Do you hate the taste of cilantro?

[cyclonefence]

Both my husband and I do. He just thinks it tastes disgusting; I think it tastes the way a squashed stinkbug smells. Turns out there can be a genetic basis for cilantrophobia.

From https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2012/09/14/161057954/love-to-hate-cilantro-its-in-your-genes-and-maybe-in-your-head

There's no question that cilantro is a polarizing herb. Some of us heap it onto salsas and soups with gusto while others avoid cilantro because it smells like soap and tastes like crushed bugs.

Some people despise the lacy green herb so much that there's even an I Hate Cilantro website. There, cilantrophobes post haikus expressing their passionate anger and disgust at the leafy green: "Such acrid debris! This passes as seasoning? Socrates' hemlock!" writes user Dubhloaich.

But what separates the cilantro lovers from the haters? Is it hard-wired in our genes, as Harold McGee suggested a few years ago in the New York Times, or can we learn to enjoy cilantro if we associate its flavor with fresh fish tacos or bowls of spicy pho? It's probably not so simple.

Two studies published this week link the aversion for cilantro with specific genes involved in taste and smell. But, just like the flavors of the herb itself, the findings are nuanced: The genes appear to influence our opinion of cilantro but probably not as much as we initially thought.

[LAS14]

1. It's a genetic trait. For some people (like me), cilantro tastes like soap. nt

[proud patriot]

21. tastes like soap to me too

[Alacritous Crier]

32. Yes, for me I don't eat it plain...

because it tastes like soap, however, I do like it in dishes like pico de gallo.

[SharonClark]

56. Me, too.

I was watching a cooking show and one of the cooks was making a dish that looked delicious and then he ruined it by adding cilantro at the end. The cilantro didn’t even sound appropriate for an Italian dish. The cook should have used flat leaf parsley.

[guillaumeb]

2. All the best people love cilantro.

And yes, coincidentally enough, I do like cilantro.

[hlthe2b]

6. ++++ I think it tastes "fresh"... I love it in pico de gallo salsa

[guillaumeb]

10. I like it in tacos.

And pico de gallo.

[leftieNanner]

15. Me too!

You would love my fiesta cabbage salad then.

Come on over and we'll have a taco feed!

[guillaumeb]

17. My wife hates the taste,

but my 3 children love it.

My children also like Brussels sprouts, and my wife hates them.

[leftieNanner]

18. Love Brussels Sprouts!

I'm so glad my daughter broke up with that boyfriend who hated them!

[guillaumeb]

19. Well, my wife and I have been together for 40 years.

I forgive her for not liking cilantro, and Brussels sprouts.

She does not even like oven baked sprouts with Parmesan cheese.

[MoonchildCA]

22. Have you tried roasting them?

They are like a different vegetable. Cut them in half and let them get nice and brown around the edges. Yummy!

[guillaumeb]

25. Yes, I do that.

I put them in a bag with olive oil, black pepper, and Parmesan cheese.

She still does not like them. On the positive side, I eat all of them.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

33. I was told I would like them that way.

So I tried it and I still hate them. Roasting doesn't cook out that industrial-solvent flavor.

[leftieNanner]

26. You are a man of great courage and forbearance

[guillaumeb]

28. And a man who eats all of the sprouts when I make them.

So there is that advantage.

[leftieNanner]

30. Good Point

My husband eats everything (except spicy or spoiled) so I do have to share. 30 years for us.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. I like it, but I know a lot of people think it tastes like soap.

But I can't stand the taste of most of the cruciferous vegetables (especially Brussels sprouts or kale, eww!) or raw onions, all of which taste unbearably bitter to me. That, too, is a genetic thing.

[Phentex]

7. I love the veggies but can't tolerate raw onions...

I love cooked onions. I thought it might be a texture thing but a raw onion is super pungent to me. If I accidentally eat one in a salad or something, it's all I taste and it overpowers anything else. And the taste stays with me. Ick.

[Phentex]

4. My son and I taste soap...

my husband and other son love cilantro. I have posted before that I never knew this was a thing until I saw it on the internet and knew I wasn't crazy.

And before anyone asks, we all know what soap tastes like. It tastes like it smells. It tastes like when you are washing your face and a little soap gets near your mouth. It tastes like when a soap bubble pops on you. There are many ways to know what soap tastes like.

If you (general audience) have doubts, pour some dish washing liquid in your salsa and then enjoy!

[Siwsan]

5. I just had this conversation with one of my cousins

Pretty much her whole 'branch' of the family thinks it tastes like soap. My branch LOVES it.

[Laelth]

8. It tastes a bit like soap.

That’s the point. Like soap, cilantro (corriander) is basic, and it is added to highly acidic foods to neutralize the acid and improve digestion (it prevents upset stomach).

I adore cilantro because I associate it with the absence of an upset stomach when I am eating highly acidic foods.

-Laelth

[OAITW r.2.0]

9. Ha, I thought I'd post "takes like soap", thinking it would be a singular response.

Boy, was I wrong...

[Phentex]

14. We are your people...

in this time of quarantine, we no longer need to worry about places that use cilantro as a garnish.

[rsdsharp]

31. I think mine is the singular response.

To me, it tastes like dirt

[pnwest]

11. I love it, Mr. hates it. Pico de Gallo is just

sad-added diced tomatoes without it...

[BarbaRosa]

12. I have the soap gene.

.

[Cirque du So-What]

13. I had little exposure to cilantro until I was in my 20s (I'm 65 now)

It tasted like soap at first, but it went away after awhile. It's now one of my go-to herbs for all sorts of cuisine.

[MoonchildCA]

24. I didn't like it the first time I tasted it, 40-some odd years ago.

But now I absolutely love it!

