I was completely unaware of this phenomenon until a few years ago, when Denise, one of my close friends, told me that she thought cilantro tasted like soap. Which (like most odd sounding facts) sent me straight to the internet, where I discovered entire support groups of people who felt the same as Denise. Who knew! I guess people who hate cilantro knew.
I haven’t been able to find many surveys on it, or estimates of how many people think cilantro is tasty versus how many think it’s horrible, but the few I’ve found have landed somewhere in the 70/30 range. So you cilantrophobes may be a minority, but you’re a sizeable one! There are only a few studies about this, including this one that breaks it down by race and ancestry, and one that focused on identical and fraternal twins, so it’s not like there’s a ton of unassailable evidence out there one way or another, just a few studies that haven’t been repeated.
One of the more interesting things I read, though, was that a number of people have managed to acquire a taste for cilantro. It’s possible! But it seems somewhat rare, which makes me wonder if it’s just that difficult to get over the aversion to the soapy character of the leaves. I don’t know that I’d really try to tell someone to work past a hatred for cilantro, except that there’s just SO MUCH good food that comes with cilantro.
Even my cats like it. I had to move my potted cilantro plants outside after I discovered one of the cats was habitually lounging on top of the plant because she liked the smell so much. So that’s why it wasn’t growing.
I’ve always wondered what it tastes like to people who think it tastes like something. My whole family has the same aversion, but I’m going to attempt to overcome genetic predisposition and see if I can learn to like it. Will keep you posted on this taste bud quest.
Wow, I’ve never heard of cilantro tasting “soapy.” And I’ve never had an aversion to its taste…
I eat tons of Vietnamese cuisine so it shows up quite often and I’m the person who LOVES to pile it on. The best herb ever.
I was very relieved to know that there are other people who hate the cilantro. Thank you Sarah!!!, I promise that I’ll start my own experiment.
My mom developed a taste for cilantro! She thought it tasted like soap the first time she tasted it (and even sent the dish back to the restaurant kitchen thinking they hadn’t properly rinsed her plate) but kept eating it and has learned to like it. I can deal with it, but don’t especially like the taste. My uncle (mom’s brother) and cousin both hate it.
I used to hate cilantro and herbs like dill and parsley as a kid because I’m Russian and would ask my parents not to put dill in soup or salad (still think yuck). I kind of hacked that by trying cilantro based smoothies, having better tacos (El Rey Del Taco Truck!), and making my own cilantro smoothies (with citrus or mango or pineapple base).. Earl Grey tastes somewhat like soap to me