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elgatoloco
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Cilantro
We are leaving shortly for Baja norte to partake of the benefits.
Salsa herb holds health benefit
Study finds compound in cilantro kills harmful bacteria
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Another reason to eat spicy foods: cilantro, an herb key to many cuisines and central to salsa, can kill food poisoning
bacteria, researchers said on Tuesday.
U.S. and Mexican researchers said they had identified a compound in cilantro that kills harmful Salmonella bacteria. They hope it can be developed
into a safe food additive that could help prevent foodborne illness.
The study, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, shows why salsa, a staple of Mexican food, and many other spicy foods seem to
have innate antibacterial activity. It fits in with other studies done over the years that show popular spices can keep food from spoiling.
The compound, called dodecenal, is found in the fresh leaves and the seeds of cilantro, also known as coriander.
In lab dishes dodecenal was twice as effective as the commonly used antibiotic drug gentamicin against Salmonella, a frequent and sometimes deadly
cause of foodborne illness.
"We were surprised that dodecenal was such a potent antibiotic," Isao Kubo, a chemist at the University of California, Berkeley who led the study,
said in a statement.
But it is not potent enough to fight food poisoning in naturally occurring amounts, Kubo said.
"If you were eating a hot dog or hamburger you would probably have to eat an equivalent weight of cilantro to have an optimal effect against food
poisoning," Kubo said.
Kubo's team also found a dozen other antibiotic compounds in fresh cilantro that showed some activity against a variety of harmful bacteria.
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thebajarunner
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Location: Arizona....."Free at last from crumbling Cali
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Cilantro- authenticity
There are two quick ways to determine how authentic and tasty food will be when you are eating out...
First, if you want to test a new Mexican restaurant, always order a chile relleno.
That one is the easiest to screw up and the real test... if the relleno is good, the rest of the menu will be good.
The second, how much cilantro is used. Amazing how often you go to a pure "Gringo" home and they serve Mexican food, sin cilantro...
And equally surprising how we often have guests who point out the cilantro and inquire as to what is adding that unique taste to the dish.
Teresa, being from the farm in Jalisco, grows it fresh right outside the back door for quick access (and addition to all sorts of things)
Baja Arriba!!
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elgatoloco
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Es la verdad!
The chile relleno has ALWAYS been my litmus test. There is nothing like a well prepared chile relleno!
Barb grows and uses cilantro liberally in lots of dishes.
Between the cilantro and the tequila I think we can keep most of those nasty bacterias at bay!!
We are off to Yaqui Tacos for some carne asada and then on to Jaliesciense for some tacos de pescado y camaron
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bajalera
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Chiles rellenos are my standard test dish at unfamiliar restaurants, too. Only really bad one I've ever had was in TJ, where the nice lady at the door
handed us menus in English, which said "Stof Peeper." I assumed this was a chile relleno. Wrongo! It was a saggy, very tired sweet green peeper stof
with the kind of macaroni and cheese you get out of a Kraft box.
MORAL: Stick with the chile relleno as a test of quality, but don't accept a menu that's English-only. (Now that I think of it, I wonder what the
Spanish menu called that misbegotten stof peeper.)
Thanks for all that cilantro info, Gato!
Lera
\"Very few things happen at the right time, and the rest never happen at all. The conscientious historian will correct these defects.\" -
Mark Twain
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BajaCactus
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Stof Pepper
Bajalera... they are called "Experimentation with wondering tourists"...
Antonio M.
BajaCactus
"Where tha Baja is much more than a dream..."
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jeans
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Sin cilantro, por favor
I'm not a picky eater, but Cilantro with ruin anything on my plate.
I took a group of friends to La Espana?a last Sunday and when I was confrming that the dish did not contain cilantro, our waiter laughed and said
"You've been here before...I remember you!"
The funny thing is, is that I don't recall ever tasting cilantro in anything before the mid 80's. I started going to Ensenada in the 60's and spent a
lot of time there in the 70's.
In the mid 80's, I was living in Texas and tending bar in a restaurant that was serving a new (to me) dish that was all the rage....fajitas. I
couldn't figure out what that horrible taste ( & smell) was.  That was my
introduction to cilantro.
My dining life would be easier if I could learn to like it, but that's not happening.
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David K
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You hate cilantro as much as I hate mustard... Mustard just takes over the taste of whatever you add it to (in my opinion). I wish I liked it, and
life would be easier! Funny how I do like cilantro and always will add more if it is available!
When I saw the title of this thread, I half expected the subject was marijuana! Those of you from the Amigos board will recall when Lorenzo de Baja
and I stumbled upon an 'agricultural project' in Agua Caliente canyon... some amigo called it a 'cilantro farm'!!! http://vivabaja.com/baja_2001
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DanO
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Funny, I've noticed that people who don't like cilantro REALLY don't like it. I wonder if it's some sort of chemically or biologically based
aversion. Anyway, ditto on the relleno as a bellwether of Mexican cooking. I particularly like how they do them in New Mexico -- deep fried until
very crispy, instead of pan fried. Only bad thing about them is that you have to wait for them to cool down before eating.
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jrbaja
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Chile rellenos
are also my test and usual order when eating out. Seems like there's enough interest here to share something with yall. Cazuela del Mole in Rosarito
Beach makes some of the best I've ever had. Enjoy.
