Kid-friendly Cilantro Crema Recipe - Sticky Fingers Cooking
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Recipe: Cilantro Crema

Recipe: Cilantro Crema

Cilantro Crema

by Erin Fletter
Photo by nblx/Shutterstock.com
prep time
5 minutes
cook time
makes
4-6 servings

Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills

  • mash :

    to reduce food, like potatoes or bananas, to a soft, pulpy state by beating or pressure.

  • tear :

    to pull or rip apart a food, like basil leaves, into pieces instead of cutting with a knife; cutting breaks cell walls more, so herbs can discolor faster.

Equipment Checklist

  • Small bowl
  • Dry measuring cups
  • Measuring spoons
scale
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7X

Ingredients

Cilantro Crema

  • 1 handful cilantro
  • 1 lime
  • 1/4 C Greek yogurt or sour cream **(for DAIRY ALLERGY sub dairy-free/nut-free yogurt/sour cream)**
  • 1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 pinch ground black pepper

Food Allergen Substitutions

Cilantro Crema

  • Dairy: Substitute dairy-free/nut-free yogurt or sour cream.

Instructions

Cilantro Crema

1.
tear + combine

Have your kids tear up the leaves of 1 handful of cilantro and add to a bowl with the juice of 1 lime, 1/4 cup Greek yogurt, 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 pinch of black pepper.

2.
mash + enjoy!

Mash everything together until combined and creamy. Enjoy the Crema with your tacos!

Surprise Ingredient: Cilantro & Coriander!

back to recipe
Photo by kostrez/Shutterstock.com

Hi! I'm Cilantro!

"I'm the leaves of the coriander plant. Some people love me, and some people hate me. The ones that can't stand me think I taste like soap. The ones that love me, can't get enough of me in their Mexican or Thai food. My cousin, Coriander, is the fruit or seed of the plant, and we don't taste anything alike!"

History & Etymology

  • Coriander plants are native to Southern Europe, Western Asia, and Northern Africa. Evidence of coriander seeds found in Israel is believed to be 6,000 to 8,000 years old.
  • Coriander seed is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Greek and Roman physicians praised its medicinal powers. It may have been one of the plants that grew in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
  • Coriander is mentioned in the Ebers Papyrus, an Egyptian medical resource on herbs, written around 1550 BCE, and coriander seeds were found in Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamen's tomb. Since it does not grow wild in Egypt, ancient Egyptians must have cultivated the plants. 
  • Coriander is one of the earliest cultivated plants in colonial North America, dating back to 1670. It soon appeared in Latin America, where the leaves, rather than the seed, became most popular and where it is called "cilantro."
  • In the United States, the coriander leaves are also called "cilantro," possibly due to their prevalence in Mexican food. The seeds are called "coriander" in American English. 
  • Today, coriander plants are cultivated in temperate areas, such as the Mediterranean region of Southern Europe, Mexico, and California in the United States. Mexico exports the most cilantro worldwide, and California produces the most in the US.
  • The word "coriander" is Middle English from the Old French "coriandre," from the Latin "coriandrum," from the Greek "koriannon."

Anatomy

  • Coriandrum sativum is a small, hollow-stemmed plant in the Apiaceae family. Other aromatic flowering members of the Apiaceae family include carrot, celery, cumin, dill, fennel, and parsley. 
  • Coriander is fast-growing and prefers cool weather, so plant it in the spring or fall. You can harvest the leaves throughout the growing period when they are large enough to eat. When the air warms, a stalk will grow from the plant with pink or white flowers, producing fruit or seeds that are about .12 to .2 inches in diameter. 

Flavors & Culinary Uses

  • Coriander is a popular herb and spice used around the globe, including India, Mexico, Thailand, Vietnam, China, the Caribbean, and North Africa. All of these places use cilantro or coriander in their native cuisines.
  • Coriander is also known as cilantro and Chinese parsley. In the United States, cilantro refers to the fresh leaves used as an herb and coriander to the seeds used as a spice. They are quite different in flavor and cannot be used as substitutes for one another. The roots are also eaten as a vegetable. 
  • Cilantro leaves are one of those tastes that people either love or hate and descriptions of flavor and aroma vary widely. It is often described as pungent, with a lemon, pepper, and parsley-like flavor; however, it tastes like soap for some people. Dried cilantro leaves are subtler in flavor. 
  • Whether you think cilantro leaves are delicious or taste like soap may have to do with genetics! Taste a leaf. Does it taste bright and lemony or soapy? If it tastes soapy, this is due to a difference in your body's olfactory-receptor genes and their reaction to the natural aldehyde chemicals in the leaves.  
  • Cilantro can be a small addition to your salsa or the primary ingredient. You can add its distinctive flavor to guacamole, salads, coleslaw, and soups. Pesto can be made with cilantro leaves instead of basil. It is a garnish for Mexican and Thai dishes.
  • Coriander seed, whole or ground, tastes lemony and slightly peppery. It is sometimes compared to caraway. It goes well with other sweet and warm spices, such as cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, ginger, and nutmeg. Coriander is in Indian spices, like curry powder and garam masala. It is also found in chili powders and barbecue rubs. 

