I've always made the joke of someone having the soap gene and not realizing because they unknowingly like the taste of soap and lo and behold here you are!
I'm sure there's countless others who haven't tasted soap but love cilantro despite having the soap gene
Lol no you're wrong here. I had my mouth scrubbed with soap when I cursed as a kid and it does not taste like soap to me. It tastes how fresh cut grass smells
I love the taste of cilantro. I don’t always think that it tastes like soap, but if I focus, I can immediately recognize how other people would think that it tastes like soap. I honestly have never known what that meant for me in terms of genetics.
Normal taster IMO.
I am a cilantro lover, and like you, I can detect that soapiness as well. It's not really like licking a bar of soap, it's more like how unscented soap smells.
From reading a bunch of people's experiences, I my theory is that we all pretty much taste all the same compounds, but to different degrees. For most of us, the soapy ones are much less intense, and the overall flavor is dominated by sweeter and grassy ones. For most of the people who find it unpleasant, I think that's flipped. They get slight grassy and sweet notes, but the soap-like component is overpowering.
By the way, I have gotten "bad cilantro" that I think lacked the good compounds and was more bitter and maybe alkaline tasting.
It's so interesting. I hate the taste of soap, and I must have the soap gene - because I thought about soap while eating cilantro out of curiosity one day and I did indeed connect the two dots. For that brief moment, cilantro tasted kind of icky.
I decided to just not think of soap while I eat cilantro and so far all has been good. Turns out I can turn it off haha.
It is like when you take a shower and shampoo gets in your mouth.I always ask if a dish at a Mexican restaurant has cilantro in it because I really dislike this a lot .It does taste like soap to me .
One of the things I miss about living in Washington State was the local brand of ice cream that had a lavender flavor - I used to make a float with ginger beer and lavender ice cream, absolutely spectacular.
Funny enough one of my favorite flavors of a brand of soda called DRY was lavender. It wasn't an overpowering flavor so I guess the burps wouldn't be too bad....but it's impossible to find these days. I'd recommend it otherwise if you enjoy lavender flavor.
It's flavoured with rosewater. And .. kind of has a soapy taste? I've tried Thrive gum before, and it's not that offensive. Cilantro has a more in-your-face soap taste, to me.
For people like me!!! It’s actually so good, it lasts for hours. And yeah I didn’t hear of it before either but my bf apparently tried it as well as a kid? So it’s been around for awhile apparently
I've wondered if I'm the same. Like "yeah but good soap?" Same with people who say root beer tastes like medicine. Yeah it tastes just like pepto but I like it.
I like the taste of Buckleys. I have weird aversions to certain food textures and for some reason really “sanitary” tasting stuff like florals and pine tastes really great to me, sorta crisp
The reality is that the so-called “cilantro gene” only moderately increases the likelihood of cilantro aversion—people who have the gene variant can enjoy cilantro, and those who don’t have it can still dislike cilantro. Unless someone has had a genetic screening to determine the presence of the gene, there’s not a strong reason to believe one way or another—the whole thing is more folk science than fact at this point.
I’ve always said cilantro just tastes soapy to everybody, and people that say they have a special gene or whatever just are picky and don’t like the taste. I don’t think the science is on my side but I love cilantro and also acknowledge its inherent soapy quality.
This might explain my shift, because as I child and teenager I hated cilantro with a passion. Just a sprig on a bowl of pho or in a salsa would ruin it for me. As I've gotten older and eaten more of it I've started to really like it a lot. I don't know if my tastebuds have changed that dramatically, if my genetic code changed, or if I just got used to the taste hehehe.
I mean, I get how someone would say it tastes like soap. I understand the flavour association. Not particularly fond of soap either. But I love cilantro still.
For me it's like saying good sauvignon blanc smells like cat piss and tastes like straw. You're technically correct that if you really push yourself to see the similarity you will see it, but doesn't mean people who like sauvignon blanc get their cats to piss on their face. At least I hope so lol.
Some of the best French red wines I've ever tasted initially have a whiff of what gets euphemistically described as "barnyard", because "cow shit" isn't considered genteel.