[smirkymonkey]

43. I'm the same way.

It was a little bit of an acquired taste, but now I love it in Latin and Asian dishes. It tastes very fresh to me.

[Sneederbunk]

16. Take it easy. First, stroke the cilantro.

[Me.]

20. The Same With Broccoli

“On average, about 70% of us can taste something bitter in broccoli or PTC, but those with two copies of the bitter sensitivity gene are closer to 20%, and they are much more likely to hate it.”

https://www.sbs.com.au/topics/science/humans/article/2016/06/23/your-hatred-broccoli-may-not-be-just-your-head

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

34. Broccoli is the least loathsome of the cruciferous vegetables.

I don't mind it if it's well-cooked and especially if it's covered with cheese sauce. Its relatives are disgusting, though, especially Brussels sprouts, most kinds of cabbage and kale.

[Me.]

35. Sprouts & Broccoli Never Grace My Plate

So bitter. Cabbage is a different matter...colesale for one thing.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

36. Some coleslaw is OK, depending on what else is in it.

But I'm not a big fan. The other veggies aren't even food, AFAIC.

[gay texan]

37. Broccoli in any form

brings me to the point of throwing up. It tastes absolutely vile to me and i've tried it every way.

[Me.]

44. And here, Broccoli Rabe Is A Popular Side To A Restaurant Dinner

ugh

[3catwoman3]

23. I suspect there may be genetics involved in the perceived taste of many...

...foods.

In high school biology, during our genetics unit, one of the things we did was touch phenolphthalein paper to our tongues to see who could taste it and who could not. Some of us could, and some couldn't. Seeing as this was in way back in 1967, I no longer remember if the ability to taste it was a dominant or recessive trait.

I've known about brussels sprouts and cilantro for a while. Make perfect sense to me that this could also hold true for many other foods. Why not?

I have a feeling that at some future point, we will find out that almost everything about us is genetically influenced and we just don't know how to prove it yet.

[NRaleighLiberal]

27. dirty soapy dishwater. bleech...ruins anything it is in for me!

[LizBeth]

29. Recipe calls for quarter cup, I put in a cup.

[Kali]

54. ...

[TlalocW]

38. First time I had it

It was a metallic taste, but then the more I ate it the better. I'm big on Mexican food so now I load up on it.

Every now and then I get a pizza from a place called Pie Five. The last step before boxing up your pizza, they have some stuff you can add onto it, and one of them is cilantro. Every now and then I'll ask if I can have coriander leaves instead of cilantro, and when they say they don't have that, I'll say cilantro is fine.

It amuses me, and that's all I care about.

TlalocW

[Bayard]

39. Yack

Pitooey!!

[Squeaky41]

40. Cilantro

To me it is like parsley with personality. Roasted half sprouts with balsamic is great. Steamed broccoli with sharp cheddar sauce a charm.

[catbyte]

41. No, I love it, but it's genetic, I hear. To some, it tastes like soap, right?

[abqtommy]

42. No. I enjoy fresh cilantro. Perhaps you should try using better quality cilantro...

[OriginalGeek]

45. I have the soap gene BUT

I grew up in Texas and Tex-Mex and Mexican food are my favorite so I'm lucky that when I was in elementary school and daycare I got my mouth washed out with soap so much that now cilantro doesn't bother me.

Take THAT fuckers! Y'all didn't cure my mouth or stop me from eating cilantro!

[Phentex]

46. Individual rec for this post!

[rurallib]

47. Love at first bite for me

I also like the taste of raw broccoli.
One that may make people's hair stand on end is rhubarb. I love the taste of raw rhubarb. I could eat it all day.
Unfortunately my last source is gone so I have not had any this year.

[Squeaky41]

48. Rhubarb

Love its tang in pies or fruit salads.

[cyclonefence]

50. me too

Are there people who don't like it, even combined with strawberries? Can't imagine.

[yellowdogintexas]

49. I love cilantro!!! I never used it until we moved to Texas

but I have made up for lost time. I use it my homemade chili and a couple of curries that I make also call for it.

My son in law's mother serves a Persian salad at every meal = it is really a platter of parsley, mint and cilantro all tossed together and a bunch of radishes lurking inside. She leaves the stems on and after you get them on your own plate, everybody picks them up by the stem to eat the leaves.

She also makes this chicken herb stew with all those herbs and a ton of celery that is amazing. I have developed a great likeing for Persian food since my daughter started dating her husband.
The family is actually Kurdish; interestingly they never describe objects or food or dancing as Iranian - it is always Persian but they call the homeland Iran.

[Maraya1969]

51. It tastes like it could give me a headache. I hate it.

[ploppy]

52. Yuck!

It's the devil weed! I can smell it from a mile away and taste it if it was next to the carrots at the store.

[LeftInTX]

53. Love it

Thank God, I don't have the gene, cuz there are about 100 taquerias just within a few square miles of my home. It's kinda sorry that there isn't much food diversity where I live, but it would really suck if I couldn't stand the taste of cilantro.

[Kali]

55. hell no, I love it

oddly though, I don't really care much for coriander seed. it is ok in spice blends but not something I reach for to season any of my normal cooking.

[lillypaddle]

57. I love cilantro

the smell, the taste ... my salsa would be nothing without it.

[Harker]

58. It's grown on me.

I loathed it when first I had it long ago, now I like it in moderation.

Much the same as with sauerkraut.

[Mosby]

59. I don't love it and I don't hate it.

I think sometimes there is way too much cilantro in a dish, it's already a very potent herb that tends to dominate, kind of like cumin or rosemary.

A little goes a long way.