Nutrition

  • Coriander seeds are high in fiber! Its seeds are an excellent source of minerals, such as calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, and selenium.
  • Coriander seeds have essential volatile oils and fatty acids that are helpful for digestion.
  • Cilantro leaves are rich in vitamins A, C, and K! Our cells, eyes, and immune system need vitamin A to stay healthy. Vitamin C also benefits our immune system and is associated with wound healing. Vitamin K is necessary for blood clotting and bone building.

Let's Learn About Mexico!

Photo by Alena Darmel
  • Officially, Mexico's name is "The United Mexican States." It is one of several countries and territories in North America, including Canada and the United States of America.
  • Spanish is Mexico's national language, and Mexico is the largest Spanish-speaking country in the world. Mexican people didn't always speak Spanish, though. For thousands of years, Native Americans lived there and built great cities. The people had advanced language, education, and calendar systems, and they had very clever ways of raising food. Mexico is also the country with the largest number of native American speakers in North America. 
  • The capital of Mexico is Mexico City. Mexican legend says that Aztec leaders were told to build their great city of Tenochtitlan at the site where they saw an eagle sitting on a nopal cactus with a snake in its beak. That image is in the center of Mexico's flag. The Aztecs built their city on an island in the middle of a lake. The ruins of Tenochtitlan are at the center of Mexico City and still sit on top of a lake! As water is pumped out to serve the needs of the city's growing population, the city has been sinking at a rate of 6 to 8 inches per year.  
  • Indigenous Mexican people included the Aztecs in the central interior of the country, the Mayans of the Yucatan peninsula, and the Zapotec of the south. Spanish explorers landed in Mexico in the early 1500s, and they ruled Mexico for over 300 years. During this time of colonization, Mexico's Mesoamerican civilizations mixed with European culture.
  • Before the arrival of Spaniards, native Mexican food primarily consisted of corn, beans, peppers, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, and herbs. Indigenous people occasionally hunted and added wild turkey, rabbit, deer, and quail to their largely vegetarian diets. Native royalty sipped chocolate drinks. Europeans introduced cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, chickens, sugarcane, and wheat to Mexico upon their arrival. 
  • Mexican cuisine uses chili peppers to give it its distinct flavor. Jalapeños, poblanos, and serrano peppers are commonly used in Mexican dishes. Dishes that include mole, a sauce made of dark chocolate, chili peppers, cinnamon, and other spices, may be served on special occasions, such as Día de los Muertos. 

What is it like to be a kid in Mexico?

  • Mexican children may live near the ocean or the gulf, in the desert, or in the mountains. 
  • Kids often live with extended family, including grandparents. Their full names include their father's and their mother's.
  • Most kids speak Spanish, but Mexico also recognizes 68 native languages. 
  • They attend school from September through June. Large schools have two shifts—one group in the morning and one in the afternoon. Students are usually required to wear uniforms. 
  • They may play soccer, baseball, and other sports. Jumping rope and other outdoor games are very popular. They might play a game similar to bingo called Lotería. It is played with picture cards and songs. 
  • Corn tortillas are a staple for kids, along with beans and rice. Dishes that include mole, a sauce often made of dark chocolate, chili peppers, cinnamon, and other spices, may be served on special occasions. 
  • A popular family holiday is Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), a celebration to remember and honor a family's ancestors. Family members decorate the graves of their relatives who have passed on. Typical foods served for this holiday include empanadas, tamales, pan de muertos (a sweet bread in which a ring with a tiny plastic skeleton is hidden), and calaveras de azucar (sugar candy skulls). 

That's Berry Funny

Today I gave out free coriander to those in need.

It was an act of cilantropy (philanthropy).

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