I’ve been wondering for a while now if I might have that gene or whether Cilantro is just a herb i dislike. I can stomach dishes with cilantro in them, but it just stings through everything. No matter how little was put in, it tastes to me like somebody over-cilantro’d the dish. I’ve never eaten anything where I thought “Mmmh, yes, there’s a subtle hint of cilantro” - it’s always “Oh, there’s the cilantro, and it’s just too strong”.
But whenever I read about this online, people say that it tastes like soap. It’s been a couple of years since I was toddler enough to just put soap in my mouth. But in my mind, the taste of soap is mostly bitter, with an overwhelming tropical/fruity/citrussy flavor of whatever the producers decided to make the soap smell like. I also imagine it having a really unpleasant texture/mouthfeel. I have no urge to try eating soap, just so I can compare it with the taste of a herb. And I assume that most people with the Cilantro-gene also haven’t made an actual taste-comparison. So hence my question: In what way does anything - but cilantro in particular - taste like soap?
I’m willing to bet it tastes soapy to everyone, it’s just that not everyone likes it. It’s another one of those weird “look at me, I’m unique” things (no, aphantasia doesn’t exist either, Kevin, nobody has a TV in their head).
It’s literally a genetic thing though.
No, that’s not how it works at all.
I had no idea it tasted “soapy” to some people until I was… Older. Like multiple decades in age.
Then I only found out from a friend who’d become one helluva cook and he told me it tastes like soap to him - and that’s how it is for some people.
I tend to think this is correct because I both think it tastes like soap and I like it. I would just tend to describe it as “clean” and “fresh” tasting instead of “soapy”.
I mean, we’re not talking about a clean or fresh or citrussy taste of perfumed soap. We’re talking someone did the dishes with dish soap and didn’t properly rinse afterwards. That’s genuinely what I thought had happened when I learned of cilantro.
Same here. My brother and I had a discussion about this one time after he refused to eat his tacos because they had cilantro on them. We both agree that it tastes like soap. The difference is that he hates it while I don’t mind it or usually enjoy it. I’ve always been the more adventurous eater between the two of us, so maybe that has something to do with it? It tastes to me like a non-sweet version of how Irish Spring soap smells.
This is it exactly! I remember clearly the first time I had it. It was shocking and off putting because it was so different from anything I’d had before. But after that first experience of shock, it gradually grew on me until I actually enjoyed it.
I think this difference comes down to how open-minded folks are about trying new things.
I remember having a very similar experience with American Chinese food when one restaurant my parents started going to put large-ish chunks of ginger in one of the dishes I would always order. I didn’t know what it was at the time and told my parents it tasted like it had soap in it. Now I love ridiculously ginger heavy dishes.