Time for an easy poll! Cilantro (as in fresh coriander leaf) ....what do you think of it?

[NRaleighLiberal]

Last edited Wed Aug 1, 2012, 05:12 PM - Edit history (2)

I am posting this based on a really interesting watermelon salsa that my wife loves, but I thought she ruined because of the cilantro that she put into it.

Her quilting bee companions were similarly divided....

So, DU - Cilantro - yes or no?

Edited to add this results from a study -http://www.flavourjournal.com/content/1/1/8/abstract

Results

"The prevalence of dislike ranged from 3 to 21%. The proportion of subjects classified as disliking cilantro was 21% for East Asians, 17% for Caucasians, 14% for those of African descent, 7% for South Asians, 4% for Hispanics, and 3% for Middle Eastern subjects"

And what do you think it tastes/smells like?

12 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	I love cilantro
	7 (58%)
	I hate/loathe cilantro
	4 (33%)
	No big reaction either way
	1 (8%)
	Other
	0 (0%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[NRaleighLiberal]

1. I answered it first - to me, it smells/tastes like dirty dishwater.

[geardaddy]

3. This ^

Do you know there's a genetic predisposition to one's like/dislike of cilantro?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/14/dining/14curious.html

[NRaleighLiberal]

4. exactly - hence my curiosity of the DU population....interested in the ratio

I don't expect to see much middle ground.

[OriginalGeek]

13. I think it tastes like soap too

yet I don't mind it in certain dishes...

[Wait Wut]

20. Yep. Tastes like soap.

So does beer.

[valerief]

29. I don't like cilantro or beer either. nt

[valerief]

30. Yes! nt

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. I really don't like it at all, so there's more for those folks who do!

[Auggie]

5. Cilantro is a classic ingredient in salsa

I love it.

[CBGLuthier]

6. An essential ingredient in half the food I cook.

Lemony.

It is supposed to be a purely genetic thing. Some are wired to taste cilantro differently.

[Duer 157099]

7. Thai food without cilantro wouldn't be the same

Same with salsa.

I've noticed that with some dishes, the cilantro is, for me, the critical ingredient.

So yeah, I like it a lot.

It tastes exactly like cilantro. Can't describe it any other way.

[turtlerescue1]

8. OH YES!

Pico de gallo:

Fresh: Tomatoes
Onion
Cilantro
and juice of a fresh squeezed lime.

Let its flavors blend- and even the pickies at church love it!
With chips, on salads, mex. dishes.

OHHHHHHH yeah. Personal favorite: TACOs.

[Kali]

24. you forgot jalepenos

[Lucy Goosey]

9. Does it taste like soap to others who don't like it?

I happen to love it, and I use it frequently.

A good friend of mine, though, says it tastes like soap. Exactly like soap, she insists.

[4th law of robotics]

12. Your friend suffers a tragic genetic defect

that prevents her from enjoying this delicious herb.

Sadly there is no cure.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98695984

[NRaleighLiberal]

19. I realize I have the defect - am not concerned - plenty of other great things to enjoy!

I am a "sweet cole crop" taster - broccoli, brussels sprouts, etc taste sweet to me - that is another genetic problem - 1/3 or so of the country finds them too bitter to enjoy!

[kurtzapril4]

46. Really!

That is so interesting! I love cabbage and cauliflower. I don't care for broccoli. It's not the taste....it's the texture and the way those little buds get stuck between your teeth.

[valerief]

28. Yep, it tastes like soap to me, too. nt

[Phentex]

43. Soap to me...

Very soapy. Ick!

[4th law of robotics]

11. Love it. Go through several bunches a week

indispensable for making mexican food and many indian dishes.

[Denninmi]

14. Love it now.

If you had asked me this 15 years ago, I would have said "hated it, tastes like soap or stink bug residue".

Now, I think it tastes and smells like .... wait for it .... CILANTRO! Shocking, huh?

Actually, it's a rather complex flavor and aroma, and there are earthy notes similar to cumin (not surprising, closely related), and citrus notes.

