# How is cilantro supposed to taste? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 6, 2016, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-cilantro-supposed-to-taste/756642 "2016-06-06T05:09:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-cilantro-supposed-to-taste/756642/1 "2016-06-06T05:09:21Z")
I know, to a minority of people, cilantro has a soapy taste (or after-taste). But how does it taste to everyone else? For me, it has absolutely no taste whatsoever, no matter how much I use. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-cilantro-supposed-to-taste/756642/2 "2016-06-06T05:27:02Z")
Hmm. Taste is, of course, subjective, YMobviouslydoesV, but to me, it tastes “fresh” - very green and herbaceous, with a bitter edge like dandelion greens. And yeah, maybe a hint of soap. I remember as a kid calling it “dirt weed” because it tasted like dirt. Have you tried [culantro](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eryngium_foetidum)? It has a similar, but stronger, flavour. I think it has different flavonoid compounds, so it’s possible that you’ll get more from it. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-cilantro-supposed-to-taste/756642/3 "2016-06-06T08:31:17Z")
> [@araminty](#): > > It tastes “fresh” - very green and herbaceous, with a bitter edge like dandelion greens. This! ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-cilantro-supposed-to-taste/756642/4 "2016-06-06T08:37:37Z")
Slightly citrusy. Earthy too. “green and herbaceous” is right. No soap at all. And if you’re getting no flavour from it at all, then you’re likely not using fresh, it loses its flavour quite quickly. That’s why I find it’s best snipped right out the pot. ---
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-cilantro-supposed-to-taste/756642/5 "2016-06-06T13:43:24Z")
Interesting. To me the flavor is so overwhelming that I can’t stand the stuff. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-cilantro-supposed-to-taste/756642/6 "2016-06-06T13:52:16Z")
A lot of variation in the bitterness. This may not help, but to me it tastes like parsley, except it’s ‘darker’ and has a ‘broader’ bitterness. I don’t know how to translate that into something useful though. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-cilantro-supposed-to-taste/756642/7 "2016-06-06T14:28:56Z")
> [@Algernon](#): > > Interesting. To me the flavor is so overwhelming that I can’t stand the stuff. This. It doesn’t taste like soap, but more like a really strong weed. Just a touch can be overpowering to me. Doesn’t take hardly any to ruin a dish, and I tend to like other herbs. ---
**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:** [June 6, 2016, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-cilantro-supposed-to-taste/756642/8 "2016-06-06T14:31:04Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > A lot of variation in the bitterness. This may not help, but to me it tastes like parsley, except it’s ‘darker’ and has a ‘broader’ bitterness. I don’t know how to translate that into something useful though. Interesting. For me, it’d be exactly the other way around. I find cilantro to be “brighter,” less bitter, and more delicate than parsley, “greener,” perhaps a touch of citrus, and I definitely get the soapiness flavor, but it’s a good soapiness (that I guess I must have developed a taste for. First few times I had cilantro, I thought someone hadn’t properly rinsed the salsa bowls.) I find it a pretty strong flavor and scent. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-cilantro-supposed-to-taste/756642/9 "2016-06-06T15:17:45Z")
Previous thread: [If you like cilantro, how would you describe it?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=754398) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-cilantro-supposed-to-taste/756642/10 "2016-06-06T15:27:58Z")
The best way to describe it is “delicious.” ---
**Author:** ![Taco\_the\_cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@Taco\_the\_cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taco_the_cat)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-cilantro-supposed-to-taste/756642/11 "2016-06-06T20:37:08Z")
Fresh and heavenly ---
