out of stock.

Chiles are harder to find. Fresh jalapenos and habaneros are widely available. Other fresh varieties come and go. The best sources of dried peppers are in Kensington and at stores catering to the Latino and Caribbean markets. You can usually find powdered dry chiles at higher end stores. While much more expensive, they are more easily available and save the rehydrating and pureeing steps. (They don't necessarily last long, though.) Ancho and chipotle powders are generally around (McCormick's are fine). Places such as Pusateri's and Cajun Corner used to carry numerous powdered chiles under the K-Paul label, but haven't had the whole line recently.

[srivsquare]

Many thanks - must have not been looking hard enough at SLM, or too late in the day!

[phoenikia]

Most of the SLM vendors keep the cilantro in the fridge, with the roots in a shallow pan of water. Last Saturday, the cilantro at Ponesse, at the entrance to the South Building, was in the best shape. http://www.stlawrencemarket.com/shopp...

[JamieK]

I saw a fairly good selection of fresh hot peppers at the T&T on Cherry Street this weekend.

[Lipant]

Lack of hot peppers has been a complaint of mine for years. I do luck out though at some Caribbean and/or Thai grocery stores.

[Ubervache]

I've been buying Cilantro paste at my local Dominion. I actually prefer the paste because I can use what I want and save the rest.

[Bueno]

I've tried that cilantro toothpaste. While I agree that the convenience is certainly nice, I definitely don't think it comes close to being on par with the fresh herb. Especially in terms of aroma. You lose the subtle flavour components that make cilantro unique, I think (and the world's most common herb).

[Bueno]

Cilantro.. really?

Fresh cilantro is available at literally every grocery store I shop at. I absolutely view it as a common, widely available herb. Never would it occur to me that someone would have trouble sourcing it. I buy it weekly at Loblaws more often than not, but my Sobey's carries it, as well as A&P every time I've been there lookin'.

I can't believe Harvest Wagon or Pusateri's did not have cilantro. I was just at Pusateri's this morning and could have sworn it was there.

Have you tried Whole Foods?

[Gary]

I always buy bunches of leafy cilantro at the St Lawrence Market. It's usually for sale at all the veggie places on the top and lower floor, $2 a bunch. Freshness varies; I wish the bunches were smaller because we always end up tossing at least half. The Market Square Dominion carries cilantro sometimes, but not always.

The best selection of chili peppers I've seen is at the veggie place on the lower floor of the St. Lawrence Market, across from the Chinese food place. They have about a half dozen varieties. But I agree, when you try to follow recipes from the southern US, Mexico, Latin America, etc., they often call for varieties of peppers that I've never seen here.

[orangewasabi]

You can find cilantro pretty consistently at the chinese supermarket on the east side of Spadina, just north of Dundas (the one where you go down a few steps to get inside). They are the most consistent vendor of thai basil too, btw.

[vorpal]

In common lingo, although technically incorrect, cilantro = coriander. Any grocery store should carry it.

[bluedog]

Vorpal is right. While Yongeman may be technically correct, I see the terms used interchangeably for the plant. Seeds are always coriander.

[foodyDudey]

In my family, we never mentioned "cilantro", it was either coriander seeds or leaves. I don't even remember anyone mentioning "cilantro" 15 or 20 years ago.

[Googs]

I noted that the OP seems to be American where I think only the term cilantro is used. I wanted to clear up any confusion with terms used commonly in Canada and not in the US in order to aid their search. Hence, coriander.

[wikked]

loblaws carries it

[freeflychef]

When you talk about cilantro, one usually refers to the fresh herb. Coriander is the seed from cilantro, in other words a spice. The three places where you went have great produce, but sometimes for the really special/ unusual products, you should goto either of the two chinatowns, or kensington.

[Yongeman]

I'd respectfully disagree with freeflychef. It depends which part of the world you come from. In much of the world, "coriander" refers to both the plant and seeds of the plant. In the Western Hemisphere, "cilantro" is usually the plant itself (leaves and stems), while the seed is called "coriander". In Indian cooking, the plant is definitely called, "coriander". I know--I put a whole chopped bunch of coriander into the aloo gobi that I make.

[Googs]

Forgive me if you already know this, but you might look for cilantro by it's other name, coriander. If you're looking for fresh herbs, I suggest crossing the street from SLM to the Farmers' Market. There's a stand at the south end in the middle that has pretty good stuff. Go early for best selection. Try not to be intoxicated by the aromas. I dare you.

[hellohellokitty]

Chinatown will definitely have it. Your local grocers or supermarket should carry it as well...and yes, both cilantro and coriander have been known to be used interchangably!