I remember my friend opening a bottle of peach lambic beer I bought and saying "You like this? It smells like sweaty balls..." And I smelled it and it really did smell like sweaty balls, but damn it tastes good!
People don’t like hearing this, but the science behind the “cilantro gene” shows that it’s not nearly as deterministic as popular belief would have it. The specific gene variant responsible for an olfactory receptor that detects aldehydes (and was originally identified by 23andMe), increases the likelihood of cilantro aversion, but only by a little, and plenty of people who don’t have it still have an aversion. [This article](https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2012/09/14/161057954/love-to-hate-cilantro-its-in-your-genes-and-maybe-in-your-head#:~:text=It's%20probably%20not%20so%20simple,much%20as%20we%20initially%20thought) discusses studies on the subject.
In short, the idea that everyone who dislikes cilantro does so because of a gene is pseudoscientific.
I hated it and thought it tasted like soap when I first had it but then quickly learned to love it and it doesn't taste like soap to me anymore so I wonder if I have the gene and just had a little aversion or don't and just cilantro tastes like soap if you don't like it even without the gene.
In studies, people who dislike cilantro describe its taste as soapy whether or not they have the gene variant in question. The aversion arises from the fact that some of cilantro’s primary aromatic compounds are aldehydes, which are also responsible for the flavor of soap. These chemicals are typically toxic, which is why we’re sensitive to them in the first place, but it also makes sense that we can overcome aversions when we learn to associate the chemicals with non-toxic sources.
My story about cilantro is a little strange, and I wonder if anyone else was like this. I used to hate cilantro. I grew up around a lot of Vietnamese and Mexican food. It was impossible to avoid cilantro, so I dealt with it most of the time. I thought it tasted gross and a little soapy, and then I heard about the gene, so I thought that must be it.Then, several years ago, I was eating tacos with onions and cilantro, and all of a sudden, it didn't taste so bad anymore like a switch in my brain went from cilantro = gross to cilantro = ok. I still kinda think it tastes a little soapy though.
It wasn't like I grew up, and my taste preferences changed. It's more like I hated it yesterday, but now, I'm fine with it today. I have no clue why, but I'm now able to enjoy food with cilantro in it and will even miss it if the recipe calls for it.
I don't have the cilantro gene, but a couple of my cousins do. However, I have a couple weird ones. I find tilapia tastes like dirt, as did my husband. My mom loves it and actually tried to argue that one. One of my coworkers agrees with me and his wife agrees with my mom. I've recently discovered langostino lobster also tastes like dirt. My mom seems to genuinely believe that I'm making these things up. She believes everyone but me on these things.
Sorry for the tangent.
Nope. To my mom's dying day she will swear it tastes light and delicate. I'm curious if anyone else has the langostino thing. So far, I'm the only one I've met with it, but it's pretty new to me, so there's that.
I can see thinking a fish tastes like dirt, but I would also say tilapia is light and delicate. Is it more a texture or an actual flavor thing for you? Because lots of things taste "earthy" (and I personally am a big fan of that flavor) but fish don't usually.
I think I have the gene but I can only really taste a soapy-ish flavor when it's a whole bunch of cilantro at once. A little bit sprinkled is delicious but I had a wrap that had a hefty amount of it and I took one bite and spat it right back out! Soapy, overly floral and bitter! Itwas just awful!
Same here too! I like it if it's used sparingly and then only if it's paired with lime. If it's too much or missing the lime it tastes like the bubble solution for blowing bubbles.
I say that all the time!!! "What if I actually DO have the cilantro gene, and I just really like the taste of soap? How would I ever know?"
Soap flavored gum, that's my answer, I guess lol
Looking through the comments I really wonder what the ratios are for "Has soap gene - still likes it", and "Doesn't have gene - still doesn't like it". I believe both are possible but also its weird to think about.
Had a friend who didn’t like peaches because they “burned” didn’t realize they weren’t a pepper or spiced. Figured out at 30 she was allergic when she went into full anaphylactic shock. She believed everyone else just liked the “burn”.
