Culantro
- First taste
- 6 months
- Choking risk
- low
- Common allergen
- no
- Iron
- low
Like cilantro · stronger taste
When can babies eat culantro?
Culantro can start when your baby is ready for solids, around 6 months.
Other names include recao, shado beni and ngò gai. It is a leafy herb from the tropical Americas. Cooks in South America, the Caribbean and Southeast Asia use it widely. Its aroma resembles cilantro, but its taste is sharper and stronger. Heat bothers it less than it bothers its fragile relative. Cooks lean on it in raw and cooked dishes alike, for example Puerto Rican sofrito, Trinidadian green seasoning, Vietnamese soups and Thai curries.
Nutrition
Small amounts of assorted vitamins, minerals and fiber are in culantro. Phenols, flavonoids and carotenoids, which are plant compounds, are in it too. The source says these may have anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and antioxidant effects.
How do you prepare culantro for babies?
How it differs from cilantro
Culantro is not the same plant as cilantro. The flavors are similar, but they are different plants. Culantro leaves are longer, broader and serrated. The taste is stronger and more concentrated.
Sauce and sofrito
You can season your baby's food with a green sauce or sofrito. Do not add salt to these blends.
The source gives no salt warning. Prepare without salt for babies and ask a health professional.
Blends
Some dried herb blends featuring culantro may hold common food allergens. If your child has a food allergy, read the label closely.
Preparation by age
The same food is served differently at each age. What matters is how your baby sits, grasps and chews, more than the calendar.
6 months
6 months · How to mince or make a saucemash
Whiz fresh culantro with some oil and a squeeze of citrus to make a vivid green sauce, then spoon it over foods suited to your baby's age, like chicken strips or tofu. Or mince it very fine and stir into mashed vegetables, rice or yogurt. Culantro sofrito can serve as the starting point for stews and rice dishes. Serve your baby age-appropriate pieces from these shared meals.
9 months
9 months · How to add to patties and saucescube
Cut: Finely chopped
Add finely chopped or blended culantro to sauces, sofrito or meat patties. Sprinkle it over bean dishes and steamed vegetables. Keep making green sauces to season your baby's food.
12 months
12 months · How to use as you normally wouldcube
Use culantro in your usual way, even when a recipe asks for larger chopped leaves. Big leaf pieces can set off a little gagging or coughing in a toddler. Have an open cup of water or milk within reach. If culantro feels uncomfortable, encourage a sip.
Is culantro a choking hazard for babies?
Choking risk: low
Risk is low. Larger leaf pieces after 12 months may cause gagging or coughing. Keep an open cup of water or milk handy.
Culantro is a low-risk food. In theory, any food can cause choking. Prepare it for your child's age. Stay within reach at meals. After 12 months, larger leaf pieces may make a toddler gag or cough a little.
Is culantro a common allergen?
Culantro is not a common allergen. Allergy to it is uncommon.
Oral allergy syndrome
Oral allergy syndrome (pollen food allergy syndrome) can lead to a reaction, mostly in people with birch or mugwort pollen allergy or with sensitivity to foods in the Apiaceae family (carrot, celery, coriander, cumin, dill, fennel). Culantro belongs to the Apiaceae family too. A short bout of tingling, itching or burning in the mouth may follow. A dangerous reaction is not expected. Cooking culantro may reduce the reaction.
Key nutrients
Frequently asked questions about culantro
When can babies have culantro?
When ready for solids, around 6 months. Serve it finely minced or as a sauce.
Does culantro equal cilantro?
No. The flavors are similar but they are different plants. Culantro leaves are longer, broader and serrated, and the taste is stronger.
Is culantro an allergen?
It is not a common allergen. People with oral allergy syndrome may be sensitive. Cooking may reduce the reaction.
Where is culantro used?
In Puerto Rican sofrito, Trinidadian green seasoning, Vietnamese soups and Thai curries, in raw and cooked dishes.
Sources for this page
- Rodrigues TLM, Silva MEP, Gurgel ESC, Oliveira MS, Lucas FCA. (2022). Eryngium foetidum L. (Apiaceae): A Literature Review of Traditional Uses, Chemical Composition, and Pharmacological Activities. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. doi:10.1155/2022/2896895
- Thiviya P, Gunawardena N, Gamage A, Madhujith T, Merah O. (2022). Apiaceae Family as a Valuable Source of Biocidal Components and their Potential Uses in Agriculture. Horticulturae. doi:10.3390/horticulturae8070614
- Kashyap RR, Kashyap RS. (2015). Kashyap RR, Kashyap RS. Journal of Allergy 2015:543928. Journal of Allergy. doi:10.1155/2015/543928
- American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. (n.d.). Oral allergy syndrome.
Guides on iron, allergen introduction, gagging and drinks. Read the starting solids guides
Medical note
This page is for information only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Talk to your pediatrician before any feeding decision, especially about allergen introduction and reactions.
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Astro Tasarım Simay Yenice · Türkiye · merhaba@lokmini.com