# Cilantro, again. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 24, 2007, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-again/431094 "2007-12-24T04:25:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2007, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-again/431094/1 "2007-12-24T04:25:37Z")
I searched, and found [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=447271) which led to [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=398491), and learned a bit. From the above anecdotal evidence, it seems there really is a great divide between those who enjoy cilantro, and those who can’t deal with it. Me, I hate the stuff. Which sucks, cause when I go get some yummy tacos jaliscos, I have to ask for them sin cilantro y con mucho onions. (South Tejas, ya know) I like the strong savory flavors, the taste thing known as umami now, and I can’t even get near food that’s been made with that dammed leafy green shit. It really tases to me like licking out the inside of a dusty bottle of asprin. No fun at all. So anyways, has any real research been done? ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2007, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-again/431094/2 "2007-12-24T06:44:59Z")
I hope someone jumps in here, but, yes, genetically some people taste cilantro as soap. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2007, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-again/431094/3 "2007-12-24T12:00:52Z")
Bumping & saying that for me it tastes like rotten meat. It’s not overwhelming, but it’s unpleasant. ---
**Author:** ![Heloise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e36b37/32.png) [@Heloise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heloise)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2007, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-again/431094/4 "2007-12-24T12:10:16Z")
I love it. But I used to have a chemist for a neighbour and she actually went into a scientific explanation about some chemical that is in cilantro that works in a way with a person’s sense of taste/smell so that it can taste like soap, depending on the person’s own chemical balance. I wish I could remember the exact conversation, because it was quite interesting, but this was many years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2007, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-again/431094/5 "2007-12-24T12:21:39Z")
I must be that rare person who kind of likes, kind of doesn’t like cilantro. I don’t much like the taste, but I know that it’s an integral part of some foods that I find absolutely delicious, like burritos of carne al pastor with grilled onions and cilantro. On the other hand, I think most women’s perfumes smell like soap and they should stop wearing it. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2007, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-again/431094/6 "2007-12-24T14:23:56Z")
Cilantro (fresh, please) is a must in some dishes, such as my world famous pico de gallo and/or homemade guacamole. But it has to be in manageable amounts. Some recipes call for 1/4 cup of the stuff, which I think is overpowering. The spice should complement the meat/vegetable, not compete with it. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2007, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-again/431094/7 "2007-12-24T14:43:25Z")
[QUOTE=PunditLisa] Cilantro (fresh, please) is a must in some dishes, such as my world famous pico de gallo and/or homemade guacamole. [/QUOTE] Yep. ---
**Author:** ![Kuboydal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecb155/32.png) [@Kuboydal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kuboydal)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2007, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-again/431094/8 "2007-12-24T15:05:23Z")
Without cilantro, salsa is merely runny tomatoes. Furthermore, a Cuban sandwich is nowhere. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2007, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-again/431094/9 "2007-12-24T15:17:59Z")
[QUOTE=Kuboydal] Without cilantro, salsa is merely runny tomatoes. Furthermore, a Cuban sandwich is nowhere. [/QUOTE] Cilantro on a Cuban sandwich! :eek: I love cilantro, but NEVER! ---
**Author:** ![Kaotic\_Newtral](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@Kaotic\_Newtral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaotic_Newtral)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2007, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-again/431094/10 "2007-12-24T15:43:42Z")
I’ll chime in on the ‘can’t stand it’ side. I was married to a woman from Belize for 5 years and while she is a wonderful cook, I cringed whenever she made chicken soup with cilantro in it. It tastes like nasty medicine to me. Everyone else in my family loved it though. I thought I was the only freak! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2007, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-again/431094/11 "2007-12-24T16:51:17Z")
[QUOTE=PunditLisa] Cilantro (fresh, please) is a must in some dishes, such as my world famous pico de gallo and/or homemade guacamole. [/QUOTE] Both of which I’d have to pass on, since I’m in the “tastes like soap” contingent. My BIL is kind enough to set aside a small bowl of the fresh salsa for me before he adds the cilantro. Yum, he makes some kick-ass runny tomatoes! ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2007, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-again/431094/12 "2007-12-24T17:04:07Z")