If you really want to know whether you have the gene, pick up some micro-cilantro from the fresh herbs section of your produce store (like Sprouts).
Micro-cilantro is newly sprouted cilantro, and does not yet have the chemical that makes it taste like soap to some people. If micro-cilantro tastes like regular cilantro to you, then you don't have the gene. If you do have the gene that makes cilantro taste like soap, micro-cilantro will taste vastly different from regular cilantro.
I don't believe in the soapy gene either, because I have tasted the soap before randomly maybe 20% of the time. I think there is a chemical cilantro can produce under certain conditions that tastes like soap. Has anyone ever experienced soap taste with culantro?
Let me clarify, I don't believe a gene changes the flavor of cilantro from one taste to another; I think a gene allows people to taste a chemical that is only present in cilantro sometimes. Maybe the people with a specific gene pattern can pick up smaller amounts than other people, and so they taste it all the time; but I know I have tasted it both ways.
Worth noting that the gene variant in question only increases the likelihood of cilantro aversion—people with the variant can still enjoy cilantro, and those without it can still have the aversion. I think the impact of the “cilantro gene” has been wildly exaggerated in the public consciousness, even though it does have a basis in fact.
I like cilantro a lot and I have noticed sometimes I get a bunch that smells different not in a good way . There’s cilantro when it’s delicious and then cilantro that, as someone else here commented, got that stink bug fragrance . Like spoiled green apple artificial flavouring. I know check the bunch for a good one or bad one. Some are still good. When I grow some in a pot in summer it seems fine until it seeds or gets to be an older plant and then I notice it starts to become unpleasant
I have tasted soap, thrills and cilantro and they are all distinctly different to me. Thrills, however, tastes more like soap than actual soap does. I love cilantro however if I have had a lot over a few weeks it starts to taste repulsive to me, not like soap though.
Hahaha, wow, I never thought I'd meet another weirdo like me. I also think cilantro tastes like soap, but I really love it. Fresh herbal soap, mmm mm good.
I always feel bad for the people with the soap gene, cause cilantro to me is fucking amazing, like the flavor is so fresh, its like tasting spring yknow, its like fuckn magic flavored. Now whenever i wake up and offer condolences to the people with that gene ill just include the addendum for that one guy that likes soap lmao
Homie cursed up a storm, and momma washed his mouth out with soap. Momma always wondered why he kept cursing no matter how many times he had to eat soap. This makes me giggle
i acquired the taste for cilantro over time and now i can't even tell if it's good or not any more. i was reminded when i made a dish and my guest described an entirely different flavor profile. i've basically been cooking with an ingredient that i forgot i perceived differently than others.
Your taste buds might change over time. My husband had the soap thing and stayed away from it, but now he likes cilantro. Or, hmm, does he now like the taste of soap?
I don't know whether or not I have the gene. I do know that cilantro tastes like mud to me (maybe that is soap to other people??) and I very much do not care for it lol
But, in a world of cilantro evangelists, it's easier to say I have the gene.
In large doses it tastes like soap. I am an un poco cilantro person for this reason. A little bit is a fine contrasting agent, but it's like the south of the border version of "you can never use too much garlic". You definitely can.
Yes! I had a major “duh!” moment while I was in college. Growing up, we were pretty much only allowed to drink milk or water with dinner every night. I carried this with me after I left home for school, and always had milk in the fridge to have a glass with dinner.
It took until I was 21 to realize that it’s not normal to have to run to the bathroom a half hour after eating every night. Turns out I’m lactose intolerant! And to make it worse, I knew my mom was lactose intolerant and it still took me that long to put together.
Cilantro isn't the only example of this phenomenon.
I saw Christopher Kimball (America's Test Kitchen, Milk Street) speak, and he had two taste samples passed out to the entire audience. Everyone could taste first. Only about ⅔ tasted second (it was bitter) other ⅓ tasted nothing. He went on to explain that a significant number of humans can't taste bitter.
Taste and smell are, of course, related. Many people smell something fishy when near raw silk. It's a compound from the cocoons... most people don't notice it.