**Author:** ![Flocculencio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9dc877/32.png) [@Flocculencio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flocculencio)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-cilantro-supposed-to-taste/756642/12 "2016-06-06T21:14:16Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Interesting. For me, it’d be exactly the other way around. I find cilantro to be “brighter,” less bitter, and more delicate than parsley, “greener,” perhaps a touch of citrus, and I definitely get the soapiness flavor, but it’s a good soapiness (that I guess I must have developed a taste for. First few times I had cilantro, I thought someone hadn’t properly rinsed the salsa bowls.) I find it a pretty strong flavor and scent. I agree. Good soapiness. Parsley is definitely a lot more sharp than coriander leaf but I can see how one is reminiscent of the other. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-cilantro-supposed-to-taste/756642/13 "2016-06-06T21:35:04Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Interesting. For me, it’d be exactly the other way around. I find cilantro to be “brighter,” less bitter, and more delicate than parsley, “greener,” perhaps a touch of citrus, and I definitely get the soapiness flavor, but it’s a good soapiness (that I guess I must have developed a taste for. First few times I had cilantro, I thought someone hadn’t properly rinsed the salsa bowls.) I find it a pretty strong flavor and scent. I think what you call ‘greener’ may be what I call ‘darker’. The bitterness varies a lot in what I’ve had, for some dishes I prefer it more bitter. I make a Polynesian style dish with ham and pineapple where the bitterness complements the sweetness of the pineapple. I’m not sure whether I’m picking up the soapiness or not though, it just tastes like cilantro to me. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-cilantro-supposed-to-taste/756642/14 "2016-06-06T22:03:56Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > This may not help, but to me it tastes like parsley, except it’s ‘darker’ and has a ‘broader’ bitterness. > [@pulykamell](#): > > Interesting. For me, it’d be exactly the other way around. I find cilantro to be “brighter,” less bitter, and more delicate than parsley, “greener,” perhaps a touch of citrus, and I definitely get the soapiness flavor, but it’s a good soapiness (that I guess I must have developed a taste for. Regardless, it is definitely parsley-esque. In the other thread, I described it as “crisp”. It freshens and brightens up a dish. It’s got zazz… zing, zork, kapowza. Call it what you want. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-cilantro-supposed-to-taste/756642/15 "2016-06-06T22:46:16Z")
Wow I can’t believe no one here yet has said it has a definite black licorice taste, as well as aroma - even more so than fennel. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2016, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-cilantro-supposed-to-taste/756642/16 "2016-06-06T23:46:33Z")
It doesn’t taste or smell at all like black licorice to me. ---
**Author:** ![Noelq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noelq/32/16438_2.png) [@Noelq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noelq)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-cilantro-supposed-to-taste/756642/17 "2016-06-07T00:02:37Z")
Soap. Straight-up green Polmolive soap. Like when you accidentally hit the bottle on the counter too hard, and a bit of soap shoots out the nozzle, and hits you square in the teeth. It overpowers EVERYTHING in the rest of the recipe for me. Cilantro is the soapy devil’s herb. ---
**Author:** ![Mekhazzio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b38774/32.png) [@Mekhazzio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mekhazzio)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-cilantro-supposed-to-taste/756642/18 "2016-06-07T00:14:55Z")
Cilantro tastes like iron to me, like biting down on a piece of metal. It ruins anything it’s in. ---
**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:** [June 7, 2016, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-cilantro-supposed-to-taste/756642/19 "2016-06-07T00:28:59Z")
> [@Eddie The Horrible](#): > > Wow I can’t believe no one here yet has said it has a definite black licorice taste, as well as aroma - even more so than fennel. I don’t know if I get licorice from it, but it’s definitely more towards this end of the scale than parsley, but with a vague citrussy taste rather than licorice. It doesn’t really remind me of parsley much at all. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2016, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-cilantro-supposed-to-taste/756642/20 "2016-06-07T00:35:15Z")
> [@Eddie The Horrible](#): > > Wow I can’t believe no one here yet has said it has a definite black licorice taste, as well as aroma - even more so than fennel. I love black licorice. Cilantro makes me not eat the food it is in. It doesn’t taste like soap, it tastes like yuck. YMMV I like fennel, does not in anyway taste like cilantro. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-cilantro-supposed-to-taste/756642.md?page=2)