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To a very vocal online contingent, cilantro is the very worst.
On "I Hate Cilantro" websites and Facebook pages they gripe that the herb tastes like soap, mold, or dirt. Cilantro haters not only despise its flavor, they also detest its smell. Stories in publications as serious as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and, yes, even msnbc.com have even covered the sharp divide in taste preferences when it comes to this particular herb. And when a study of identical twins found an aversion to cilantro stems from a genetic glitch, the herb's bashers finally had a good reason why they found the leaves of the Coriander plant so offensive.
But who are these people in the anti-cilantro community? No one had a clue -- until now.
There has been no attempt to quantify which people hate the herb until two nutrition experts from the University of Toronto took a stab at it. They recently published their findings in the journal Flavour. In the study, they surveyed nearly 1,400 young adults ages 20 to 29 in Canada.
Volunteers completed a 63-item preference checklist in which they rated each food on a 9-point scale from 1 (dislike extremely) to 9 (like extremely). They could also select "never tried" or "would not try."
Researchers found an aversion to cilantro ranged from a low of 3 percent to a high of 21 percent among six different ethnic groups.
Young Canadians with East Asian roots, which included those of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai and Vietnamese descent, had the highest prevalence of people who disliked the herb at 21 percent. Caucasians were second at 17 percent, and people of African descent were third at 14 percent.
Among the herb's fans, the group with the fewest number of people who disliked cilantro were those of Middle Eastern background at 3 percent, followed by those of Hispanic and South Asian ancestry at 4 percent and 7 percent respectively.
Exposure to the herb at an earlier age and with greater frequency in Mexican, Asian, and Indian cooking likely helps shape a positive flavor preference. Another possibility is that genetic differences among the cultural groups might influence someone's taste perception of the herb.
Although researchers have yet to evaluate all 63 items on the food-preference checklist, study author Ahmed El-Sohemy, PhD, is sure of one thing: "Cilantro is perhaps the most polarizing with large numbers either loving it or hating it." The paper calls this the "unusual divisive nature of cilantro."
"People who dislike cilantro extremely describe it very, very differently from those who love it," explains El-Sohemy, an associate professor of nutrition at the University of Toronto. The reason? "These individuals live in very different sensory worlds and are not perceiving the same thing," he says.
As for El-Sohemy's opinion of cilantro, count him among the lovers. "I remember loving the taste as a child," he says. "I distinctly remember my mother's Egyptian cooking, which used cilantro frequently."
The study is a first step in determining how widespread a dislike for cilantro is, at least in a sample of young Canadians. It's unclear whether older Canadians feel similarly or how much the herb is despised by people in other countries.
Eventually, the Toronto scientists hope to pinpoint the genetic basis for why cilantro is an herb some people love to hate.
Chef Ina Garten, aka "Barefoot Contessa," talks about her decision to become a chef after a career at the White House, her favorite fall meal and which pesky ingredient she despises.
Related:
- Your cilantro love -- or hate -- may be genetic
- Phantom smells may be a sign of trouble
- The nose doesn't know: Life with no sense of smell
- Cilantro -- love it or loathe it?
Want more weird health news? Find The Body Odd on Facebook.
Leave a Comment:
I don't know that it's worth a study to determine why, but I am definitely a cilantro hater. To me it tastes like ivory soap flakes. As its use has grown in restaurant cuisine, I find myself increasingly needing to quiz servers on whether there will be any in a dish, as it renders the meal inedible for me. In the supermarket I scour ingredient labels, particularly when it comes to fresh foods (for instance I don't find it noticeable in jarred salsa, but can't eat the fresh stuff if it's one of the ingredients).
No one else in my family has this aversion, and I don't really fit the ethnic profiles given in the article for those likely to hate (or like) the herb; I just know that to me it is just horrible.
I could not agree more. It is the new "hot" ingredient it seems and has been appearing in everything! I despise it. To me it tastes like gym sweat smells. Like an old locker room smell - that is how it tastes. I find it disgusting and if I get a taste of it - the entire dish is ruined for me. I do not fit the ethnic profiles at all - but will NEVER eat it. ICK
I agree with this article- You either love it or hate it-nothing in between. I have friends who despise it including the smell - yet I am from The U.S. who never tasted it until I moved to Mexico 20 years ago- now I can't get enough of it- I use it fresh on almost everything I eat from hotdogs to eggs and soups and everything in between. And to me the aroma is super- would be curious what they learn about the haters.
