When we introduced Cilantro last October, it raised a few eyebrows—and even more questions. The most common one:
'Why cilantro?'
“We chose cilantro because it’s something that people are extremely familiar with,” Empirical head of product Rodrigo Nincao explains. “We see it in cuisines around the world. It’s used in many different types of dishes.”
"We know cilantro is divisive, that’s why we chose it" Rodrigo Nincao, Empirical Head of Product
He adds, “At the same time, it's very divisive. A lot of people hate it. But we believed that we could create an experience that would still be very surprising, and would put us in the middle of novelty and familiarity.”
Putting an Empirical spin on cilantro did not mean merely taking fresh cilantro, steeping it in alcohol and distilling it. Rather, the team began by researching the different stages and forms of the cilantro plant, from seeds to stem. “The flavors in cilantro are not necessarily the same depending on how you look at the plant,” Nincao says. Stems taste different from the leaves, while coriander seeds have their own flavor.
“Our idea was: How can we somehow express and show the plant as a whole?,” he says. “And layer all the flavors that you can find in the cilantro plant? The composition of the leaves, the stems, the seeds, the flowers.”
The team broke down cilantro’s flavors into compounds, and identified how similar flavor compounds exist in other fruits and vegetables. For example, linalool naturally occurs in coriander, but also limes, lavender and mint. Empirical Cilantro uses lime and tomatillo flavors to enhance cilantro’s citrusy, herbaceous notes.
“What we think of as ‘flavor,’ is not one thing but rather a group of components,” Nincao says. “We use tomatillo, lime and cilantro flavors which, when put together, will give you the experience of getting a bunch of cilantro in your hand and smelling it.”
Were we successful in bottling that garden-fresh herbaceousness? We think so. “Don’t take my word for it,” Nincao says. “You should try it. See how you feel about it.”
Curious to try Empirical Cilantro? Here’s where you can find a retailer near you. Want ideas for Cilantro recipes? Here’s our recipe library.