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Herb
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| Quote: | Originally posted by jrbaja
Cazuela del Mole in Rosarito Beach makes some of the best I've ever had. Enjoy. |
Uh Oh, the secret is out! This place has Some of the best Mexican food (that is not just Baja Regional food) that I have had anywhere in the country
and the prices are excellent as well. Jeans will appreciate that they have many sin-cilantro dishes.(although I love the little green weed myself)
To tell you the truth, I like Cazuela de Mole even more than Taco de Hutz@@#$$ in Ensenada (I refuse to learn to spell anything that requires that
much effort in any language).
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Bedman
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Cilantro?? What's that???
It was July 12, 2003 and we had just pulled into the small town of Hot Springs, S. Dakota. We decided we were hungry and stopped at a cute restaurant
in town called Mi Cocina. The sign read, ?Real home made mexican food?. My chili rellanos were wrapped in won tons and deep fried, go figure. The
salsa was enchilada sauce straight out of the can, the chips were Doritos. Bedman had the Enchillada plate, they used cheddar cheese for his
enchilada's and when he asked if he could have a small dish of Cilantro and chopped onion, they didn't know what Cilantro was! The rice was "Spanish"
style with big pieces of canned tomatoes, It was a Hoot. We laughed all through the meal. When the waitress asked us, "How was the food?", we told her
it was okay, but it wasn?t anything like any mexican food we ever had. She got a little defensive and when we paid the bill, the owner told us, "She
had tried mexican food in Texas, Arizona and Mexico and didn?t like any of them. So, she made up her own recipes". We went back to camp laughing about
this ladies perception of "Real Homemade Mexican food"
Bedman
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Skeet/Loreto
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Mexican Food is different in the States than when in Mexico{Except if you are in Dos Palos Calif. where we are 72% mexicano.
Virginia and i would, after living in Loreto several years, try to seek out good Mexican Food on our trips back to the States.Wefound as everyone else
that it depends on the Cook and where he obtained the materials for the preparation.
We grow many of our on Herbs on our back porch.
My Son Todd, the Exc. Chef at the Marriott Greenway Plaza uses herbs and {Cilantro} is
n his cooking each Day.]
The "La Monito" in Merced Calif. is truly Mexicano, serving a different Soup each Day, with Posloe on Saturday, Birria on Sunday.
P.S. Jeans, Where did you tend Bar in Texas?
Skeet/Loreto
"In God I Trust"
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SoCalAl
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The chiles rellenos is the test? I don't think so.? The frijoles fritos and the salsa is what makes a Mexican restaurant. Chiles rellenos is just
another dish, however it is one of the most difficult to get right. There are so many various ways to prepare them. That depends on which part of
the country (Mexico) the cook is from. I particularily care most for the Jalisco styles. One is in a soup and the other in a sour cream sauce. I
believe David K and Debra had a taste of that at BOLA last year. The refried beans and the salsa is what really matters at least for most Mexicans.
My rule of thumb is, make sure that the locals are packing the place before eating there. It is always a good sign to see the locals eating at a
restaurant in their neiborhood.
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jrbaja
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Chile Rellenos
In a soup ? Sounds kinda messy.
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Debra
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I'm with "Jeans" Cilantro translates into "soap weed" to me 
And I have to admit....I was afraid of Alex's Chili Rellenos (I've never cared for them) but, had to have a bite, and it was pretty good.
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elgatoloco
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| Quote: | Originally posted by SoCalAl
The chiles rellenos is the test? I don't think so.? The frijoles fritos and the salsa is what makes a Mexican restaurant. Chiles rellenos is just
another dish, however it is one of the most difficult to get right. ------------------------------
I, elgatoloco, have yet to eat at a restaurant that new how to properly prepare chile rellenos (to my self proclaimed expertly opinionated and
discriminating taste buds) that had inferior frijoles and salsa. However the reverse has been true.
It is HARD but not impossible to find a chile relleno worth remembering. 
Well prepared salsa and frijoles are more readily available.
LET'S EAT!
[Edited on 6-14-2004 by elgatoloco] |
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jrbaja
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Truck stops along Highway 1 in Baja
generally have some pretty good rellenos. The almejas aren't bad either from what I hear
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SoCalAl
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Chiles rellenos should not be for mass production anyway. It is more a labor of love when cooking them. To make them right it takes tedious patience
and know how. I could wright out the recipe and hand it to a bunch of people and each person would have a diffrent end result.
I agree with elgatoloco about finding a restaurant with great chiles rellenos. The only place I used to get them right was at grandma's, now it is
one of my aunts and a sister that get them right. Although all 7 of my aunts and 20 or so cousins can cook them. Only those two people inherited my
grandma's special touch. I am the third (I think?). As far as the beans and salsa, go to a restaurant with bas beans and salsa and that is a Mexican
restaurant that is not frequented by Mexicans, example Acapulcos, El Torito.
Have you ever noticed the diffrence between a busy taco stand and one that was not busy right next door? It's the fresh beans and delicious salsa...
Menudo and birria are the other two plates that I think only certain people can cook well and when well cooked they are delicious. When not they can
be a nightmare, scaring people and making them vow never to try that dish again. 
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bajalera
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We're talking RESTAURANT food here, SoCalAl, not the good stuff Granny makes. The advantage of using chiles rellenos as a test, to me, is that even
the bad ones are pretty good. The same can't be said of menudo and birria, where bad can be the absolute pits.
bajalera
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SoCalAl
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HMMMM, Good point. I still think that the poeple visiting the restaurant make it what it is. If you want good Mexican food you should go to a
retaurant jam packed with Mexicans. If you want good Chinese, the same rule applies. It works for me, maybe it will work for you.
Anyway, don't mean to step on anyones toes. Just thinking out loud, that's all.
All this talk about food is making me hungry.
Out to lunch, later...
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