jIf your coriander has grown a little bad-tempered lately and bolted up to flower, don’t despair. Though the plants will produce little in the way of gorgeous leaves, they aren’t cutting off their nose to spite their faces. In fact, flowering coriander is just the sign of an even better harvest still to come. In the meantime, not only will those pretty white flowers look divine in the veg patch, they also attract plenty of very friendly beneficial insects such as hoverflies which do good works in your veg patch in return for the odd drink of nectar.
Soon the seeds will swell and begin to ripen. I leave my plants in situ until they have grown rather golden, then I chop them down and hang them upside down in a brown paper bag until the seeds are fully dry.
Then I pull the seeds off the plants, spread them on a tray and roast them gently in the oven for about half an hour to stop them from getting any funny ideas about sprouting. And then you’re ready for business, or at least carrot and coriander soups for the rest of the winter with that marvellous burnt-orange peel taste or freshly crushed coriander seeds.
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Caro (UrbanVegPatch)
My coriander has gone to seed so this is a timely article as I want to harvest the seeds. I hadn’t thought about roasting them in the oven but it makes sense! For coriander in flower – and at the expense of a few seeds later on – try snipping a few flowers to add to summer salads as an edible flower.
F&F
Good idea! I’m not sure everyone roasts them in the oven, but I prefer it to stop any sprouting issues and also because the smell as they cook is incredible.