# Why does cilantro taste like soap? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 2, 2006, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-cilantro-taste-like-soap/382598 "2006-12-02T17:43:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2006, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-cilantro-taste-like-soap/382598/41 "2006-12-03T16:31:03Z")
I think I’m okiedoke with cilantro. 🙂 I wonder if there’s any correlation between cilantro-lovers/haters and [supertasters?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supertaster) ---
**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:** [December 3, 2006, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-cilantro-taste-like-soap/382598/42 "2006-12-03T17:03:10Z")
[QUOTE=Rysdad] _Head tacos?!_ [/QUOTE] Yep. If it’s what **CBE** is referring to, it’s made from a steamed beef head. There’s tacos de sesos (brain), tacos de lengua (tongue), and I think “de cabeza” is usually just cheek meat. I’ve even had a taco de ojo (eyeball) once. Yeah, for me, no taco would be complete without a topping of onion + cilantro. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2006, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-cilantro-taste-like-soap/382598/43 "2006-12-03T17:57:51Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] So order your food without cilantro. It’s not a matter of acquiring a taste for it - it doesn’t taste like that to people who like it. [/QUOTE] Well, I’ve aquired a taste for it. 15 or 20 years ago, it tasted like soap to me, but not for at least the last 10 years now. In New Mexico, all the really good stuff has cilantro. I guess I just got desensitized to the soap taste. ---
**Author:** ![Brainiac4](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brainiac4/32/3534_2.png) [@Brainiac4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac4)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2006, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-cilantro-taste-like-soap/382598/44 "2006-12-03T19:16:17Z")
Another one here who is not a fan of “soaplantro”. Fortunately, in the Midwest, many places do not put cilantro in their salsa, so I didn’t encounter it until maybe 15 years ago. My first thought was that the dishes hadn’t been thoroughly rinsed. It doesn’t taste like Ivory soap to me, it tastes like harsh industrial dishwashing granules. Yuck. ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2006, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-cilantro-taste-like-soap/382598/45 "2006-12-03T19:33:07Z")
Like many of the posters here, I LOVE cilantro and can’t get enough of it. But I’ll have to admit that if it’s not absolutely fresh, it starts to taste rather funky. Maybe if you cilantro haters made sure the cilantro was fresh and only added a small amount to your dishes, it would taste better. Other than that, I got nothin’. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2006, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-cilantro-taste-like-soap/382598/46 "2006-12-03T20:05:11Z")
[QUOTE=Rysdad] _Head tacos?!_ [/QUOTE] Normally that means cheek muscle meat – not too bad, although I’m glad that no one told me what they were before finding that I liked them. Sometimes, though, you’ll find _tacos de cabeza_ which should _really_ be called _tacos de cesos_ (brains) or _tacos de lengua_ (tongue), neither of which I’ve tried as far as I know (!!). Cheek is just another muscle, you know. I don’t get into other organs too much myself. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2006, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-cilantro-taste-like-soap/382598/47 "2006-12-03T20:10:45Z")
[QUOTE=Balthisar] Normally that means cheek muscle meat – not too bad, although I’m glad that no one told me what they were before finding that I liked them. Sometimes, though, you’ll find _tacos de cabeza_ which should _really_ be called _tacos de cesos_ (brains) or _tacos de lengua_ (tongue), neither of which I’ve tried as far as I know (!!). Cheek is just another muscle, you know. I don’t get into other organs too much myself. [/QUOTE] \*Lengua \* (tongue) is “just another muscle” as well, not organ meat. It’s generally ground or shredded so you can see or feel the icky taste buds. I doubt you’d be able to tell it was tongue in the taco. ---
**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:** [December 3, 2006, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-cilantro-taste-like-soap/382598/48 "2006-12-03T20:21:37Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] I doubt you’d be able to tell it was tongue in the taco. [/QUOTE] There’s a double-entendre in there somewhere, I just know it… ---
**Author:** ![born\_too\_late](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba9def/32.png) [@born\_too\_late](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/born_too_late)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2006, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-cilantro-taste-like-soap/382598/49 "2006-12-03T20:28:24Z")
I like cilantro (when it’s used properly) in many dishes. My girlfriend loves cilantro. However, when she plans on cooking with it, she tends to buy a sizable bush of it. The remaining cilantro she doesn’t use goes in the fridge where it immediately taints everything within if it’s not professionally contained biohazard-style: drinking water, leftovers, you name it. The image I’m trying to convey is a fridge flavor coup, far from bloodless. All by itself, it smells like sweet rotting garbage. It’s a menace. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2006, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-cilantro-taste-like-soap/382598/50 "2006-12-03T20:43:34Z")
[QUOTE=HockeyGirl] Bobby Flay (one of the cooks on Food Network) always says "_If you don’t like cilantro.. try it AGAIN!!"_ (He, like me and other cilantro lovers just find it hard to believe anyone could possibly not like it!) [/QUOTE] The first few times I tried cilantro, it tasted powerfully of soap, so I stayed away from it for a couple of years. Then I tried it again, and the soap taste was gone! So that may be what he is referring to - cilantro seems to be one of those foods that you can acquire a taste for. ---
**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 3, 2006, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-cilantro-taste-like-soap/382598/51 "2006-12-03T20:58:10Z")
[QUOTE=medstar] Maybe if you cilantro haters made sure the cilantro was fresh and only added a small amount to your dishes, it would taste better. Other than that, I got nothin’. [/QUOTE] Yeah? Someone told me that and I tried it. I still gagged and almost puked. Sorry, it DOES taste like soap to me, even when fresh (as in “just picked from someone’s garden”) and even in minute quantities. ---
