In the U.S., it's common for "coriander" to refer to the seeds, and "cilantro" to refer to the stems and leaves.

Not trying to justify that practice, just explaining.

> Not trying to justify that practice, just explaining.

I will. Seeds and the leaves serve very different purposes and tastes and so having different words is great :}

Cilantro is the Spanish word for coriander.

My speculation is that cilantro/coriander leaves entered the American mainstream via their use in Mexican food, which is why the Spanish word stuck when it comes to the leaves. But I could be wrong.

Cilantro is indeed from Spanish and a later borrowing. https://www.etymonline.com/word/cilantro#etymonline_v_13705

And Coriander is from Old French https://www.etymonline.com/word/coriander?ref=etymonline_cro... traced all the way back to

> from Greek koriannon, often said by botanists to be related to koris "bedbug" from the bad smell of the unripe fruit, or perhaps it is a non-Indo-European word conformed to the Greek insect name.

Not only that, but I find the taste different. I'm one of those people who thinks cilantro tastes like soap. For me, it overpowers all other flavors in a dish, but I find coriander seeds to be mild and pleasant tasting.

Ooh I’ve been waiting for this to come up!

I also have the soap gene and avoid cilantro. A friend told me he heard that if you harvest the cilantro before it flowers, then whatever causes the soapiness is not there. He had some that he’d gotten from a co-op, I skeptically tried a bit, and I’ll be damned! It’s true!

This obviously won’t help you at the grocery store or at restaurants, but if you want to know why most people rave about it, track some down. It’s quite tasty.

I was the same, but I found that repeated exposure to cilantro leaves in my food eventually gave me a taste for it in certain dishes.

I've always tasted the soapiness, but never minded it. As you say, it tastes right in certain dishes. I've always wondered if I'm just not getting as strong a soap flavor as others.

Same here. Can't eat anything with the smallest traces of the leafs. Seeds are ok though. Didn't find them tasting "soapy", but I must admit that I have never really tried actual soap, so it's hard to compare...

Ah, interesting, thanks! Here in UK both seeds and leaves are just called coriander, but I've heard the term cilantro used for the same plant.

I believe they use the term "coriander" to refer to the seeds, while they use the term "cilantro" to refer to the leafy matter.