# Cilantro: Soapy or Bliss? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 13, 2009, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-soapy-or-bliss/513662 "2009-10-13T15:45:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-soapy-or-bliss/513662/81 "2009-10-15T00:37:14Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > The \*\*Goya brand sells jars of puréed cilantro \*\*as a base used in cooking. But I can’t see the use of it for the life of me. It’s a snotgreen-(as James Joyce would say)-colored slime, and it has no flavor. Cilantro loses its flavor quickly when cooked, and I only add it raw to most dishes after the cooking is done to preserve the full impact of that unique deliciousness. How true. If I didnt know that stuff was made from cilantro, I would have a hard time guessing that was the case. Which, for something as strong as cilantro, is saying something. What a waste of money that jar was. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-soapy-or-bliss/513662/82 "2009-10-15T20:50:43Z")
Not just soap - Irish Spring. I have long had a theory that those of us who hate cilantro are also those whose Mothers washed our mouths out with soap as a punishment. In High School biology class, we were presented with a board of about 100 little slips of paper, each of which we were to taste/smell and report on the perception. I tated/smelled about 80 different things, my classmates averaged 20. There was one guy who, although he only tasted less than thirty, tasted two of the ones I didn’t. Chemical receptors are genetically there, or not. Some are in the taste buds, most are in the olfactory center, which for some reason is very poorly understood. I am not a “Supertaster” (I love broccoli and brussels sprouts, for instance) but I can taste and smell many things most people can’t. There are also those who simply have more taste buds per square inch than the rest of us. I’m on the high side of normal there. But for them, a little goes a long way, and they really tend to prefer very plain dishes, with the tiniest touch of spice. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2009, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-soapy-or-bliss/513662/83 "2009-10-15T20:55:36Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > I’m a “soap-taster” when it comes to cilantro (aka coriander) and even the tiniest of molecule of it will ruin any dish for me. > > How 'bout you? Same here and “molecule” is barely hyperbole for me. I can almost always detect even minuscule amounts. Hate the stuff. My GF loves it though. ---
**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:** [October 17, 2009, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-soapy-or-bliss/513662/84 "2009-10-17T22:11:24Z")
I don’t love it, but it definitely adds the perfect touch to certain dishes. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2009, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-soapy-or-bliss/513662/85 "2009-10-18T14:29:20Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > So there _are_ other people who don’t taste anything, either. It doesn’t have a real taste to me, just a tiny bit of heat. ::shrugs:: at least it doesn’t taste like soap. IME cilantro loses its taste quite quickly. You want to have it as fresh as possible. It’s also one of those strange herbs that don’t taste of anything much anything pure, but do add a lot of flavor to certain dishes. ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2009, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-soapy-or-bliss/513662/86 "2009-10-18T15:30:16Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > cmyk: kudos on an excellent poll that actually covers all the conceivable options! Actually, my option is: doesn’t taste like anything to me, I don’t really notice it in any dish. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2009, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-soapy-or-bliss/513662/87 "2009-10-18T15:32:29Z")
> [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > IME cilantro loses its taste quite quickly. You want to have it as fresh as possible. It’s also one of those strange herbs that don’t taste of anything much anything pure, but do add a lot of flavor to certain dishes. Cilantro is easily confused with Flat Italian Parsley, which hardly tastes of anything. Sometimes I think non-haters must be eating a lot of mislabeled parsley but I’m sure that’s just in my imagination. BTW, as a hater, I have never noticed cilantro to lose its taste quickly over time, or to lack a distinctive (vile) taste all on its own. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2009, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-soapy-or-bliss/513662/88 "2009-10-18T15:49:51Z")
I like cilantro-in small doses. Why reestaurants cover your food with it is a mystery. Anyway, I prefer the dried version (coriander)-it seems to have a more subtle, sweeter flavor. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2009, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-soapy-or-bliss/513662/89 "2009-10-18T16:08:20Z")
> [@Glory](#): > > Actually, my option is: doesn’t taste like anything to me, I don’t really notice it in any dish. Sorry! It didn’t even occur to me that some can’t even detect cilantro’s flavor (in the same way it wouldn’t occur to me that someone can’t detect onion or garlic). But your distinction is noted. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-soapy-or-bliss/513662/90 "2009-10-18T16:46:06Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > Cilantro is easily confused with Flat Italian Parsley, which hardly tastes of anything. Sometimes I think non-haters must be eating a lot of mislabeled parsley but I’m sure that’s just in my imagination. > > BTW, as a hater, I have never noticed cilantro to lose its taste quickly over time, or to lack a distinctive (vile) taste all on its own. I know the difference between flat leaf parsley and cilantro (and celery). IMHO flat parsley has a more pronounced taste and smell. Cilantro creates more of a peppery sensation than a “real” taste, to me. I can’t taste the soap, so that may be why it works the other way around for you. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-soapy-or-bliss/513662/91 "2009-10-18T17:43:13Z")
I _love_ cilantro. I barely cook anything, but cilantro is one of the five spices/seasonings I own. Interestingly, my mother also loves it, my father has no opinion as to him it pretty much has no taste, and my sister loathes it. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2009, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-soapy-or-bliss/513662/92 "2009-10-18T17:49:20Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > I am not a “Supertaster” (I love broccoli and brussels sprouts, for instance) but I can taste and smell many things most people can’t. If you like broccoli and brussels sprouts your taste is less than “super”? Really? There goes more evidence of my horrifically flawed tastebuds. By the way, I am sorry if my remarks have offended any cilantro-is-soapy detestors. I didn’t mean to get you in a lather. I must have imbibed too much suds before posting. Just scrub all those comments. I want to start with a clean slate. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-soapy-or-bliss/513662/93 "2009-10-18T17:55:01Z")
No soap here, but it’s an acquired taste for some. It’s definitely in the “less is better” category for me, as it can overpower a dish. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cilantro-soapy-or-bliss/513662.md?page=4)