Its not quality, its texture. The bolted leaves tend to be tougher and their stems are very fiberous. You can use them if you like, but any people also find them a bit bitter tasting. Planting several batches of coriander seeds spacd apart by a couple of wweks will give you a longer lasting supply.

I didn't do successive plantings, but I could always sow some new seeds (despite the fact that it's getting hot out). I'll just hope that these won't bolt before I get a good batch of ripe tomatoes to make salsa with.

Thanks for the replies. I can't wait to start making the salsa. (will be my first try)

Try planting many seeds in pots and have them growing in shade. Once added to salsa the corinadr flavor tends to weaken. After about 5 days the taste is nearly gone. Home canning salsa with cilantro will not help to hold onto the delicate flavor.

I guess I will have to make sure all the salsa is eaten fresh...I have heard that cilantro loses its flavor quickly. I wonder if culantro would keep its flavor for canned salsa? Also it would do better in the heat. Our grocery store always has some potted herbs for $2 a piece, and occasionally they get one or two culantro plants. I'll have to get one next time I see one.

I love cilantro but it tastes soapy to me after it bolts.

I have read that most of the cilantro seeds and plants we can commonly buy are for the type of plant that is grown for seeds - coriander. Cilantro also hates to be transplanted, which is why it bolts soon after planting seedlings.

Last fall, I traded for "slow-bolt" seeds and see a difference in the leaves. It is growing slower as well.

Although I don't have tomatoes, I'll buy some (bad I know) and make two salsas, one with each cilantro. My "normal" cilantro is getting those dill leaves now - UGH, but the other is just getting going.

I'll also save a bunch of "slow bolt" seeds when it does flower.

I made some salsa this weekend with store-bought romas and my own cilantro. It was disgusting, there was a bittish taste to it which I attributed to a bit a serrano pepper which I had used in salsa for the first time. But now I am thinking it was bolted ciltranto. Does that sound right, a bitter taste with a strong aftertaste?

I love serrano peppers. You don't need much, they have more heat than jalapenos. And while the pepper has obvious heat, I wouldn't expect it to be bitter at all. I would more suspect the cilantro than the pepper.

Do you get an aftertaste if you taste the fresh cilantro yourself?

FataMorgana

ditnc - I actually just continue using my cilantro after it bolts as I cannot really taste a difference (and am usually very sensitive to bitter tastes), so you really need to try it alone to figure out if it is that.

The big difficulty with bolted cilantro is that the leaves are to tiny and you cannot use the stems as they are very tough.

Store bought plum tomatoes have no taste. I bought a few for slicing and even allowed them to ripen more on the counter, but they simply had not tomato flavor. Using store bought in a salsa is just going to give you the spices flavors and onions and peppers flavors. Hardly worth making without some good home grown tomatoes.

I was wondering the same thing about cilantro, as I have some now in my first garden here in Denver. I started a store bought cilantro plant about 5-6 weeks ago, and it already bolted probably 2 weeks ago. Now it's the tallest thing in my garden! I still have some of the regular leaves left on the bottom to use though. I used some last night in my guac, and I thought they still tasted great. Haven't tried those thin little leaves on the bolts though, I was wondering if they were any good. Guessing they must be what is bitter? They are definitely different from the normal wide leaves.

I went ahead and bought some seed last week and planted it, but now it sounds like that is going to take quite a long time before it comes up, so I might have to find another plant. Probably should have spaced them out a bit instead of planting several at once also. Oh well, live and learn. I assume the bolted plant will take a very long time to seed and start new plants, probably not even this year? Sure is wonderful to have fresh cilantro all the time though!

Corinader seeds wil sprout in a few days outside and by a month, you should be getting harvestable leaves. Taste some of the opper leaves to see if you like the flavor. When planting, avoid a lot of heat and sun. Also, plant some more seeds in about 2 weeks, then more 2 weeks after that. You will then have a whole summer of cilantro. Bolted plants will flower first and then produce the fruits (seeds). These may start to show up in less than 30 days.