# Cilantro and soap **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 2, 2010, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-and-soap/530961 "2010-03-02T04:29:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-and-soap/530961/41 "2010-03-02T20:21:45Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Fellow cilantro lovers, what do you think of “cilantro coyote” or wild cilantro, if you’ve encountered it? IME it’s seldom found in the US but it seems to be much better known in some Latin American countries; there are some pretty good pictures and descriptions of it about 2/3 of the way down [this page](http://takingastroll.blogspot.com/2009/02/wednesdays-in-costa-rica.html). That’s probably more well-known as [culantro](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eryngium_foetidum) here in the US (or recao for those areas with Puerto Rican communities). But “well-known” is relative–around here you’ll see it in Asian markets and certain Latin-American markets, but not Mexican markets generally. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-and-soap/530961/42 "2010-03-02T20:34:13Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > I wonder about this too. I mean, coriander’s ubiquitous in dishes from my family’s culture, and before the Straight Dope, I’d never even heard of the soapy taste thing (though I do gather that it’s a fairly widespread phenomenon). I wonder if that means acclimatization destroys the effect, that my ethnic group lacks the corresponding genes, or merely that I lack awareness of those among it who experience the problem. I don’t think acclimatization makes a difference. Cilantro is extremely common in my family’s culture too, and I grew up getting portions that were cilantro-free because I couldn’t bear the flavour. I still can’t. I find it tastes like soap or perfume. Like when you kiss someone’s neck and the person is wearing perfume or cologne and you can taste it. Very bitter and chlorophyll tasting. Edit: I can roll my tongue. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-and-soap/530961/43 "2010-03-02T20:36:33Z")
“Culantro”, huh?.. [bookmark] Thanks, **pulykamell**! So, what do cilantro-haters think of culantro? The two types of plants don’t even seem to be that closely related (regular cilantro is _Coriandrum sativum_ while culantro is _Eryngium foetidum_), so maybe the taste chemistry is different? ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-and-soap/530961/44 "2010-03-02T20:39:48Z")
Incidentally, according to [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongue#Tongue_rolling), there is little evidence that tongue-rolling ability is genetic. Adding to the anecdotal data, I can’t (at least, I don’t think I can) roll my tongue, and I enjoy cilantro. ---
**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-and-soap/530961/45 "2010-03-02T22:13:36Z")
Kimstu… No, I have never heard about cilantro coyote or wild cilantro. ---
**Author:** ![Surly\_Chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-and-soap/530961/46 "2010-03-03T00:29:47Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Cilantro, like many other spicy foods \ Wait. Cilantro is _spicy_? It just tastes like soap to me. And not spicy soap. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-and-soap/530961/47 "2010-03-03T00:40:13Z")
> [@GameHat](#): > > Sidenote - I like cilantro. Fresh chopped cilantro in a nice pozole - delicious. > > I made the mistake today of ordering the BK “cilantro and lime” fish sandwich. Holy God, awful. The “pseudo-cilantro” flavor (there are no actual plants on this processed fish patty (other than some “distressed” lettuce leaves) is so overwhelming as to be disgusting. > > Maybe now I understand the “cilantro” = “soap” base. I LOVE cilantro. The real thing, tho. ---
**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:** [March 3, 2010, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-and-soap/530961/48 "2010-03-03T02:18:28Z")
Sorry, to me it tastes like rotten meat. I’m not even going to try to get over it. And, yes, I’ve tasted it and confirmed its presence when I wasn’t expecting it. I can also roll my tongue AND curl up the end to make a boat. But I can’t wiggle my ears. My second toe is longer than my big toe, if we’re looking for physical anomalies. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-and-soap/530961/49 "2010-03-03T02:36:49Z")
I’ve never sniffed the soapy thing either. It just smells like aromatic parsley to me. ---
**Author:** ![HongKongFooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@HongKongFooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HongKongFooey)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-and-soap/530961/50 "2010-03-03T03:12:40Z")
> [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](#): > > What do you mean “more specific?” Take a bar of Irish Spring and lick it. That is what cilantro tastes like the the tongue roller that is me. Maybe cilantro lovers _like_ the taste of Irish Spring. 😛 Cilantro tastes soapy to me too. _blech_ ---
**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:** [March 3, 2010, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-and-soap/530961/51 "2010-03-03T03:14:54Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > I can also roll my tongue AND curl up the end to make a boat. Jesus Christ, you could be one of the X Men or something. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-and-soap/530961/52 "2010-03-03T03:45:34Z")
I _wish_ cilantro only tasted like soap to me. I taste something much more vile–chemically-yet-organically-spolied putrescence. And it lingers. Ohfuckyuck. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-and-soap/530961/53 "2010-03-03T04:51:45Z")
> [@robcaro](#): > > No, I have never heard about cilantro coyote or wild cilantro. Okay, thanks, at least it’s a data point. How about the rest of you cilantro-haters? Have you ever, to your knowledge, tasted the leaves of the plant variously known as - culantro, - cilantro coyote, - wild cilantro, - or _Eryngium foetidum_ ? If so, _ **how did it taste?** _ Actually, cilantro-lovers could answer that question as well. Fellow cilantro fans, do you agree that cilantro is to culantro as sex is to more and better sex? If not, how would you compare the two flavors? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-and-soap/530961/54 "2010-03-03T05:16:22Z")