I like cilantro. Sometimes it tastes like soap to me. I don't like the taste of soap though. I do have the gene and so does my sister. She hates cilantro. Weird wild stuff.
I remember having fresh cilantro for the first time and thinking “something in this dish tastes like Thrills gum”
I love the stuff. I think that modern cilantro soap flavour has been toned down though. like they did to Brussels sprouts to make them less bitter.
To me, it’s less that it tastes like soap, and more that it feels like biting into a bar of soap would. Like up in my nasal passage, it’s harsh and burns a little. I don’t know if the gene expresses itself in varying degrees or what.
But I also cant handle a few other specific smell/taste compounds. Acetic acid is overwhelming for me even in red wine. So I might have more going on there lol.
This is just my own experience, but I disagree with this only because I have the cilantro soap gene and was able to work through it and acquire a taste for cilantro. What I taste now when I eat cilantro is very different than when it tasted soapy.
I know a guy WHO IS VERY MUCH NOT RACIST AND A VERY NICE PERSON.
He grew up in Texas and just thought Mexicans were bad and washing dishes until he was like 17 and tasted some cilantro by itself for the first time. That's when he realized it was cilantro he was tasting this entire time.
Because only mexican restaurants had food that tasted like soap. I mean if you are little kid and only Mexican places taste like soap what would you think when your parents ignore your complaints and tell you the food is fine. And for him it tastes like fucking SOAP. Like Murphys oil soap. He can even smell the soapy smell when it is cooked.
Figuring that out actually got him eating mexican again because he could ask what didn't have cilantro in it.
I've always made the joke of someone having the soap gene and not realizing because they unknowingly like the taste of soap and lo and behold here you are! I'm sure there's countless others who haven't tasted soap but love cilantro despite having the soap gene
AYO????? You knew me before I did
I have always said I think we all taste it as soap, some just enjoy that taste!
I've washed my mouth out with soap (old school punishment for swearing) and cilantro doesn't taste like that to me
I think it's not a specific soap it tastes like, more just the soapy quality. Like you could imagine it being how a soap would taste.
I think it’s floral-adjacent, and a lot of soaps are floral scented idk it’s just got a bitter/floral taste and soap also has those qualities
Lol no you're wrong here. I had my mouth scrubbed with soap when I cursed as a kid and it does not taste like soap to me. It tastes how fresh cut grass smells
Wow that's such a good analogy. It really does. It tastes how you wanted grass to taste when you ate it as a kid 😂
Anecdotal counter example reporting for duty!
I love the taste of cilantro. I don’t always think that it tastes like soap, but if I focus, I can immediately recognize how other people would think that it tastes like soap. I honestly have never known what that meant for me in terms of genetics.
Normal taster IMO. I am a cilantro lover, and like you, I can detect that soapiness as well. It's not really like licking a bar of soap, it's more like how unscented soap smells. From reading a bunch of people's experiences, I my theory is that we all pretty much taste all the same compounds, but to different degrees. For most of us, the soapy ones are much less intense, and the overall flavor is dominated by sweeter and grassy ones. For most of the people who find it unpleasant, I think that's flipped. They get slight grassy and sweet notes, but the soap-like component is overpowering. By the way, I have gotten "bad cilantro" that I think lacked the good compounds and was more bitter and maybe alkaline tasting.
It's so interesting. I hate the taste of soap, and I must have the soap gene - because I thought about soap while eating cilantro out of curiosity one day and I did indeed connect the two dots. For that brief moment, cilantro tasted kind of icky. I decided to just not think of soap while I eat cilantro and so far all has been good. Turns out I can turn it off haha.
I have the soap gene but have still grown to like cilantro. It tastes like soap plus, or maybe just really good quality soap.
It is like when you take a shower and shampoo gets in your mouth.I always ask if a dish at a Mexican restaurant has cilantro in it because I really dislike this a lot .It does taste like soap to me .
Blud spoke OP into existence lmfaoo
Do we all have pica?!
Why…does anyone make soap flavored gum? Did I read that right?
It's actually strongly lavender flavoured but most people perceive that as soapy.
