If you can’t stand cilantro, perhaps Papalo will do
Put on the deer antlers and hideous sweaters, ‘tis the season of dips. Many Mexican dips will hide the herb coriander (Coriandrum sativum) that those growing up with find uplifting while others taste only soap.
More than genes may be at work to explain why some of us only taste soap in cilantro. Our sense of smell and taste are so important to survival, from what is good to eat to finding a mate, they can control how we react to new flavors.
Taste a food for the first time and the brain searches to link that new flavor to a past experience. So the strong smell of cilantro only smells like food if you grew up eating it; otherwise to the brain it smells like soap and soap it is, spit it out!
Ironically we associate cilantro with Mexican food when cilantro (Coriandrum sativum) is native to the Mediterranean. Cilantro is actually an Old World herb used to mimic the taste of the original New World herb Papalo (Porophyllum ruderale). This robust native herb, also known as Papaloquelite, has large, blue-green leaves with a mellow taste that seems to combine the flavors of cilantro, lemon, rue and even arugula. Add Papalo chopped raw in salads, tacos, chili con carne, and salsas.
Papalo grows easily once established. A single planting will give you fresh greens for the season. In warm years you find that it self-sows. Papalo will not go to seed or bolt in the summer like cilantro.
Sow the tiny seeds outdoors one-quarter-inch deep about an inch apart. It grows well in average garden soil in full sun, or even partial shade. Be aware that Papalo seed germination is often low and variable. Expect seedlings in seven to 21 days. Once the plants are established, thin them to stand no closer than 15 inches apart. Eventually each plant will reach three to five feet tall.
To harvest, pick individual leaves or cut off the entire tips of the plants. They will soon regrow. Seeds are available from specialty growers such as Johnny’s Seeds (Johnny’s Seeds, 955 Benton Ave., Winslow ME 04901-2601, www.johnnyseeds.com; phone 877-564-6697); or Hudson Valley Seed Library (www.seedlibrary.org, phone 845-204-8769, Hudson Valley Seed Library, 484 Mettacahonts Road, Accord, NY 12404).
If you just cannot stand the taste of cilantro, perhaps the authentic native herb Papalo will do it for you.
After all, each new experience updates the patterns of the brain, perhaps shifting how we perceive a food. Forget cilantro, the European imposter; grow Papalo and share this Aztec-era taste with family and friends.
If you associate the novel taste of Papalo with good times, eventually your brain may change its mind, and the only association with soap will be that you have cleansed your brain.
