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[catandfiddle]

Someone at church told me that when they were first introduced to cilantro, they thought it tasted "soapy".

WHAT?

Comments

[alexa_angel]

I think it does too, at least sometimes. The kind I buy in the store tastes funny, but the kind at my favorite Mexican restaurant tastes great. I wonder what the difference is?

[catandfiddle]

Well, the kind you buy in the store might have all kind of pesticides and crap. :D I get mine from the local Amish market and it's soooo yummy. I'm in a total cilantro addiction phase right now!

[shoutingboy]

Froom what I understand, there's a mutation which makes cilantro taste different. To some people, it just plain tastes wrong, and there ain't nothing they can do about it.

Can't find any documentation to back this up, so take it cum grano salis, as the Greeks say. But I know that cilantro divides people like no other herb seems to.

[catandfiddle]

That's fascinating! So it's a genetic mutation in people?

[shoutingboy]

I heard that on NPR, but I can't track down information about it online. But yeah, that's what I remember hearing. So for some people, cilantro just really tastes different.

[catandfiddle]

That's wild! I was looking around on ihatecilantro.com and they talk about that a bit there. I'm so glad that I'm not affected by it!

[philmach]

I've heard that's a very common assessment from a lot of people.

[catandfiddle]

Yeah, so I'm learning! I must have a weird palate- I never would have called it soapy in a million years! I get nutty, lemony, cilantroey goodness. :D

[philmach]

I found this interesting tidbit on Wikipedia:

"The leaves are variously referred to as coriander leaves in Britain; cilantro (from the Spanish name for the plant) in the United States, and dhania in the Indian subcontinent. The leaves, and especially the stems, have a very different taste from the seeds, similar to parsley but "juicier" and with citrus-like overtones. Some people instead perceive an unpleasant "soapy" taste and/or a rank smell. This is believed to be a result of an enzyme that changes the way they taste coriander leaves, a genetic trait, but has yet to be fully researched."

Interesting :) I, too, love cilantro so luckily I don't have this particular enzymatic problem ;)

[catandfiddle]

That is hilarious! I love the list of all the things people think it tastes like. I think "pennies in soap" and "doll hair" are my favorites- eck!

[ex_anastasi575]

Oh, I love cilantro!

But I do hate certain things, such as caraway seeds and anise.

[catandfiddle]

I actually don't know what caraway seeds taste like! As for anise, it's hit and miss with me. I think it depends on the context.

Cilantro and I, however, are best buds!

[batshua]

Caraway seeds taste pretty nondescript. They sort of add a teensy bit of kick to seeded rye, but I couldn't describe what that really tastes like.