MetaChat - Cilantro tastes like soap. Who's with me?

Yeah, but in a good way.

posted by orthogonality 05 October | 00:48

What's Cilantro?

posted by dg 05 October | 00:50

Cilantro is a horrible, disgusting herb that became popular in every single kind of food there is around 1996. It's green, resembles little bits of parsley, and tastes like soapy death.

You can't eat Thai, Mexican, or Indian food anymore without the shit sprinkled on top.

Most people love it, and those of us that hate it pretty much have an undiagnosed allergy.

posted by interrobang 05 October | 00:54

nup, tastes like coriander to me.

posted by nomis 05 October | 00:54

What?!? I don't see it. Cilantro is a staple at the Slack household, and we usually steer clear of the foods that taste like soap. I love the smell of fresh cilantro.

posted by Slack-a-gogo 05 October | 00:54

dg, you may know it as coriander.

Oh, if only it tasted as good as soap. Back in the day I used to wash dishes in a kitchen where they served a lot of ceviche daily. Said ceviche required the chopping of copious amounts of cilantro, the stench of which would drive me crying out into the alley until that particular bit of prep was done. I know people who go nuts for it, but if every bit of cilantro were to mysteriously vanish from the planet this veru night, I wouldn't miss it a bit.

posted by bmarkey 05 October | 00:54

(dg: damned americocentrism again!)

posted by nomis 05 October | 00:55

Cilantro is a horrible, disgusting herb that became popular in every single kind of food there is around 1996. It's green, resembles little bits of parsley, and tastes like soapy death.

You can't eat Thai, Mexican, or Indian food anymore without the shit sprinkled on top.

Most people love it, and those of us that hate it pretty much have an undiagnosed allergy.
posted by interrobang 05 October | 00:54

I am with you more than I've ever been with anyone in my life.

Bastards.

posted by mudpuppie 05 October | 00:55

I love it.

posted by nomis 05 October | 00:55

It's weird; I'm perfectly okay with coriander, but I totally hate cilantro.

posted by interrobang 05 October | 00:55

Boy, do I ever feel sorry for you poor sods who can't enjoy coriantro/cilander.

posted by nomis 05 October | 00:57

As I looked around the room I noticed I was in a small minority in my feelings. Nearly everyone else has turned to me upon hearing my reaction. Some of them are snickering, and someone I knew (but wish I hadn't) asked me "What's wrong? Don't like cilantro?"

A girl in the front corner was smacking her lips and running her tongue across the roof of her mouth, like a dog eating peanut butter. A third victim is at the sink in the back of the lab, trying to get water from her cupped hands without attracting attention. At the front sits the teacher, grinning.

posted by interrobang 05 October | 00:59

I love cilantro. My mom thinks it tastes like cat pee. (Although I doubt that she has ever tasted cat pee.)

posted by goatdog 05 October | 01:00

I never knew there was such an anti cilantro cabal. Where do you guys stand on limes? We use a lot of limes here too.

posted by Slack-a-gogo 05 October | 01:00

Next time I fill out a medical form and they ask if I have any allergies, I'm totally going to write "cilantro". As far as I know, it's the only one.

posted by interrobang 05 October | 01:03

The weird thing is, I really love Mexican and Thai food, and am turning the corner on Indian. All three cusines rely heavily on cilantro.

If I can eat around it, I will. If I can't, I makea mental note never to order that particular dish again and make the best of it that I can. Happily, Science Girl digs the stuff so i can usually swap with her.

On preview: limes rock. Limes are the citrus of choice around our house.

posted by bmarkey 05 October | 01:04

In restaurants, I actually specifically ask that no cilantro is put on the food. When you ask this, they give you this look like you've just said that you hate the Beatles or admire Hitler. Most of the time, they don't actually do it.

Limes are my least favorite citrus, but not because they're offensive to the palate like cilantro.

I don't admire Hitler, but I do hate the Beatles.

posted by interrobang 05 October | 01:10

In restaurants, I actually specifically ask that no cilantro is put on the food. When you ask this, they give you this look like you've just said that you hate the Beatles or admire Hitler. Most of the time, they don't actually do it.

I don't admire Hitler, but I do hate the Beatles.
posted by interrobang 05 October | 01:10

Exactly, bang bang!

I've found that the only way to ensure a cilanro-free meal (and even then it's sketchy) is to tell them what a horriffic allergy you have to it. Then, sometimes, they'll take note.)

And coriander -- it tastes different entirely.

posted by mudpuppie 05 October | 01:16

Huh. I never knew. Cilantro seems so innocuous to me. Then again, I hate mustard. Can't stand the smell even. So we all have our things.

posted by dame 05 October | 01:17

Cilantro rules.

posted by kenko 05 October | 01:25

Someone told me once that not being able to taste (or at least, appreciate) cilantro had a genetic basis. I googled it, and found a lot of anecdotal evidence to support this, but I can't come up with a link good enough to post here.

Me? I love the stuff, and would roll around in it like a cat does in catnip if the opportunity presented itself. To me, it tastes like pure chlorophyll, new-mown grass, the very essence of vegetabley goodness. But then again, I eat fiddleheads. What do I know?

posted by freshwater_pr0n 05 October | 01:39

i'll take some fried fiddleheads please
and the head of john the baptist

posted by ethylene 05 October | 01:41

None of my salsa fresca for any of you! Except kenko.

posted by WolfDaddy 05 October | 01:43

Every time I see the words "salsa fresca", I think of Chocha Fresca. Make of that what you will.

posted by bmarkey 05 October | 01:52

half the time i say ceviche i mean tapenaude and think gaspacho
i make nothing of it and no one ever notices

posted by ethylene 05 October | 01:57

I was as perplexed as dg, until nomis and bmarkey said coriander. You mean you guys eat that stuff? I thought it was decoration purposes only.
≡ Click to see image ≡

posted by dabitch 05 October | 02:13

Cilantro is okay, but I don't like to taste CILANTRO.

posted by mosch 05 October | 03:28

I like cilantro. However, I hate saffron and I'm the only person I know who does. I think it tastes like wax. And cumin smells like stinky feet but can nevertheless be good in very small doses.

posted by cali 05 October | 04:02

I dislike cilantro, but do like coriander (the powdered seeds). I'm good at making sure that any Thai food i have isn't sogged with it. When I buy salsa instead of making it, I make sure there's no cilantro. I agree that it tastes like soap: burnt soap.

