Cilantro-Love It or Hate It, There's a Reason

[bakechef]

I'm in the soapy camp. I don't think that it is a "taste is subjective" thing at all, it tastes like soap to me, but my best friend loves it and cannot taste any soapy flavor.

Many in my family cannot eat it either.

I'll be glad when this herb is no longer trendy, it ticks me off when I order a dish and it is sprinkled on, when it wasn't listed in the description, for me it makes everything that it touches taste soapy.

I am building up a tolerance to it, I still don't like it, but it no longer completely ruins a meal for me, I can deal with a small amount in a salsa, but I still wish that it wasn't there.

There is a website called ihatecilantro.com and it has a facebook page,

 

[taxlady]

I used to hate cilantro, now I love it.

As far as tasting like soap, raspberries are like that for me. I like things like raspberry jam (except for the seeds), but as a rule, I don't like them. Raspberry candies are especially horrible. You might as well just eat a bar of soap.

I think the aldehydes dissipate when the cilantro is cooked. That would explain why I never dislike it in real Mexican food or in Indian food, unless they sprinkle the raw stuff on top.

 

[Andy M.]

I used to hate cilantro, now I love it.

As far as tasting like soap, raspberries are like that for me. I like things like raspberry jam (except for the seeds), but as a rule, I don't like them. Raspberry candies are especially horrible. You might as well just eat a bar of soap.

Barb, I've never heard of this with raspberries. Live and learn.

 

[justplainbill]

Borage tastes more fishy than cilantro tastes soapy.

 

[CWS4322]

I love fresh cilantro--dried cilantro has "no taste" IMO. I hate bananas. I was told that my aversion to bananas is linked to a gene. I believe it. I can smell bananas from about 15 ft away. Hate the smell of bananas--fresh bananas do not cross my lips. But I love cilantro, tarragon, anise, and fennel.

My brother and I made a road trip a few years ago. As soon as he put his "food pack" in the van, I said to him, "dump the bananas. They are not riding in this vehicle with me." He gave me this all askew look. "What, you can smell those? They are in my cooler."
"Dump the bananas or walk. I'll pick up in the next town. Oh, and clean the cooler."

 

[no mayonnaise]

There's also a positive genetic correlation between those who like/dislike Brussels Sprouts and Guinness beer. I'm not sure of the specifics, but it was discussed last semester in my Genetics class along with the cilantro bit.

 

[CWS4322]

There's also a positive genetic correlation between those who like/dislike Brussels Sprouts and Guinness beer. I'm not sure of the specifics, but it was discussed last semester in my Genetics class along with the cilantro bit.

Bananas must have factored into that--I have several friends who are also "banana aversive."

 

[Gravy Queen]

There's also a positive genetic correlation between those who like/dislike Brussels Sprouts and Guinness beer. I'm not sure of the specifics, but it was discussed last semester in my Genetics class along with the cilantro bit.

I love sprouts and hate guiness . How anyone could drink a pint of the stuff is beyond me .

 

[CWS4322]

When I say I have an aversion to bananas--my stomach literally curls when I smell bananas. It isn't that I don't like the taste of bananas, I can't stand anything about them--the smell, the taste, the texture, the feel of them. I don't think that is the same thing re: cilantro love it or hate it.

 

[bakechef]

When I say I have an aversion to bananas--my stomach literally curls when I smell bananas. It isn't that I don't like the taste of bananas, I can't stand anything about them--the smell, the taste, the texture, the feel of them. I don't think that is the same thing re: cilantro love it or hate it.

I had a co-worker that had a banana phobia, never heard of such a thing. It wasn't like you where she couldn't stand the smell and taste, it just gave her anxiety to be near one.

As I typed this I looked up "fear of bananas" and apparently it's a real thing.

 

[CraigC]

Tell that to Captain Kirk...

I love cilantro, Shrek hates it.

Don't forget Capt. Archer. Especially when one of them was Padma Lakshmi!

 

[no mayonnaise]

I love sprouts and hate guiness . How anyone could drink a pint of the stuff is beyond me .

I was recalling the conclusion without the explanation from last semester so I did some more reading and it all became clear again. There's a gene called TAS2R38 located on Chromosome 7 that detects bitterness in foods. There's a bitter-tasting compound called PTC that some people just can't taste, and others can due to a deficiency of TAS2R38. It's in beer, wine, olives, brassica, and members of the cabbage family (brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, etc.) to name a few. *shrug* maybe you dislike Guinness for other reasons besides PTC aversion.

 

[taxlady]

Don't forget Capt. Archer. Especially when one of them was Padma Lakshmi!

Did she play someone green? Wasn't it Trip who had the hots for her?

