ishbel, in scottish and other european cookbooks do the recipes specify whether the coriander is seed or leaf? they taste similar, but aren't really interchangeable in most dishes.
i wonder if the same people who dislike leafy coriander, or cilantro, are affected the same way with coriander seed?
i have heard of the soapy or metallic thing. luckily, i do not find the taste odd. i love cilantro and coriander seed in many dishes.
i replace half of the parsley in my chicken soup with cilantro, just for a nice little change of pace.
and i love a bunch of freshly washed whole cilantro on top of grilled baby squid, topped with sweet chilli sauce.
another fave is chopped peanuts, garlic, ginger, cilantro, and hot pepper flakes, mixed into angel hair pasta with garlic sesame oil.