Cilantro, botanically known as Coriandrum sativum, is a popular annual herb that adds a bright, citrusy flavor to many cuisines, including Mexican and Southeast Asian dishes. To ensure a steady supply of tender leaves, specific harvesting techniques must be employed to encourage continuous foliage production. Cutting your cilantro plant correctly allows for multiple harvests, maximizing the yield before the plant naturally ends its lifecycle.
Selecting the Best Leaves and Tools
A cilantro plant is ready for its first harvest when it reaches a height of at least six inches and displays a bushy appearance with several pairs of true leaves. Focus on younger, smaller leaves, as they possess the most intense flavor profile before the plant matures.
The right tools are necessary for a clean cut that minimizes stress on the plant. Use clean, sharp scissors, gardening shears, or a precise knife. Avoid dull blades, which crush or tear the stems and can make the plant susceptible to disease. A clean cut allows the plant to quickly seal the wound and channel energy into new growth.
Cutting for Continuous Growth
Sustainable harvesting uses the “cut-and-come-again” method. To promote continuous production, always harvest from the outer parts of the plant, leaving the small, central cluster of leaves untouched. This center is the plant’s growth point, and damaging it will halt future leaf production.
When cutting, target individual stems near the base of the plant, making the cut just above a leaf node. A leaf node is the point where a leaf meets the main stem. This strategic cut stimulates the plant to produce two new stems from the node, resulting in a bushier, more productive structure. Never remove more than one-third of the plant’s total foliage at any single harvest, as removing too much biomass weakens the plant and slows its recovery.
Recognizing and Handling Bolting
Cilantro is a cool-weather annual, and its harvest season is limited by bolting, which is its response to rising temperatures, typically above 70°F. Bolting is the plant’s shift into its reproductive stage; it stops producing broad leaves and sends up a tall flower stalk. The leaves become lacy, and the flavor quickly degrades, often becoming intensely bitter.
Once bolting begins, the process cannot be reversed, but you have two options. You can aggressively harvest the entire remaining plant immediately before the flavor becomes too sharp. Alternatively, you can allow the plant to go to seed, which produces the edible seeds known as coriander. Letting the plant mature fully provides a secondary spice harvest and may encourage self-seeding for new plants.
Post-Harvest Cleaning and Storage
The harvested leaves must be prepared before use or storage. Start by rinsing the stems under cool, running water to dislodge dirt, debris, or small insects. Handle the leaves gently to avoid bruising, which causes premature wilting and browning.
Once rinsed, remove excess moisture by gently patting the foliage dry with a paper towel or using a salad spinner. For short-term storage (up to a week), treat the cilantro like a bouquet: place the cut stems into a jar with an inch of water. Loosely cover the jar with a plastic bag and store it in the refrigerator, changing the water every few days. For longer preservation, finely chop the clean, dry leaves and pack them into ice cube trays, covering them with water or olive oil before freezing.