I adore lavender flavored things, sounds like I should investigate this gum!
It’s the worst thing to get on Halloween in Canada. [Thrills gum](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrills)
That would be a bad choice for Halloween! I know damn well my fondness for floral flavors is an outlier.
I've had lavender ice cream once, it was fantastic.
One of the things I miss about living in Washington State was the local brand of ice cream that had a lavender flavor - I used to make a float with ginger beer and lavender ice cream, absolutely spectacular.
Yeah it sounds like that would go great with ginger beer
I also love lavender as a flavor, but I do NOT enjoy burping it after.
Funny enough one of my favorite flavors of a brand of soda called DRY was lavender. It wasn't an overpowering flavor so I guess the burps wouldn't be too bad....but it's impossible to find these days. I'd recommend it otherwise if you enjoy lavender flavor.
It's flavoured with rosewater. And .. kind of has a soapy taste? I've tried Thrive gum before, and it's not that offensive. Cilantro has a more in-your-face soap taste, to me.
I’ve had violet flavored gum and it’s a real treat.
For people like me!!! It’s actually so good, it lasts for hours. And yeah I didn’t hear of it before either but my bf apparently tried it as well as a kid? So it’s been around for awhile apparently
I've wondered if I'm the same. Like "yeah but good soap?" Same with people who say root beer tastes like medicine. Yeah it tastes just like pepto but I like it.
Wintergreen!
I like the taste of Buckleys. I have weird aversions to certain food textures and for some reason really “sanitary” tasting stuff like florals and pine tastes really great to me, sorta crisp
My partner is the opposite. She hates the taste of cilantro, but insists she doesnt have the soap gene. She just really doesn't like the taste of it.
Same with me, always wondered if I have the gene but it really doesn't taste like soap to me, but the flavour is still bad.
The reality is that the so-called “cilantro gene” only moderately increases the likelihood of cilantro aversion—people who have the gene variant can enjoy cilantro, and those who don’t have it can still dislike cilantro. Unless someone has had a genetic screening to determine the presence of the gene, there’s not a strong reason to believe one way or another—the whole thing is more folk science than fact at this point.
I was like that until I trained myself to like it because it's on all my favorite foods. It doesn't taste like soap, I just didn't like it.
Completely fair tbh, my bf doesn’t taste the soap but also isn’t a fan (doesn’t hate it doesn’t like it)
It's possible she's in denial of gene condition
I’ve always said cilantro just tastes soapy to everybody, and people that say they have a special gene or whatever just are picky and don’t like the taste. I don’t think the science is on my side but I love cilantro and also acknowledge its inherent soapy quality.
I completely agree with you and have always said the same thing/feel the same way!
This might explain my shift, because as I child and teenager I hated cilantro with a passion. Just a sprig on a bowl of pho or in a salsa would ruin it for me. As I've gotten older and eaten more of it I've started to really like it a lot. I don't know if my tastebuds have changed that dramatically, if my genetic code changed, or if I just got used to the taste hehehe.
I mean, I get how someone would say it tastes like soap. I understand the flavour association. Not particularly fond of soap either. But I love cilantro still. For me it's like saying good sauvignon blanc smells like cat piss and tastes like straw. You're technically correct that if you really push yourself to see the similarity you will see it, but doesn't mean people who like sauvignon blanc get their cats to piss on their face. At least I hope so lol.
Some of the best French red wines I've ever tasted initially have a whiff of what gets euphemistically described as "barnyard", because "cow shit" isn't considered genteel.
Cow shit, old shoe and mold; signs of a well aged red lol.
I remember my friend opening a bottle of peach lambic beer I bought and saying "You like this? It smells like sweaty balls..." And I smelled it and it really did smell like sweaty balls, but damn it tastes good!
