Out of the following statements, which one do you agree with the most?
1) Cilantro tastes good, I don’t mind eating it.
2) Cilantro tastes like soap, I hate and cannot eat it.
It seems that those are the two sides of where peoples opinion of the leafy green herb fall. For as long as humans have been cooking with and eating cilantro, it has divided us. In fact, the aversion to it was so strong that researchers decided to look into it and what they found is that between 4-14% of all people surveyed on the matter claim to hate it!
If you aren’t a cilantro hater then you’re probably wondering what makes it so terrible. Imagine for a moment that everything you sprinkle the herb on ends up tasting like soap, and there’s your answer! All the delicious tasting soups, salads, smoothies, salsas, and really any dish that is even garnished with a dash of cilantro instantly becomes ruined by the mere presence of it. If this YouTube comment made by Dan Heidel under the accompanying video doesn’t get the aversion people feel across, perhaps nothing will, “’tastes like soap’ really doesn’t do it justice. It’s like a mix of dish soap, rotten meat and bleach.” Yuck!
In the search for answers as to why so many people find cilantro to be soapy tasting scientists discovered that the answer may be genetic in origin. They found a common characteristic in the haters that links their dislike to a specific gene that is ultra sensitive to the chemical make up of certain aldehydes found in cilantro. Those same aldehydes also just so happen to be a byproduct of soap making, which explains why having this gene is what seems to make cilantro taste soapy to some people, while those who lack the gene don’t experience that gross kind of taste. For more information on the research and a better scientific understanding of it all please refer to the video which does an excellent job explaining all of this and more.
In the end, these interesting findings have led scientists to believe that there must be other genes that affect and factor into our sense of taste and smell. While that doesn’t change the way anyone feels about cilantro, it could lead to major breakthroughs down the line. In the meantime, if the stuff tastes like rotten dish soap to you keep avoiding it and find comfort in the thought that you aren’t alone, there are others like you!
Watch the video below for more information:
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