I’m a soap-taster. Specifically, it tastes like if you accidentally get Ivory soap (just that pure soap taste, no other fragrances like Irish Spring) in your drinking cup. When I had pho for the first time, I didn’t even know that Vietnamese cuisine used cilantro, but I couldn’t get past the first spoonful. I had that Ivory soap taste in my mouth all night. ---
**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:** [March 3, 2010, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-and-soap/530961/55 "2010-03-03T06:04:05Z")
> [@CurtC](#): > > I agree with pulykamell - I think everyone tastes it but some just haven’t acquired the taste for it. No, I don’t think I can acquire a taste for something that tastes like a toxic waste dump. Seriously. I mean, if you drank bleach on a regular basis eventually enough scar tissue would build up that you wouldn’t taste the bleach anymore, and I suppose in that sense you could “acquire” a taste for it, but that’s not what is usually meant by “acquiring a taste”. What do I have to say to you to convince you that my “acquiring” a taste for the hideous herb-from-hell that is cilantro is even LESS likely than my “acquiring” a taste for bleach? It’s not a “unpleasant food taste” it’s a “deadly chemical taste”. It is one of the very few food items that literally makes me puke. Even in minute amounts, it makes me gag. As in, gag and vomit. As far as I’m concerned rocks are more edible. Why the _hell_ would I even want to acquire a taste for something so vile? ---
**Author:** ![Rich\_Mann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@Rich\_Mann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rich_Mann)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-and-soap/530961/56 "2010-03-03T10:52:47Z")
I am, apparently, alone in being deathly allergic to cilantro. I dipped a piece of bread in a dip made with cilantro at a party, once. So as not to gross everybody out I didn’t spit it out and gargle until I got to a bathroom. Big mistake. Soon afterwards, I felt hot, turned red, and vomited until I saw spots. I felt better for a while, but then I felt cold and weak, turned white, and passed out. I’m told that this is the usual sequence for a type of reaction that often continues; coma, death. For me any soapy, lemony, or fresh taste is completely overpowered by a bitterness that I can’t adequately describe, but I’ll try. As a child I tasted both tomato leaves and that green stuff that leaks out of old alkaline batteries. Cilantro is like the two combined, times a thousand. If a grocery store stocks it, it is the first thing I smell as I walk through the door. I will get more nauseated the longer I stay in the store. And I will still taste/smell it for hours afterwards. My opinion is that my fellow cilantro-haters and I are not genetically unable to taste cilantro’s goodness, but rather that we are endowed with the ability to sense its heinousness. I predict (and hope) that it will someday be recognized as the threat to human health that it is. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-and-soap/530961/57 "2010-03-03T11:28:35Z")
> [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](#): > > What do you mean “more specific?” Take a bar of Irish Spring and lick it. That is what cilantro tastes like the the tongue roller that is me. > > Now be more specific about what cilantro tastes like to _you_. Well, at least you gave me a specific soap. I can actually understand it tasting like Irish Spring, since it kinda smells like it. And since you want me to be specific: um, cilantro has a minty quality, the same way peppermint does. It does have a slight spice, but it’s not like any other spice I can think of. It’s almost not a taste, just a slight burning sensation that goes up your nose. It kinda has that taste that is the difference between leaf lettuce and iceberg. I’ve once described it as tasting like eating grass. It really doesn’t taste that good by itself, BTW. I like it best with tomato-y things. And the lime juice the local Mexican restaurant adds to its salsa is perfect. Ooh. I just thought of what the spice reminds me of: sage. It doesn’t really taste anything like it, but the spice is the same, and the flavor after combined with tomatoes actually is similar to adding sage to marinara sauce. ---
**Author:** ![SecTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SecTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecTech)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-and-soap/530961/58 "2010-03-03T11:31:00Z")
> [@HongKongFooey](#): > > Maybe cilantro lovers _like_ the taste of Irish Spring. 😛 > Cilantro tastes soapy to me too. _blech_ just remembered a reference to the “stinking herb” found this: > [@](#): > > The name coriander originates in the plant’s strong bug-like smell of the leaves. The Greek word koros means insect or the Greek word koriannon meaning bug. The specific name refers to its cultivation in gardens. Taken together, the full scientific name calls coriander ‘the cultivated buggy-smelling plant.’ Coriander is the name of the plant and seed, usually the leaf is known as cilantro.[http://http://www.ourherbgarden.com/herb-history/coriander.html](http://http://www.ourherbgarden.com/herb-history/coriander.html) I find that non-tongue-rolling, non-soap-tasing me just enjoys the “green” scent and flavor. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-and-soap/530961/59 "2010-03-03T12:00:36Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Color me gobsmacked that Twinsburg, Ohio, actually has an “annual twins festival”, [but it does](http://www.twinsdays.org/). Man, I bet genetics researchers flock to Twinsburg on the first weekend in August like migrating seabirds (not that migrating seabirds would actually wind up in Twinsburg, but you know what I mean). Well if the migrating seabirds did wind up in Twinsburg and so did their twin migrating seabird, we know what that would mean. And if genetic researchers and their twin genetic researchers flocked like the migrating seabirds that have twin migrating seabirds that flock to Twinsburg then… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-and-soap/530961.md?page=2)