Cilantro (Coriander) vs. Flat-Leaf (Italian) Parsley vs. Curly-Leaf Parsley - An Easy Way To Tell The Difference

[DonRocks]

"What Is Cilantro? What Is Parsley? How To Tell The Difference ..." by Kristina Vanni on BetterRecipes.com.

(I realize that for many cooks here this may be banal, but differentiating between herbs on sight alone has always been a weakness of mine, so I figure others may have similar troubles.)

Related:

"What's The Difference? Flat-Leaf and Curly-Leaf Parsley" by Emily Ho on TheKitchn.com.

[zoramargolis]

Curly leaf parsley is useless and tasteless. When wrapped in opaque plastic bags in my produce drawer, I sometimes grab parsley when I want cilantro. The surest way to tell the difference is to pinch and sniff.

[porcupine]

^with all due respect, I disagree.  Generally curly parsley is milder than flat-leaved, but it isn't tasteless.

[The Hersch]

^with all due respect, I disagree.  Generally curly parsley is milder than flat-leaved, but it isn't tasteless.

Indeed, St. Marcella has written "Curly parsley is not a satisfactory substitute, although it is better than no parsley at all." (Essentials, p. 24)

[MsDiPesto]

I have found there are many supermarket produce bin re-stockers who can't tell the difference. So, yes, the nose test.