I am am NOT Mexican by any stretch. I am caucasian.
I beg to differ. I'm actually very ambivalent about cilantro. I don't love it, and I don't go out of my way to use it in anything I cook. But I don't hate it either. If it happens to be in something I'm eating, it doesn't ruin the meal for me. But at the same time if it's left out of a recipe I don't miss it. I can definitely take it or leave it.
Too bad for those who hate cilantro because it is a mercury detox herb that can help cleanse the millions of people who are taking in mercury and other poisons from coal smoke produced by coal-fired electricity generation. Go ahead and hate cilantro, losers. Via natural selection, your dislike of it and your taking in of toxins will combine to help eliminate your dumb genetics from the planet. Now go have some junk food.
KarlStevens-2597445 how exactly does cilantro detox the body of mercury considering mercury is fat soluble. Why the hostility anyway, bad day?
I find the taste quite disagreeable, yet my daughter loves it. Her mother, my ex, loved it as well and was from Mexico, and used it often. The worst use for me is in pico de gallo, which is quite popular, and cilantro is an essential ingredient. Tastes like a cross between soap and cheap perfume to me. I can eat it, but the flavor really limits my consumption. The taste dissipates quickly for me and does not ruin a meal.
Karl,
Way to wave your Ignorance Flag proudly! If you are so into New Age pseudo science and herbology, you should know that garlic is just as effective at "cleansing" the body of mercury....although there is no substantial scientific evidence to support either one of these herbs being magical. Perhaps instead of demonstrating your flawed understanding of natural selection, you should just stick grooving to the sweet sweet music of your jam bands while you cry yourself to sleep because Haight-Ashbury didn't pan out quite like you had hoped.
p.s Cilantro smells like dirty feet.
Umm yeah, Karl, I'm a loser because I hate the taste of cilantro ... whatever. If that is all it takes to be a "loser" and for you to call me names, so be it.
It never fails to amaze me how absurd and rude people can be.
Oh and as far as your genetic argument ... since I have 3 kids and they all like cilantro, I guess that blows that part of your theory away. And I rarely eat junk food as well.
If I were the type to call names, I might want to turn your namecalling right back at you ... fortunately some of us believe in civility.
Interesting since most of the world loves cilantro and is a common seasoning.
Oh yeah, this story was published in the US, where most people don't have taste buds and think big macs and whoppers are actually good.
I love cilantro, but definitely don't get people like Karl who decide that if someone isn't exactly like him, they must be a looser. Wow.
Cilantro to me smells and tastes fresh - that is the only way I can describe it. I don't like coriander as much though (cilantro seeds). We're all different in what we like and that is OK.
I'm neutral to cilantro. If a recipe calls for it I'll definitely add it, but I'm not head over heels for it. It's an herb. No different to me than rosemary or basil or whatever.
I hate fennel. Anybody else? I feel like I'm all alone on that one.
Cilantro tastes pretty soapy to me, and I've got a pretty broad palate. However, basil tastes just as bad (and I'm allergic to it), and nowadays anything remotely 'italian' is loaded with it. I wish they went back to using oregano as the main seasoning.
I also eat healthy, unlike the accusations from some folks above.
Anyway, if there's cilantro in a dish, I can taste it. People who think it tastes horrible are hard to fool, and I think that people who try to fool folks with an aversion that strong need to knock that off.
As a cilantro lover, I'm happy to know that my share of this yummy herb is increased. If a recipe calls for parsley (muy blah), I substitute cilantro. To other CL ers, try it you'll like it. To haters, my sympathy.
It's a bummer, since I prefer to eat at authentic mexican places than the crappy knockoffs (and, yes, tongue, tripe, etc etc, I grew up eating organ meats), but I end up having to pick off the cilantro because too much makes things taste like soapy metal.
I can ignore it in small amounts (like a lot of others, coriander seed's all right), but I have to actively do so.
The first time I tasted cilantro I spit it out, with extreme speed, because it caused me to have an instant flashback to a younger age and getting my mouth washed out with Fels-Naptha soap.