So many members of the Mint family do, imco.

Cumin's good stuff.. mix it with a teeny pinch of cinnamon and use it instead of cilantro OR coriander. I've never had enough saffron to say it has any taste at all: expensive stuff, them pistils.

posted by reflecked 05 October | 04:55

'bang, are we really going to go through this again? Seriously? Do a quick Google and you'll see that cilantro and coriander have been used in Mediterranean, Asian, Thai, Indian and Mexican cooking for anywhere from several hundred to several thousand years.

Admittedly, there's likely a case for the argument that it's being overused, but perhaps its appearance on your radar is due to ethnic foods becoming less Americanized over the course of the last several decades. However, the art of sublety is generally lost on the American palate, it would seem, and American cooking mentality tends to postulate that "if a little is good, a lot will be even better", ad nauseum. It happened with garlic in the 80's, it happened with rosemary and mesquite in the 90's, perhaps cilantro is the stand out for you in the 00's.

I, too, used to think it tasted like soap, but the thought of being chased off from so many of my favorite foods by a silly little herb really irked me and now I can't imagine life without the stuff. As a matter of fact this Indian place down the street makes the most amazing cilantro, coriander, lemon sauce that I swear I would drink if I could. Mmmmm, I think I know where I'm eating lunch today....

posted by Frisbee Girl 05 October | 05:46

I hate the very smell of cilantro. It is awful,awful,awful.

But I like broccoli.

posted by bunnyfire 05 October | 06:14

I had the most amazing black bean soup a few weeks ago, in a local Mexican place. There was some cilantro in it; just enough. Last week I went back and had the same soup. It had way too much cilantro in it and was just about inedible. I can still taste it....ugh.

Anyway, I do like it, in very small amounts. I make a killer tortilla soup (and now I make black bean soup, and mine's better), and both just have to have a few sprigs of cilantro pureed in there. Mmmm.

posted by iconomy 05 October | 09:04

Yo loves me some culantro
Yo digs me achiote
Yo hook me up with espices
comino, recao, canelas, tamarindo
¿What's the point of eating sin sabor?

posted by Hugh Janus 05 October | 09:10

I loves me some cilantro - not too much though, just a little for zing.

It was my understanding that in the US, cilantro referred to the leaves, and coriander the powdered seed. Whereas when I lived in NZ, I called it coriander leaf, and coriander.

And limes? That means mojitos, baby!

posted by gaspode 05 October | 09:18

Cilantro works.

posted by safetyfork 05 October | 09:37

Soapy. Hate it.

posted by jrossi4r 05 October | 10:27

Yummy. Love it.

posted by mygothlaundry 05 October | 10:44

dont eat it smoke it

posted by mcgraw 05 October | 10:58

I have a cilantro saturation limit. A little bit and I don't mind at all, too much in any one dish or over the course of a meal and I want to die. I don't get the soap so much, but this sort of metallic taste horror attack.

posted by Divine_Wino 05 October | 11:20

Cilantro tastes like bunny poops.

posted by puddinghead 05 October | 11:46

Aaah my sweet, sweet darling cilantro. My lovely forbidden fruit when mother-in-law lurks. You are second in my heart only to Cumin.

But Sage! Sage is vile and loathsome, poisoning everything it comes into contact with.

posted by Secret Life of Gravy 05 October | 12:29

cilantro is disgusting. The only excuse for putting it in food is in ceviche where it covers the taste of the dead fish.

Cumin, otoh, is beautiful. Hardly a dish goes by that couldn't benefit from a small dose of it. It tastes homey. It smells warm and comfy. I love cumin.

posted by leftcoastbob 05 October | 13:04

How do you feel about pepper? I love the stuff, but I know some people who can't stand it.

I mean, I'm fucking ga-ga for black pepper. Any haters out there? Bring it on!

posted by Hugh Janus 05 October | 13:13

Someone told me once that not being able to taste (or at least, appreciate) cilantro had a genetic basis.

That's what I heard too. Either you like it or you hate it.

I like it.

See also: discussion about 6.

posted by Specklet 05 October | 13:55

I think there was a link on Mefi somewhere about cilantro and yes, it's genetic. I can't say I love it or hate it. I don't even notice it when it's in something.

SLoG, sage hatin'? Them's fightin' words!

Limes are great. If you are ever in Seattle, go to Calypso and order the Key Lime pie. Truly, the food of the gods.

posted by deborah 05 October | 14:57

I'm fine with cilantro.

Cheap pickled ginger does me in. Tastes like Tide detergent to me. (And yes, I've tasted Tide.)

posted by me3dia 05 October | 16:51

Tastes like bugs.

From a previous askMF.

posted by Feisty 06 October | 00:20

No. Tastes like beef and rusted metal.

posted by dreamsign 07 October | 00:42

My guess has always been that this is a specific smell hypersensitivity, like the one for asparagus.

I loves me some delicious, fresh-smelling cilantro, by the way. You poor mutants don't know what you're missing.

posted by ikkyu2 07 October | 02:25

05 October 2005