This confirms what I'd previously heard about it not being related to super-tasting or super-smelling, but rather that it's most likely genetic.

I'm calling it the CRAZY GENE because cilantro is DELICIOUS.

I'm SECONDING what Specklet SAID. Cilantro/Coriander = YUM.

I heart cilantro.

OH!!! is this "Cilantro" you keep going on about Coriander!!!

OH! That makes sense.

Coriander = Delicious. MMMMmmm.

Though I did hate it when I was little... I can't get enough of it now.

In all seriousness, to some of us it literally tastes like soap.

Just smelling it, to me, is awful.

I'd bought some herbs a few years ago, to include cilantro, and planted them all in pots. I'd never smelled the cilantro, then one day I did just that.

It was horrible. Almost as bad as biting into an unripe persimmon.

So, yes, probably genetic.

(If it is mixed in other things, I can tolerate it, but only barely.)

We know, we know, bunnyfire, it tastes like soap. That's because you have THE CRAZY GENE.

Ugh. I detest cilantro. Makes me ill.

For me, cilantro is like celery. I like the flavor but it is so strong that it overpowers the whole dish. A dozen leaves in a spicy bean dish is about as strong as I ever go with it. I use so little at a time, I have to dry and freeze a fresh bunch.

I'm like jonathanstrange - first time I tried it I couldn't stand it, and now I like it. I had the same thing with tomatoes - didn't eat them for years. Maybe those strong tastes take some getting used to.

I lack the garlic gene. Do. Not. Want. An eensy bit of garlic powder that I can't really taste is ok, but the second I can taste it - bleh. I know this makes me crazier than the anti-cilantro crazies to most people, but there you have it.

Cilantro is one of the few herbs I will eat raw off the cutting board while cooking. It's a mouth full of WIN.

In all seriousness, to some of us it literally tastes like soap.

Goodness, I had no idea! Here I was, thinking that everyone loved cilantro, but --and this is certainly embarassing for me-- I had somehow missed the last six and a half thousand times you posted the same stupid fucking comment about cilantro tasting like soap. You should post more about it!!!!

Uproportionate response, cmonkey. It's a post about whether or not people like cilantro.

Jeez, this is a little harsh for a thread about cilantro, isn't it?

The joys of cilantro are not available to me. It just doesn't taste like much. I can only wonder just what it tastes like to all of you lovers.

I don't see how anyone who doesn't like cilantro can possibly say they like Mexican food. Mmmmm pico de gallo.

What eekacat said, and I also like it in beer, such as Hoegaarden. I don't care for it alone- it tastes like licorice, and I don't like licorice.

However, I think it's possible cmonkey isn't getting enough cilantro in his diet.

I hate licorice too, and therefore also fennel and star anise, but I looove cilantro and have never found it similar to the rest of those. Brains = weird.

Threads about loving/hating cilantro taste like soap to me. I hear that others can't get enough of them, though.

Mmmmmmmm licorice....

SOMEBODY upthread is having a bad day.

Actually, I kind of like pico de gallo, as long as the proportions of cilantro to other ingredients isn't overwhelming.

I wish I knew what it tasted like for those of you who like it.OTOH I actually enjoy broccoli and brussels sprouts, so, whatever.

This proves what I've always suspected - people who dislike cilantro aren't actually human.

I don't think there's any ingredient that I dislike enough to insult the cook over.

Once my porkchop tasted like soap. I love porkchops. And my mom was the cook, and I love my mom and her cooking. I realized that a detergent bubble must have floated onto my plate or something, and so it tasted like soap.

I kept my mouth shut and ate the whole thing, because complaining about a meal that someone cooked for you is rude.

Food allergies are another thing -- I'd class cilantro-soap taste as a biological thing, like an allergy, and if I suffered from it, it would be easy enough to say, "I'm sorry, I'm allergic to this. But don't trouble yourself over me, I'll just eat more of this delicious rice/Is there any way you could make some without cilantro for me? It looks delicious otherwise."

But most people can't seem to resist telling anyone who will listen about what amounts to a difference in taste. Food is the absolute worst thing to make someone else feel bad over, even by accident.

I've already said too much.

I had a theory that what tastes like "chocolate" to me is what tastes like "vanilla" to someone else. In other words, we all like "chocolate", but find the taste in different foods.

Strange things kids come up with on long bus rides to school.

@ monkey - I haven't been here long enough to see any other cilantro/soap posts. Please consider your irritation for my benefit. ;)

Hee, vaniila is a major flavoring in many chocolates, and I knew a woman in Vegas whose tastebuds were chocolate blind. For her chocolate ice cream really did taste like vanilla.

Chocolate itself is fermented well before turning it into candies or cocoa or anything, so it can present a whole spectrum of flavors or notes, just like wine. It's possible to taste a lot of things in it, so you may just be right, sakura. Fermented foods are chemically complex, and people who can taste and smell well can identify a lot of subtleties in them because of the real analogue compounds that develop during the fermentation process.