 

[Merlot]

I really dislike cilantro but I don't think I have ever noticed a soapy flavor. I can tolerate a very small amount in salsa if I am out at a restaurant but I would prefer it to be completely gone!

Since they were brought up...I am not too fond of bananas either but I think it is more of a texture thing (a degree of ripeness that I hate them or can tolerate them) I hate Guiness beer (that is the dark thick one, right?) blech

 

[taxlady]

I love sprouts and hate guiness . How anyone could drink a pint of the stuff is beyond me .

Well so much for the theory that the stuff tastes good in the UK, but not on this side of the pond, because it doesn't travel well.

Can't stand the stuff. Oh, and I do like Brussels sprouts

 

[Claire]

I don't think taste is genetic at all, a case of nurture vs nature. Some people who were raised to dislike some flavors will always hate them, on the other hand others will love them. Some who were raised to eat only 5 things their entire lives won't venture out there, others will.

Then there is my bizarre-o experience of my sense of smell going haywire in late menopause. It mostly came back, but suddenly I couldn't (and still can't) like cucumber and watermelon. They smell (and taste) exactly alike to me, and I just don't like them. These are foods I've loved all my life and lived for in the summer, and now I don't like them, not even the smell (if you'd asked me five years ago, I would have told you they don't have much of a smell or flavor). It actually angers me that I do not like these foods I loved and found so refreshing in the summer. Boo-hoo. I keep trying, but there's something there. Do they have a common chemical compound?

As for cilantro; I, too, learned to call the leaves and stems (and some cultures use the roots as well) cilantro, the seeds coriander (i.e., the herb is cilantro, the spice coriander), but, that said, I read a lot and the English books I've read (and cookbooks) refer to it all as coriander.

I'm in the camp who really, really disliked cilantro. In spite of eating a lot of Mexican food growing up, I don't remember having it as a kid. Where I remember is moving to Hawaii when I was in my late 20s and finding it in all the Asian foods and really not liking it at all. I wouldn't call it soapy.

BUT .... I not only got used to it, now certain things, like a fresh tomato salsa (pico de gallo type stuff), and especially Southeast Asian fresh dishes just don't taste right without that cilantro edge.

 

[Steve Kroll]

Watermelons and cucumbers are in the same family (cucurbitaceae), so it's entirely possible they have chemical compounds in common.

 

[justplainbill]

I don't think taste is genetic at all, a case of nurture vs nature. Some people who were raised to dislike some flavors will always hate them, on the other hand others will love them. Some who were raised to eat only 5 things their entire lives won't venture out there, others will.

Then there is my bizarre-o experience of my sense of smell going haywire in late menopause. It mostly came back, but suddenly I couldn't (and still can't) like cucumber and watermelon. They smell (and taste) exactly alike to me, and I just don't like them. These are foods I've loved all my life and lived for in the summer, and now I don't like them, not even the smell (if you'd asked me five years ago, I would have told you they don't have much of a smell or flavor). It actually angers me that I do not like these foods I loved and found so refreshing in the summer. Boo-hoo. I keep trying, but there's something there. Do they have a common chemical compound?

As for cilantro; I, too, learned to call the leaves and stems (and some cultures use the roots as well) cilantro, the seeds coriander (i.e., the herb is cilantro, the spice coriander), but, that said, I read a lot and the English books I've read (and cookbooks) refer to it all as coriander.

I'm in the camp who really, really disliked cilantro. In spite of eating a lot of Mexican food growing up, I don't remember having it as a kid. Where I remember is moving to Hawaii when I was in my late 20s and finding it in all the Asian foods and really not liking it at all. I wouldn't call it soapy.

BUT .... I not only got used to it, now certain things, like a fresh tomato salsa (pico de gallo type stuff), and especially Southeast Asian fresh dishes just don't taste right without that cilantro edge.

Tastes change as we age. For some of us, we know we're really getting old when a well marbled charcoal broiled piece of beef does not taste good anymore. I'm a heavy smoker, but still can detect the flavor of coriander in some pastramis and the ingredients in many other foods. My most recent achievement was to determine that cinnamon is one of the ingredients in the mustard that I like .

 

[taxlady]

I don't think taste is genetic at all, a case of nurture vs nature. Some people who were raised to dislike some flavors will always hate them, on the other hand others will love them. Some who were raised to eat only 5 things their entire lives won't venture out there, others will. ...

I agree that to some extent it's nurture. But, having the receptors for the unpleasant flavours in cilantro is not nurture. You have them or you don't. There is a gene that relates to those receptors.

 

[Dawgluver]

I agree that to some extent it's nurture. But, having the receptors for the unpleasant flavours in cilantro is not nurture. You have them or you don't. There is a gene that relates to those receptors.

Exactly.