My first introduction to Fels-Naptha soap came at about age 10, when my mother "washed out my mouth," after I had yelled, (&%#@$*&^%~), and such a bad word was not permitted in our house - unless of course it was uttered by my father.
I learned all of the cuss words you can imagine from my father. Relatives informed me that as soon as I could talk, the first word I said, was S**T! Everyone thought that was funny.
While I realize that some people love the soapy flavor of cilantro, for me, cilantro is a very BAD TASTE.
For those of you who have never had the joy of tasting Fels-Naptha soap, it is worth it to buy a bar just to have that experience. Plus, Fels-Naptha soap is an excellent laundry helper to help get cleaner clothes.
Apparently Karl. it doesnt detox you of "dickishness"
Someone made the statement that if you eat Celantro you like the taste of soap- the odd thing is that virtually all the non- likers describe a soap taste - but as a great lover of Celantro I have no such soap taste- and I use it in soups,on chicken, eggs and even hot dogs just to name a few things. And I am not Mexican.
I was served creamed butter one time in a moderately expensive Mexican restaurant and it had an amazingly wonderful taste-when I asked what was in it I was astonished to learn it was ground up fresh Celantro.
I can't imagine a Mexican family that doesn't use Celantro-
And to the poor lady who doesn't like the licorice tasting Fennel- that is one of the main ingrediants in the best Italian Sausage- always included in East coast but can't find it included in any West coast Ital Sausage and have to put in my own.
Karl,
Congrats! You managed to do something that I think is pretty funny, you got "Collapsed by the Community" on a subject such as Cilantro.
Have fun buddy.
what_the_81
Re: Your insulting, sophomoric post:
"Interesting since most of the world loves cilantro and is a common seasoning."
"Oh yeah, this story was published in the US, where most people don't have taste buds and think big macs and whoppers are actually good."
What part of these two paragraphs in the article didn't you understand?:
There has been no attempt to quantify which people hate the herb until two nutrition experts from the University of Toronto took a stab at it.
Young Canadians with East Asian roots, which included those of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai and Vietnamese descent, had the highest prevalence of people who disliked the herb at 21 percent.
I love cilantro and liberally add it to rice, quinuoa, vegetables and other dishes. I don't like soap but I can tell you that cilantro absolutely does NOT taste soapy to me. It has a unique flavor sort of like basil, but also different, and is quite enjoyable. I think genetics effects how we each perceive the taste of cilantro so for many it all depends on our genes.
A similar genetic influence effects asparagus and the ability to smell "asparagus" in our urine. Some people can smell it in urine, some can't. Some people can produce the smell in urine and some can't. The lucky ones can both produce it and smell it! See, genetics isn't just our molecular programming but can also be fun!
For me, cilantro goes beyond tasting bad. It actually makes me physically ill. Wondering if any other cilantro-haters have experienced that before. If I eat something with cilantro in it, I get nauseated and have gastro-intestinal problems. Not pretty. So it goes beyond a taste preference. Which says to me that restaurants should not sprinkle cilantro on or bury cilantro in their foods...would you secretly stuff shrimp into something and not tell someone who was allergic to shrimp? That is how offensive I find restaurants who don't inform you that a dish has cilantro in it. I GET SICK IF I EAT IT! Please be honest and tell me. And don't embed it in your dishes so that it is impossible to order without it.
I like Cilantro, When I eat it I get the taste of parsley and celery, I like it fresh and completely washed. I sometimes do notice, very far down in the palate the taste of soap, but usually it's unnoticeable.
As a child, I coudn't stand the stuff. Now I actually enjoy it in salsa's and on tacos. But too much in a dish will ruin it for me. It's all about balance.
What can we expect from a country where hot dogs, hamburgers, and fries is consumed the most?
In Latin American countries, many dishes use cilantro. Some dishes are even cooked in cilantro puree. Keep on hating cilantro, it means they'll be more for those of us who like flavor and real food.
I like flavor and spices. I just don't like soap in my food. Why are you assuming that folks who hate cilantro also hate other spices?
It's the same as folks who can't stand green pepper because they have a genetic variation that makes them perceive it to be bitter. That doesn't mean they don't eat other veggies.