[QUOTE=Gala Matrix Fire] I must be that rare person who kind of likes, kind of doesn’t like cilantro. [/QUOTE] Used to be I couldn’t stand it - it definitely tasted like soap to me. Now, I can still see that connection, but it isn’t strong and off-putting to me. I too lerves me some homemade salsa/pico de gallo and guacamole, and I use generous amounts of cilantro. So my question is, is it genetic, and I’ve just developed a taste for it like you can for beer, say? Or is it a more complex chemical state that may shift with age and other factors, so that it actually tastes less soapy than it used to? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2007, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-again/431094/13 "2007-12-25T02:35:27Z")
[QUOTE=PunditLisa] Cilantro (fresh, please) is a must in some dishes, such as my world famous pico de gallo and/or homemade guacamole. But it has to be in manageable amounts. Some recipes call for 1/4 cup of the stuff, which I think is overpowering. The spice should complement the meat/vegetable, not compete with it. [/QUOTE] Yes, but the problem for people such as myself is that _any cilantro at all_, no matter how minute an amount, makes the whole thing taste like soap. (more specifically, to me it’s like biting into a bar of _Irish Spring_, except when it tastes even worse). “Fresh” does nothing to mitigate this horror. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2007, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-again/431094/14 "2007-12-25T04:12:08Z")
[QUOTE=Broomstick] Yes, but the problem for people such as myself is that _any cilantro at all_, no matter how minute an amount, makes the whole thing taste like soap. [/QUOTE] Absolutely. My local Mongolian BBQ place offers a delicious Thai sauce…but for some unknown reason they throw liberal amounts of cilantro in it. If it’s quiet at the restaurant I’ll spend a few minutes trying to slip out the sauce without picking up the cilantro, but if it’s busy I have to pass. Even when I’m careful about it, if a fragment of a leaf gets into the food I’ll taste it when I come across it. People who like cilantro usually go ‘it’s just a little piece, it can’t be that bad’ at this point, but it’s really about as jarring as biting down on a fragment of bone or dirt and the unpleasantness stays around longer. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2007, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-again/431094/15 "2007-12-25T04:56:57Z")
[QUOTE=PunditLisa] The spice should complement the meat/vegetable, not compete with it. [/QUOTE] That was the point as I understand it, to make spoiled meat palatable. I have also been given to understand on an equally boring level, that some Asian Indian women use it as a perfume. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2007, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-again/431094/16 "2007-12-25T05:37:05Z")
One thing I’ve learned about cilantro is people who are allergic to bee stings don’t make that big a deal about it. People who are allergic to peanuts don’t make that big a deal about it. People who are allergic to seafood don’t make that big a deal about it. People who are diabetic don’t make that big a deal about it. People who are vegetarian don’t make that big a deal about it. People who don’t like cilantro act like the merest stray cilantro molecule will make them start convulsing, frothing at the mouth and bleed out like a hyper case of some mutant strain of ebola and necrotizing fasciitis. ---
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2007, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-again/431094/17 "2007-12-25T11:10:51Z")
I love cilantro, always have from first bite. The husband isn’t crazy about it, but he’s more the type of guy who doesn’t like too many little green bits in his food. Anyone ever try **[Culantro](http://www.worldcrops.org/crops/Culantro.cfm)**? It is, for me, a sort of prickly little cousin of cilantro. A few little snips of it can do nice things to salsa–salmon, too. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2007, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-again/431094/18 "2007-12-25T17:48:54Z")
[QUOTE=levdrakon] One thing I’ve learned about cilantro is people who are allergic to bee stings don’t make that big a deal about it. People who are allergic to peanuts don’t make that big a deal about it. People who are allergic to seafood don’t make that big a deal about it. People who are diabetic don’t make that big a deal about it. People who are vegetarian don’t make that big a deal about it. People who don’t like cilantro act like the merest stray cilantro molecule will make them start convulsing, frothing at the mouth and bleed out like a hyper case of some mutant strain of ebola and necrotizing fasciitis. [/QUOTE] Got a bigger brush there? I think you missed former alcoholics who don’t make a big deal about drinking, people who are keeping kosher not making a big deal about being served a Canadian Bacon pizza for lunch, and people on a diet not making a big deal about food pushers. Truth be told, there are people in all the aforementioned groups who make a big deal about their diets. And people who know how to behave. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2007, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-again/431094/19 "2007-12-25T18:07:55Z")
I really like it, but I definitely taste the soap thing. It’s a _good_ soap taste, though. I think it tastes good the way some soap _smells_ very good, or like the smell of hanging up clean laundry on the clothesline in the backyard on a warm, lush, summer day. I can understand why people might not like it. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2007, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-again/431094/20 "2007-12-25T18:44:44Z")
[QUOTE=Dangerosa] Got a bigger brush there? [/QUOTE] I couldn’t find my extra-large brush so I went with the medium-large. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-again/431094.md?page=2)