Coriander

"And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like Coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey."

Exodus xvi. 31.

"Coriander taken out of season doth trouble a mann's witt with great jeopardy of madness." William Turner,

A Newe Herball, 1551.

Coriander, Mallows, Chervil and Dill love to grow near each other, is told us by nearly all the old herbalists, and as they flower about the same time, they look very well together. Coriander was one of the bitter herbs ordained to be eaten at the Passover; and in Egypt, where it was
largely cultivated, the seeds were bruised to mix with bread. All Eastern nations esteem it highly, but apart from drugs, we only use it now in liqueurs and for the little Sugar balls beloved by children ; but formerly it was commonly grown in herb gardens, and is one of the plants described in the oldest original English treatise on gardening. The Feate of Gardening, by Mayster Jon Gardener, 1440. Coriander seed has the delightful quality of becoming more fragrant the longer it is kept. The foliage of the plant has an almost offensively strong odour.
CORIANDER is a hardy annual. Sow the seeds at the end of March.

CORIANDER WATER.

Take a handful of Coriander seeds, break them and put them into about a quart of water, and
so let it stand, put in a quarter of a pound of sugar, and when your sugar is melted and the water well taken the taste of the seeds, then strain it out through a cloath and drink it at your pleasure. You may do the same with aniseeds.

A Perfect School of Instruction for the Officers of the Month, by Giles Rose, one of the Master Cooks to Charles II, 1682.

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