Attn Citizen911 and all other cilantro lovers:
If you can find it, you ought to try summer cilantro, a totally different and unique herb. The plant grows about six feet tall and its leaves, when bruised, smell like lime, although it tastes a little bitter. Definitely an acquired taste, but certainly a handsome addition to any herb/flower garden! Check it out!
cilantro = yum. delicious. my favorite herb, couldn't cook without it. reminds me of the time i dated a man who was allergic to garlic. i was actually relieved when we broke up. i can't imagine not liking the taste of cilantro. i put it in everything.
Nasty, bitter stuff. Despise it. Soap actually tastes better.
Good, more for me to pile onto my ceviche.
ever notice how vocal the cilantro haters are? Also, do cilantro haters also hate coriander?
Nope coriander tastes fine to me, it's just cilantro that tastes like soap flakes.
And if you'd ever been served a dish that is inedible because it tastes like someone sprinkled soap flakes over it, you too would be vocal.
I mean even if it is tasty to some people, that is no reason to put it in absolutely everything, which is what some restaurants (and even a poster here, according to her post) do. Just because you like a particular flavor doesn't mean that is how you should flavor everything. I don't like cilantro, but I do love garlic, parsley, and pepper, to name a few ingredients ... but I understand the value of having different flavor profiles, not just throwing those few ingredients into everything!
I like coriander, and share the POV of myopinion-13. I would also add that I despise other such flavor-tramplers as hot sauce, and would ask the same consideration of folks who do like that stuff.
I'm a cilantro lover, but don't love coriander. But myopinion, while in can understand your concern that restaurants might tend to over use it (I haven't noticed this), but why would you say that people in general shouldn't use it to flavor everything? Shouldn't they use whatever they want in their own cooking? Just like you choose not to use an ingredient?
SallyLu, I just don't understand using one ingredient in everything. I like more variety in my foods. As far as an individual goes sure they can do whatever they want, but when a restaurant does it, it shows a lack of creativity, lack of understanding of how to build different flavors, and basically a general "let's jump on the bandwagon" mentality.
Cilantro haters have a genetic defect, just kidding. But there is certainly a difference in taste bud makeup.
Cilantro is awesome; a hard to describe parsley, coriander, herb taste that goes well with a lot of food.
I HATE this stuff. And I also read all ingredients at the grocery store. Especially in "Mexican" cuisine. I have to agree with myopinion-13. I can't eat anything with this herb in it...YUCK! I also seem to be the only one in the family that has this type of reaction. I make my own salsa (sans Cilantro) and my kids always tell me that I need to add it. I tell them to make their own! There are other foods that I "don't enjoy" or "would rather not eat", but I think this is the only thing that I have such a strong aversion to. Keep it away from me! It's hard for me to believe people find this herb even edible let alone delicious!
I won't eat in a Mexican restaurant anymore because they seem insistent that cilantro must be in every single thing. It didn't used to be this way.
well, without cilantro, it's not really authentic Mexican food. As the article clearly says, Latin America embraces cilantro.
I can handle a little cilantro, but when there is a load of it I can't stomach it. I also absolutely hate kale. I am not sure why.
what_the, years ago Mexican restaurants didn't drown everything in cilantro. And my experience in Mexico, though limited to 1 trip, does not show such overuse either.
myopinion-13
I thoroughly agree with what you wrote. I'm from southern California and was raised on authentic Mexican food; drowning everything in cilantro, at least in the states, has been in vogue only the past few years.
I love cilantro! But then I also love anchovies and buttermilk and even brussel sprouts! I hate beer, the nasty bitter flavor is revolting. I guess I have weird taste buds! LOL!
You love brussel sprouts and hate beer? I'd have to agree, you got weird taste buds. :-)
I don't mind a tiny bit of cilantro in salsa, but anymore than that and it tastes like soap to me.
Snakezoid, I am the same. I can't think of an herb or vegetable I despise and like you, I love brussel sprouts, but I do despise beer, as well as coffee, and yes, it IS possible to survive your morning and your whole day without coffee, even on 5 hours of sleep ;)
I love brussel sprouts and just about every vegetable and herb other than cilantro, but despise both beer and coffee also.