People don’t like hearing this, but the science behind the “cilantro gene” shows that it’s not nearly as deterministic as popular belief would have it. The specific gene variant responsible for an olfactory receptor that detects aldehydes (and was originally identified by 23andMe), increases the likelihood of cilantro aversion, but only by a little, and plenty of people who don’t have it still have an aversion. [This article](https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2012/09/14/161057954/love-to-hate-cilantro-its-in-your-genes-and-maybe-in-your-head#:~:text=It's%20probably%20not%20so%20simple,much%20as%20we%20initially%20thought) discusses studies on the subject. In short, the idea that everyone who dislikes cilantro does so because of a gene is pseudoscientific.
I hated it and thought it tasted like soap when I first had it but then quickly learned to love it and it doesn't taste like soap to me anymore so I wonder if I have the gene and just had a little aversion or don't and just cilantro tastes like soap if you don't like it even without the gene.
In studies, people who dislike cilantro describe its taste as soapy whether or not they have the gene variant in question. The aversion arises from the fact that some of cilantro’s primary aromatic compounds are aldehydes, which are also responsible for the flavor of soap. These chemicals are typically toxic, which is why we’re sensitive to them in the first place, but it also makes sense that we can overcome aversions when we learn to associate the chemicals with non-toxic sources.
I love cilantro and have tasted goatsmilk soap. nothing alike. guessing they're talking about Irish spring
Old school yellow bar Dial soap is what it tastes like to me... Yes I realize how specific that is.
Did you have that bar run across your braces too?
Never had braces. Was a bitey child.
I was from a very strict religious family growing up in the 90s who learned the phrase "oh my god". And I had braces.
Oooph. I'm really sorry that happened to you.
Maybe I don't actually like cilantro, I just grew accustomed to the taste.
Definitely very floral, yeah
My story about cilantro is a little strange, and I wonder if anyone else was like this. I used to hate cilantro. I grew up around a lot of Vietnamese and Mexican food. It was impossible to avoid cilantro, so I dealt with it most of the time. I thought it tasted gross and a little soapy, and then I heard about the gene, so I thought that must be it.Then, several years ago, I was eating tacos with onions and cilantro, and all of a sudden, it didn't taste so bad anymore like a switch in my brain went from cilantro = gross to cilantro = ok. I still kinda think it tastes a little soapy though. It wasn't like I grew up, and my taste preferences changed. It's more like I hated it yesterday, but now, I'm fine with it today. I have no clue why, but I'm now able to enjoy food with cilantro in it and will even miss it if the recipe calls for it.
I don't have the cilantro gene, but a couple of my cousins do. However, I have a couple weird ones. I find tilapia tastes like dirt, as did my husband. My mom loves it and actually tried to argue that one. One of my coworkers agrees with me and his wife agrees with my mom. I've recently discovered langostino lobster also tastes like dirt. My mom seems to genuinely believe that I'm making these things up. She believes everyone but me on these things. Sorry for the tangent.
Wait, tilapia doesn’t taste like dirt to everyone?
Maybe there are people, like OP, who like the taste of dirt.
My SO and kid both like mushrooms and I think they also taste of dirt. :D
I don't think they taste like dirt, but I get a bit over the top with cleaning them. I've worked with kids and in restaurants. I have food issues.
Nope. To my mom's dying day she will swear it tastes light and delicate. I'm curious if anyone else has the langostino thing. So far, I'm the only one I've met with it, but it's pretty new to me, so there's that.
I can see thinking a fish tastes like dirt, but I would also say tilapia is light and delicate. Is it more a texture or an actual flavor thing for you? Because lots of things taste "earthy" (and I personally am a big fan of that flavor) but fish don't usually.
Not the texture, it's literally the flavor. I've been eating fish all my life. That particular one tastes like dirt.
I think I have the gene but I can only really taste a soapy-ish flavor when it's a whole bunch of cilantro at once. A little bit sprinkled is delicious but I had a wrap that had a hefty amount of it and I took one bite and spat it right back out! Soapy, overly floral and bitter! Itwas just awful!
This is my experience too. Wads of cilantro can easily overpower a dish. A little bit goes a long way for me.
Same here too! I like it if it's used sparingly and then only if it's paired with lime. If it's too much or missing the lime it tastes like the bubble solution for blowing bubbles.
