Written by: Valerio Farris
Popular on Food52
36 Comments
Darenwms
June 28, 2023
The reason why is not difficult to understand and definitely not “beyond scientists.” Cilantro contains aldehydes and soap contains aldehydes. It’s the same flavor. Why chefs insist on adding it to food is beyond me. Just pour some Dawn dishwashing liquid on it and call it good.
Smaug
June 28, 2023
For the matter of that, so do vanilla and cinnamon. It's a widespread group of chemicals.
SlayyKween
May 18, 2023
Cus it tastes bad? It's really not that hard. It's just how some people don't like other foods.
MENTHOL
March 5, 2023
30+ years after hearing so much about cilantro, I bought some, As I started to fix dinner I opened the package and my wife and I each tried some. We looked at each other, we both spit it out and that was that.
I always request, change that to demand, at a restaurant my food has only a hint of this disgusting stuff, no leaves spread everywhere. I have left restaurants when they can't, or won't, cook to my request.
I have had servers tell me thay have never heard of people hating celantro. BS!
I am a reformed smoker of menthol cigarettes. After eating any cilantro, the taste wouild come back each time I lit a cigarette for 2 or 3 days.
Surprisingly, I do not mind some coriander, an entirely different flavor, and cook with it occasionally, especially pork dishes.
I always request, change that to demand, at a restaurant my food has only a hint of this disgusting stuff, no leaves spread everywhere. I have left restaurants when they can't, or won't, cook to my request.
I have had servers tell me thay have never heard of people hating celantro. BS!
I am a reformed smoker of menthol cigarettes. After eating any cilantro, the taste wouild come back each time I lit a cigarette for 2 or 3 days.
Surprisingly, I do not mind some coriander, an entirely different flavor, and cook with it occasionally, especially pork dishes.
nonfoodie
July 14, 2022
I do not think cilantro tastes like anything as mild as soap. It tastes like a poison or a toxin to me. There are restaurants I won't go to because they put it on everything, EVEN when I ask them not to. I have another question: If this is the most common herb in the world why did it only show up in recent years. It was not always here, and surely wasn't used everywhere. I would like to point out to restaurants that if they insist on using it, they automatically take the chance of alienating 14% of their customers.
Smaug
July 14, 2022
My 1986 Websters unabridged lists cilantro" in the addenda (as a new word), so presumably it was only becoming common in the US then, but it's a big world; it has long been used throughout Asia, so that's a huge part of the world's population right there. Also common throughout Latin America, along with some taste-alikes like culantro and pipicha; I think it's pretty popular in Africa too. Very easy to grow, and the plentiful seeds transport well.
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!
Randy
July 22, 2023
Not sure you understand, it's not the texture or the size of the leaves, it just tastes like soap. As far as it's an acquired taste, how many pooh sandwiches would you be willing to eat in order to acclimate yourself to the taste?
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.
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/
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