**Author:** ![CBEscapee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2006, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-cilantro-taste-like-soap/382598/52 "2006-12-03T21:23:31Z")
[QUOTE=pulykamell] Yep. If it’s what **CBE** is referring to, it’s made from a steamed beef head. There’s tacos de sesos (brain), tacos de lengua (tongue), and I think “de cabeza” is usually just cheek meat. I’ve even had a taco de ojo (eyeball) once. Yeah, for me, no taco would be complete without a topping of onion + cilantro. [/QUOTE] All of the meat from the head and a good part of the cartilege is comsumed. There is meat from the cheeks, _cachete_, the snout, _trompa_, the ear, _oreja_, the palate, _paladar_ and of course the brains, tongue and eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2006, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-cilantro-taste-like-soap/382598/53 "2006-12-04T00:58:24Z")
The first time I had raw cilantro in Vietnamese food, I didn’t make a soap connection, but the herb tasted somewhat bitterly medicinal. However, it was a mild influence on the dish and the dish overall was so good that I put up with the cilantro. After just a year or two of eating it, I had become accustomed. That was 15-20 years ago. What really tasted like soap to me was an herb called _rau ram_. I am not sure what the precise English translation is. I’ve heard it called Vietnamese mint, but it doesn’t taste minty to me. It has a narrower & pointier leaf and is commonly encountered in beef salad. Seen here: > **[FoodSubs: Asian Herbs: Ingredient Substitutions and Ingredient Synonyms](https://foodsubs.com/groups/flavorings/herbs/asian-herbs)** > > Includes ingredient substitutions and ingredient synonyms for Asian Herbs. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2006, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-cilantro-taste-like-soap/382598/54 "2006-12-04T01:06:27Z")
> [@cymk](#): > > What does it taste like to the non-soap tasters? Something akin to parsley or oregano? The “tastes like fresh air” response definitely captures some of the experience, but if you want a more herb-y context, try to imagine a blend of, say, parsley, lemongrass, chilies, and mint. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2006, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-cilantro-taste-like-soap/382598/55 "2006-12-04T01:13:24Z")
[QUOTE=CBEscapee] All of the meat from the head and a good part of the cartilege is comsumed. There is meat from the cheeks, _cachete_, the snout, _trompa_, the ear, _oreja_, the palate, _paladar_ and of course the brains, tongue and eyes. [/QUOTE] Oh, for God’s sake. “Here’s your cilantro-spiced offal taco, sir.” “Offal?” “Horrendous.” ---
**Author:** ![CBEscapee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2006, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-cilantro-taste-like-soap/382598/56 "2006-12-04T02:32:18Z")
[QUOTE=Rysdad] Oh, for God’s sake. “Here’s your cilantro-spiced offal taco, sir.” “Offal?” “Horrendous.” [/QUOTE] Isn’t offal internal organs? They’re offal good, too. Such a sissy palate you have. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2006, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-cilantro-taste-like-soap/382598/57 "2006-12-04T03:05:24Z")
[QUOTE=CBEscapee] Isn’t offal internal organs? [/quote] From [Dictionary.com](http://Dictionary.com): of·fal /ˈɔfəl, ˈɒfəl/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[aw-fuhl, of-uhl] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation –noun 1. the parts of a butchered animal that are considered inedible by human beings; carrion. 2. the parts of a butchered animal removed in dressing; viscera. 3. refuse; rubbish; garbage. > [@](#): > > They’re offal good, too. You’re welcome to them. > [@](#): > > Such a sissy palate you have. Oh, go bite a Tijuana burrito. ---
**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:** [December 4, 2006, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-cilantro-taste-like-soap/382598/58 "2006-12-04T03:10:55Z")
I also thought offal was internal organs/entrails, but I guess the definition has been stretched a bit. [According to Offal Good.com](http://www.offalgood.com/?page_id=6), offal now encompasses stuff like tongue, tails, and feet–I would never have thought any of those qualify. > [@](#): > > OFFAL those parts of a meat animal which are used as food but which are not skeletal muscle. The term literally means “off fall”, or the pieces which fall from a carcase when it is butchered. Originally the word applied principally to the entrails. It now covers insides including the HEART, LIVER, and LUNGS (collectively known as the pluck), all abdominal organs and extremities: TAILS, FEET, and HEAD including BRAINS and TONGUE. In the USA the expressions “organ meats” or “variety meats” are used instead. So oxtail is now considered offal? Weird. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2006, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-cilantro-taste-like-soap/382598/59 "2006-12-04T03:23:15Z")
[QUOTE=pulykamell] I also thought offal was internal organs/entrails, but I guess the definition has been stretched a bit. [According to Offal Good.com](http://www.offalgood.com/?page_id=6), offal now encompasses stuff like tongue, tails, and feet–I would never have thought any of those qualify. So oxtail is now considered offal? Weird. [/QUOTE] Offal literal means “off fell” or fell off as in fell off the butcher’s block. ---
**Author:** ![tashabot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tashabot/32/6250_2.png) [@tashabot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tashabot)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2006, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-cilantro-taste-like-soap/382598/60 "2006-12-04T03:37:36Z")
I love cilantro. I use it in all kinds of stuff, but always fresh. This is literally the first time I’ve heard that it tasted like soap. Everyone around me loves it, too. A friend of mine has a recipe for cilantro soup, consisting almost entirely of cilantro, that is really popular with all of her family and friends. It also knocks the shit out of a cold. I can’t eat a taco or burrito without onions and cilantro. When I eat it it tastes kind of crisp and fresh to me - not overpoweringly so, but kind of an “ahhhhhh”, if that makes sense. I’ll eat the stuff raw, without any accompaniment, if I’ve got it. Man, now I want some. ☹ You soap-tasters are missing out on something awsome. ~Tasha [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-cilantro-taste-like-soap/382598.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-cilantro-taste-like-soap/382598.md?page=4)