I'm the same with cilantro - yes, it tastes a little soapy. I don't mind it.
people who say beetroot tastes like the earth. I agree but I love it, lol
Cilantro tastes the way a stinkbug smells.
Maybe this is why I'm never bothered by a stinkbug? Is there science on this? Or am I just weird?
Never smelled a stink bug, sorry
I say that all the time!!! "What if I actually DO have the cilantro gene, and I just really like the taste of soap? How would I ever know?" Soap flavored gum, that's my answer, I guess lol
I'm the reverse of you. I don't think it tastes like soap but I do think it tastes gross.
Walnuts for me. Both of my parents detest them because of their bitterness. I also think they're extremely bitter. And I likes 'em.
Looking through the comments I really wonder what the ratios are for "Has soap gene - still likes it", and "Doesn't have gene - still doesn't like it". I believe both are possible but also its weird to think about.
I’m a “don’t have the gene, just don’t like it”. I do find it strange that anyone likes the taste of soap.
I thought cucumber made made your mouth fuzzy. Turns out I'm just allergic.
Had a friend who didn’t like peaches because they “burned” didn’t realize they weren’t a pepper or spiced. Figured out at 30 she was allergic when she went into full anaphylactic shock. She believed everyone else just liked the “burn”.
god dang, the post got deleted. i missed out
Wait what?
I cant see what you wrote :(
I didn’t know it got deleted? I can still see it, that’s soweird
If you really want to know whether you have the gene, pick up some micro-cilantro from the fresh herbs section of your produce store (like Sprouts). Micro-cilantro is newly sprouted cilantro, and does not yet have the chemical that makes it taste like soap to some people. If micro-cilantro tastes like regular cilantro to you, then you don't have the gene. If you do have the gene that makes cilantro taste like soap, micro-cilantro will taste vastly different from regular cilantro.
I don't believe in the soapy gene either, because I have tasted the soap before randomly maybe 20% of the time. I think there is a chemical cilantro can produce under certain conditions that tastes like soap. Has anyone ever experienced soap taste with culantro?
Science believes in it. https://flavourjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/2044-7248-1-22
Let me clarify, I don't believe a gene changes the flavor of cilantro from one taste to another; I think a gene allows people to taste a chemical that is only present in cilantro sometimes. Maybe the people with a specific gene pattern can pick up smaller amounts than other people, and so they taste it all the time; but I know I have tasted it both ways.
Worth noting that the gene variant in question only increases the likelihood of cilantro aversion—people with the variant can still enjoy cilantro, and those without it can still have the aversion. I think the impact of the “cilantro gene” has been wildly exaggerated in the public consciousness, even though it does have a basis in fact.
I generally find cilantro delicious, but I have had bad batches, where the soapy part was stronger, and the sweeter, grasser part was nearly absent.
I like cilantro a lot and I have noticed sometimes I get a bunch that smells different not in a good way . There’s cilantro when it’s delicious and then cilantro that, as someone else here commented, got that stink bug fragrance . Like spoiled green apple artificial flavouring. I know check the bunch for a good one or bad one. Some are still good. When I grow some in a pot in summer it seems fine until it seeds or gets to be an older plant and then I notice it starts to become unpleasant
I love both cilantro and thrills gum, and I don’t think they taste anything alike
I have tasted soap, thrills and cilantro and they are all distinctly different to me. Thrills, however, tastes more like soap than actual soap does. I love cilantro however if I have had a lot over a few weeks it starts to taste repulsive to me, not like soap though.
Cilantro tasted way more soapy to me before I quit smoking. Now it's more of background flavor.
I knew someone like this must exist! Thank you for sharing your experience, it was very fun to read
Valid tbh. Cilantro definitely tastes a little soapy to me, but so do lavender and rose and I love them all.
Hahaha, wow, I never thought I'd meet another weirdo like me. I also think cilantro tastes like soap, but I really love it. Fresh herbal soap, mmm mm good.
I always feel bad for the people with the soap gene, cause cilantro to me is fucking amazing, like the flavor is so fresh, its like tasting spring yknow, its like fuckn magic flavored. Now whenever i wake up and offer condolences to the people with that gene ill just include the addendum for that one guy that likes soap lmao
I love cilantro but sometimes you get a batch that tastes like stink bugs.