I don't mind the taste of cilantro but ingesting it causes me headaches. Maybe the people who find it "soapy" tasting have a genetic safety net I don't have. Their taste buds inherently distinguish a possible health issue. Beer tastes bitter to me. I found I'm allergic to hops. Getting vaccinations also makes me ill. It is suspected I am allergic to the nickel that coats surgical steel (but the side effects are not as bad as the flu, etc.).
This is the most ridiculous waste of time and money I've ever heard of. It's a good thing education is "free" in Canada because if I knew that young American college kids were amassing tens of thousands of dollars in debt to fund crap studies like this, I'd lose it.
This study and others like it could turn out to have far-reaching effects in bioscience that open new technologies and creates far-reaching health effects and thousands of jobs. This is how science works: someone asks an intriguing question about why things are the way they are. They design a study and a set of experiments. Those experiments create evidence for or against a hypothesis, and in turn open up new questions of their own. At some point, there is a great discovery.
At one point a chemical engineer was messing about with the notion that plastic tape could be impregnated with magnetic material that could carry information - specifically, sound. He experimented, tinkered, failed, tried again, and eventually created the right formulas and processes. Meanwhile, his wife harangued him constantly. "This is idiocy," she said. "What kind of fool would ever want to put sound on plastic tape? What kind of a fool are you?" Eventually, that chemical engineer grew tired of the constant hocking and sold his patent to a little company called Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (today known as 3M) for something like $5000.
The point of that story is not so much that my Grandfather could've become a billionaire (though that would've been nice), but instead, that when we refuse completely to look outside our miniscule, narrow point of view to see what might be possible, we all fail to see the opportunities that hide out in unusual places.
Open your mind. It works better that way.
I totally agree with this statement. With all the other things in the world requiring attention, why are they wasting money on something as frivolous as this? Poverty, famine, disease, genetic disorders, AIDS... I can think of millions of things more important than who hates cilantro.
Angst and Tori are correct -- people should only be able to research certain kinds of things, and likewise, news articles should only be allowed to be depressing. Jack Mack, just beat it man. Nobody wants to hear about "technology" and "perseverence". By the way, I used the USPS to physically mail this comment to msnbc; laptops are the devil.
And as usual, we have to have some closed-minded fool come in and drop some wisdom.
Let's get something straight: Your opinion of where other people's money should be spent doesn't matter. It's their money, not yours. I'm sure that the first scientific researcher out there that stumbles on something that's valuable to you won't get such harsh treatment. All of a sudden, it'll be "when do I get it?" Of course, you'll want it for free, though.
This is hardly a crap study. It's important to find out how much of the population has a genetically bad reaction to an herb. First, it will raise awareness which means restaurants will be more sensitive towards their customers who don't like it. Second since it is genetic and thereby unalterable (at this point) people don't have an excuse of saying, "Oh he's just being difficult. Go ahead and add it." Third, since this is genetic research we are learning more about ourselves as a species. It's not much, but every little bit helps.
Finally, you don't know how much this study costs. If you want to see a waste of money, check out how much extra funding the military complex gets. A study in human genetics is worth far more than yet another bomber jet and costs less as well.
"This is the most ridiculous waste of time and money I've ever heard of" angst18, have you ever heard of golf?
We need to ban Celery, Cilantro and Sprigs of Mint. They offer nothing to food in ways of enhancements. In fact they over-power the foods the mingle with. Who wants to eat something like Cilantro that tastes like soap?
Celery is a vile weed that is useless. Cilantro is most likely a gateway drug.
Based on your name, is it safe to assume we should substitute Doritos, Cheetos, Funions, and Little Debbie snacks?
420 - couldn't give you a thumbs up because I disagree with the rest. I did, however, burst out laughing at the statement "Cilantro is most likely a gateway drug." Thanks for the laugh; I hate the stuff!
I would suggest that aversion to the taste of cilantro is like many other food that people hate. If someone has a bad experience with a flavor in their youth, that will affect how they perceive the taste of that thing going forward. Your brain has as much to do with food preference as your actual taste buds do.
I bet if I gave someone a delicious cookie, made the normal way with regular ingredients, and told them after they ate the cookie that it had poop in it, they'd be POSITIVE that they tasted poop in the cookie they just ate - even though none was there. Every other cookie like that one from there on wouldn't taste right to them.
