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28 Comments
CharlieV
July 13, 2020
Cilantro is disgusting, for me it tastes like something incredibly stale and strong. The worst part is it’s staying power—if I accidentally eat some the taste will not go away. For hours I will be brushing my tongue, eating other foods, gargling, doing anything I can, but to no avail. That taste will not go away, not for about three days. I will go to bed that night and wake up the next morning with that disgusting taste on my tongue. So many places hide it in their salads and foods.
Susan O.
June 7, 2019
Absolutely detest the stuff, although I've never really thought of it as tasting like soap. It just tastes awful to me. It's interesting that they mentioned parsley and celery, because those are two more things I dislike. I can eat celery if I have to (although I would NEVER buy it for myself), but parsley will ruin a dish almost as much as cilantro will. However, I love tons of other foods that many people don't like: tofu, rhubarb, Brussels sprouts, mayonnaise, olives, etc. Just can't stand cilantro, it will utterly ruin a dish for me.
Smaug
June 8, 2019
Interestingly, the plants you mention are all members of the umbelliferae (carrot family), along with many others including dill, anise, chervil, fennel, caraway.
FrugalCat
January 9, 2019
My mom hates the stuff and as a result I was not exposed it until I was an adult. Now I love it.
Jon S.
July 19, 2018
I wanted to bad to like cilantro. I have tried for years...it always tastes like Palmolive dish soap. It makes me gag. It doesn't matter if it is stems or leaves. What is even more frustrating is when you go to a restaurant you've eaten at for more than a decade and someone in the kitchen randomly decided that every dish needed an absurd amount (like 4 cups) of cilantro.
Elaine Z.
August 17, 2019
I’ve noticed restaurants doing this more too! I had to return a dish the first time in my life the other day. I ordered avocado toast and what they gave me was an avocado spread filled with a tonnn of cilantro. I really tried a couple bites but I just couldn’t do it. Then yesterday, I ordered a salad with skirt steak. They covered the steak with pico de gallo, which was heavy on the cilantro. Luckily I was able to scrape it off. /rant
Ana-Marie C.
March 31, 2018
Saving the day, micro cilantro!!! Easy to use, none of the big stems, bit of a softer flavor. Will win over anyone who doesn't already love cilantro!
Abbie J.
March 18, 2018
As a child and teen, I distinctly remember loathing cilantro and yes, it DID taste soapy to me. But somewhere around my 30's, I began loving the stuff and still do currently, in my 50's. Go figure.
A H.
March 17, 2018
I love it. My spouse hates it.
Good to learn about the genetic sides of it.
Thanks Food52, I always love your newsletters!
Good to learn about the genetic sides of it.
Thanks Food52, I always love your newsletters!
Nancy
March 16, 2018
Hate. It. Really can not tolerate even the tiniest amounts. I’m the only one in my family with this affliction as well, so they don’t understand at all. Thanks for the explanation!
bellw67
March 16, 2018
I don’t hate cilantro, I just don’t care for it. It doesn’t taste like soap to me and I leave it out when called for in a recipe or sub in parsley.
PHIL
March 15, 2018
There is also the expression an "acquired taste" Sometimes the more you eat something the more you become familiar with it and enjoy it.
HalfPint
March 15, 2018
Cilantro flavor is composed of alkanals (aldehyde compounds). Soap has a similar aldehyde structure on one end of its molecular chain. That's why cilantro can taste like soap.
ChefJune
March 15, 2018
Sorry, but if you don't know why you must have been on another planet. Not meaning to be snarky, but it is generally well known that is a genetic thing for about 10% of the population.
Lord knows I've been trying to like it for more than THREE decades, but it still and always tastes like metalicky, soapy ugh. There are very few foods I don't "like." And yes, over time, I have grown to like some of them. But cilantro has been a constant no-go for as long as I can remember.
Lord knows I've been trying to like it for more than THREE decades, but it still and always tastes like metalicky, soapy ugh. There are very few foods I don't "like." And yes, over time, I have grown to like some of them. But cilantro has been a constant no-go for as long as I can remember.
PHIL
March 15, 2018
I think people's tastes can change over time. I have become a fan of it now but used to think it was soapy at first.
Smaug
March 15, 2018
True enough- body chemistry can change too; there's a long list of foods that pregnant women tend to develop aversions to, but other physical conditions- including age- can induce changes.
Analida B.
March 15, 2018
I love cilantro! Growing up in Panamá we use it in a lot of our Latin dishes. You have the have this to make recaito a base flavor for soups and black beans. I make big batches of recaito and freeze it into cubes. Here is my recipe for recaito: https://ethnicspoon.com/recaito-recipe/
kelly D.
March 15, 2018
I also believe it is a hereditary trait, my dad, myself and my son are all cilantro dislikers due to the soapy flavor...
Panfusine
March 15, 2018
Used to detest it as a child (frankly it was more the feeling of having the wilted leaves curl up around your tongue while slurping up Indian dishes), but can't live without it now..
Sarachka
March 15, 2018
I used to hate cilantro and think it tasted like soap, but then in my twenties I suddenly loved it. It can't just be genetics. My genes didn't change.
animom.94
March 15, 2018
It could be that you have damaged some of your taste buds. An example is an older smoker that uses LOTS of hot sauce on food.
Sarachka
March 15, 2018
I'm 100% sure that's not it. I'm a young non-smoker who doesn't use lots of hot sauce, and I can taste cilantro just fine. I know what it tastes like to me now, which is pretty much the same as how it tasted before, only now I like that flavor instead of hating it.
Cosa
March 14, 2018
Soap? Ever crushed, or eaten, a stink bug when picking berries? The offensive smell they excrete is how cilantro smells and tastes to me. I really wish I could "get used to it" but it literally ruins a dish for me.
Scott L.
July 14, 2018
the funny thing is the smell of stink bug reminds me of exactly cilantro and yet I love the smell and taste of cilantro.
Cilantro smells very unique compared to other herbs, but I like it anyway. Maybe I actually have the mutation that is supposed to dislike it, but I actually enjoy the soapy smell?
Cilantro smells very unique compared to other herbs, but I like it anyway. Maybe I actually have the mutation that is supposed to dislike it, but I actually enjoy the soapy smell?
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