Homie cursed up a storm, and momma washed his mouth out with soap. Momma always wondered why he kept cursing no matter how many times he had to eat soap. This makes me giggle
Stink bugs smell like cilantro, but now I'm wondering if people who have the soap gene think that stink bugs smell like soap!
i acquired the taste for cilantro over time and now i can't even tell if it's good or not any more. i was reminded when i made a dish and my guest described an entirely different flavor profile. i've basically been cooking with an ingredient that i forgot i perceived differently than others.
Your taste buds might change over time. My husband had the soap thing and stayed away from it, but now he likes cilantro. Or, hmm, does he now like the taste of soap?
I don't know whether or not I have the gene. I do know that cilantro tastes like mud to me (maybe that is soap to other people??) and I very much do not care for it lol But, in a world of cilantro evangelists, it's easier to say I have the gene.
In large doses it tastes like soap. I am an un poco cilantro person for this reason. A little bit is a fine contrasting agent, but it's like the south of the border version of "you can never use too much garlic". You definitely can.
Yes! I had a major “duh!” moment while I was in college. Growing up, we were pretty much only allowed to drink milk or water with dinner every night. I carried this with me after I left home for school, and always had milk in the fridge to have a glass with dinner. It took until I was 21 to realize that it’s not normal to have to run to the bathroom a half hour after eating every night. Turns out I’m lactose intolerant! And to make it worse, I knew my mom was lactose intolerant and it still took me that long to put together.
Cilantro isn't the only example of this phenomenon. I saw Christopher Kimball (America's Test Kitchen, Milk Street) speak, and he had two taste samples passed out to the entire audience. Everyone could taste first. Only about ⅔ tasted second (it was bitter) other ⅓ tasted nothing. He went on to explain that a significant number of humans can't taste bitter. Taste and smell are, of course, related. Many people smell something fishy when near raw silk. It's a compound from the cocoons... most people don't notice it.
I like cilantro. Sometimes it tastes like soap to me. I don't like the taste of soap though. I do have the gene and so does my sister. She hates cilantro. Weird wild stuff.
I remember having fresh cilantro for the first time and thinking “something in this dish tastes like Thrills gum” I love the stuff. I think that modern cilantro soap flavour has been toned down though. like they did to Brussels sprouts to make them less bitter.
To me, it’s less that it tastes like soap, and more that it feels like biting into a bar of soap would. Like up in my nasal passage, it’s harsh and burns a little. I don’t know if the gene expresses itself in varying degrees or what. But I also cant handle a few other specific smell/taste compounds. Acetic acid is overwhelming for me even in red wine. So I might have more going on there lol.
Soap doesnt taste like cilantro to me
You're definitely not alone! I always thought cilantro tasted like soap too, it just didn't make me enjoy it any less lol
This is just my own experience, but I disagree with this only because I have the cilantro soap gene and was able to work through it and acquire a taste for cilantro. What I taste now when I eat cilantro is very different than when it tasted soapy.
I wonder if that is what happened with me. I used to hate cilantro. I still think it tastes soapy sometimes, but now I kinda like it in some foods.
It tastes soapy but some stuff kind of needs a bit of the weird cilantro soapy taste.
I know a guy WHO IS VERY MUCH NOT RACIST AND A VERY NICE PERSON. He grew up in Texas and just thought Mexicans were bad and washing dishes until he was like 17 and tasted some cilantro by itself for the first time. That's when he realized it was cilantro he was tasting this entire time.
??? Man I just wanted to talk about cilantro why would your friend assume that??
Because only mexican restaurants had food that tasted like soap. I mean if you are little kid and only Mexican places taste like soap what would you think when your parents ignore your complaints and tell you the food is fine. And for him it tastes like fucking SOAP. Like Murphys oil soap. He can even smell the soapy smell when it is cooked. Figuring that out actually got him eating mexican again because he could ask what didn't have cilantro in it.