[AnneD]

15. To my taste buds...

It tastes like cheap soap. I can tolerate it in small amounts, but most cooks in this region (Houston) seem to Believe a little is good so more must be better. I am forever picking out fists full from my food. Strain the stuff out puleeze. Ordering your food without it seems to be an exercise in futility but at least they don't garnish that stuff on my food anymore. I grew up with Mexican food (non cilantro) and hubby is Indian....so try as I might I have never acquired a taste for it. I am glad to hear there are others with the same reactions. Makes me feel a little less weird.

[4th law of robotics]

21. unsaturated aldahydes

That flavor stands out to some people and makes cilantro taste like soap. Others don't really taste it.

[AnneD]

22. There is another.....

thing that I can taste but most folks cannot that is genetic but I can't remember it. I am also very sensitive to umami, the so called fifth taste and actually crave it. I also have a very acute sense of smell when not adversely affected by our air quality.

The role that genetics plays on something like taste is a very interesting topic.

[4th law of robotics]

23. I agree

it implies that at some point in our evolution being able to taste or not taste certain things was an evolutionary advantage but not equally for all individuals.

It's really not clear why for a lot of these oddities.

[AnneD]

37. I have a lot of...

Native American in me and have several medical problems related to that but I also find that I have some gifts related to that too. I just go with the flow.

I think it is fascinating that they really aren't sure how taste and smell and the brain work together. I have know folks (through meds or traumas) that have lost their sense of smell and it affected their sense of taste. As we grow older these senses decline and become altered.

It is truly an area for research.

[hifiguy]

16. It's an interesting flavor that definitely doesn't work in everything.

Like Vietnamese fish sauce, it's best used as a flavor note, rather than the whole chord, where it gets pretty overpowering and obnoxious pretty fast. The soapiness can be pretty nasty when it is chucked willy-nilly into a dish.

[Remmah2]

17. Still growing my own.

SALSA!

[Arugula Latte]

18. Puree some and inject it into my veins!

[Kali]

25. like a LOT of things, I didn't like it when I was younger

but it is indispensable for much of my Mexican cooking now

posole or tortilla soup without cilantro? bleh

I can make a good salsa without it but with is almost always better

[NRaleighLiberal]

26. We are tracking pretty much around what was found in this study -

http://www.flavourjournal.com/content/1/1/8/abstract

Fascinating!

[Quantess]

33. It doesn't taste like soap to me.

I like it.

[NRaleighLiberal]

35. check the data - 85-90% of people should like it...I am one of the 5-10% who don't

(as are others here who vote that they don't like it)

[valerief]

27. Tastes like soap! nt

[geardaddy]

31. I think it tastes like soap, but...

I can handle it in salsa and as a small...that's SMALL garnish on Indian food.

[ret5hd]

32. hate it. tastes like soap.

[Scuba]

34. Yummy. Essential for guacamole, salsa and dozens of other dishes.

[OneGrassRoot]

36. I'm seriously addicted. n/t

[HopeHoops]

38. We bought one cilantro plant about 8 years ago. We'll never be without it.

It reseaded and will continue to resead forever. It owns aobut 25 feet of our garage side rose area. We harvest more cilantro and it's seed (coriander) than we could possibly use, but it will never go away. We consider that a good thing. We grow tomatoes, onions, garlic, parsley, and adding cilantro completes the totally home-grown salsa.

[kwassa]

39. Love it, had some tonight, in a veggie burrito.

[femmocrat]

40. It smells like stink bugs!

I never ate it, though.

[EastTennesseeDem]

41. Ew.

Ew.

Gross.

[Arkansas Granny]

42. I don't like cilantro. If there is more than just a hint of cilantro in a dish,

that's all I can taste. It's flavor is just overpowering to me.

[soccer1]

44. I dislike cilantro...tastes like waxy soap.....

Eww......I never eat it. I use parsley, instead.

[GoCubsGo]

45. Does anyone else find it odd that so many people here who know what soap tastes like?

Looks like we have a lot of potty mouths here. Did your mom wash your mouth out with soap for saying bad things?



(Yes, I am an admitted potty mouth. But, I developed mine when I was too big to have my mouth washed out with soap.)


I don't really care for cilantro. I can take it in small quantities, particularly in salsas and pico de gallo. In fact, I prefer those WITH it over those without. But, otherwise, bleech. I feel that way about cumin, too.

[tjwmason]

47. Another tastes of soap one here.

Absolutely foul stuff.

But when it's been cooked it's usually fine (i.e., as part of a recipe).