I used to HATE Cilantro. My only exposure in my youth to cilantro was in dishes that had a lot of it, and I thought it tasted like soap. But as I started eating better food as an adult, my aversion to it went away. Now, I love cilantro. I'd wear cilantro cologne if they made it!
I think there might be a genetic factor to this. But I I would bet that for many people, they think they hate cilantro, and that is enough to make sure their brains tell them it tastes bad when they eat it. Like anything, we can be trained and re-trained to interpret tastes in many way. Unfortunately, until you are more accustomed to cilantro it tastes like soap, and that is a pretty vile taste.
I equate it to beer - its an acquired taste. But once I acquired it, I love dishes with cilantro in it.
That's an interesting theory - but I can recall the first time I tasted a dish filled with cilantro and I had no idea why I hated it, while no one else had any problem with it. It was only later on that someone clued me into the whole love/hate cilantro debate. There are plenty of other foods that I have acquired a taste for - but cilantro could never be in that category for me. The horrible taste is just too pronounced, even if I just bite down on one small piece. I could no sooner acquire a taste for cilantro than you could for soap flakes or motor oil
@420 - We all know that cilantro is a terrible gateway drug.
First you use cilantro, maybe you like it. A lot of people do.
Then cilantro doesn't do it for you anymore. You start to occasionally using Italian parsley at dinner parties with your friends. But only socially, right, you never eat it alone, right?
The next thing you know you find yourself tired and dirty, smelling like last night's garlic, digging in the trash behind the farmer's market, trying desperately to score any loose stems of dill or Rosemary.
I hear that Tennessee is banning cilantro for just that reason.
Oddly I used to HATE cilantro to the point I would almost vomit when smelling it. Seriously, I was in a grocery store and thought the cilantro was Italian Parsley. Over the past 20 years I now LOVE cilantro. I can't even guess how that could happen as I agree 100% with the haters it tasted like disgusting soap. Now it doesn't. Very weird but maybe that makes me uniquely qualified to mediate this issue of worldwide importance!
I love cilantro! And we didn't have it growing up, I grew up in a meat and potatoes Central PA family. It's what makes Mexican food taste like Mexican food. But I also understand those that can't stand it. I can't stand red beets; not the taste or the smell! To me, they taste like dirt, and I won't eat anything that red beets have touched. Yuck!!!
I have to disagree with the statement Exposure to the herb at an earlier age and with greater frequency in Mexican, Asian, and Indian cooking likely helps shape a positive flavor preference. I grew up in Michigan and had never even heard of cilantro as a child. I moved to Texas at 18 and grew to love this herb. I love it chopped on a tomato sandwich it just brings out the flavor of the tomato..
Everyone's VP on taste is valid. I think the whole point is simply: don't assume your tastes to be universal, and that everyone will want to have all their food innundated with your favorite seasonng. I hate not only cilantro (which colors my choice of local latino eateries) but also find parmesan cheese to smell exactly like vomit. Thus, I generally hate faux-Italian dishes that are dosed with 100x the amount of this s**t that would be found in a more authentic Italian dish.
Funny, I have no problem with parmesan but I feel about romano cheese like you do about parmesan.
My husband thinks parmesan cheese smells like stinky feet!! In fact he calls it "the stinky feet cheese". LOL!!
I can't even stand Feta cheese on my plate because of the smell.
The parmesan you get must be bad. Everyone knows parmesan should smell like sweaty gym socks!
....a Canadian study? We should immediately demand a Federally funded study (I'm thinking UC Berkeley or Columbia). Canadian tastebuds gravitate towards the mundane and I feel that the study may be skewed.
Cilantro is one of the few herbs with a permanent place in my veggie/herb garden: fresh salsa isn't salsa without it!
I feel sorry for the cilantro haters out there. I'd make out with cilantro if I could because I love it that much. I will say that I have seen cilantro used inappropriately with flavors that just don't work with it, so maybe that's what led so many down their path of cilantro hate. It's such a shame.
I put lime zest into things that call for cilantro. It makes the cilantro lovers think that it's in there but doesn't turn off those (like me ) who hate it.
I also can't stand too much salt or pepper in things. I drive my family crazy. I just make everything for me and tell them to add more if they want it.
Tastes like an evergreen bush. Yuck!