this post was submitted on 21 Feb 2025
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Science Memes

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago

Oh yes, coriander. Yuck. I was so relieved to discover it was a genetic thing that I was scraping this disgusting weed off my food while everyone else was saying how delicious it was.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Ah shit I’m too tired haha

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

Nah, easy to miss.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

If you want to know more about this (because in reality it is a bit more complicated) MinuteFood explains it pretty well in this video.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 21 hours ago

To me, it tastes like what it was cooked in was never rinsed after washing. So much Thai takeout wasted even after I requested no cilantro.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

In other words, not liking cilantro is a genetic defect

[–] [email protected] 1 points 23 hours ago

People with this mutation are commonly known as super tasters!

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 day ago (3 children)
[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I am one of those people. An entire burrito can be ruined for me with just a few pieces throughout. I always feel so bad when someone gives me food with cilantro.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

That sucks. I just made some enchiladas with diced cilantro stem last night (more flavor in the stem). Don't feel bad, I'm sure they don't mind when they realise it tastes bad to you. Now I'm just sad you don't get to enjoy the true taste of cilantro.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I love cilantro too, but now I have to wonder... What if we're not the ones getting the "true" taste?

I'll take my blissful ignorance with some cilantro on top.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

Sounds like a plan. Even if we're not getting the true taste, it should be considered true because it's that good.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago

Must suck to be a such freak of nature that even God turns his head from them.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I have a mild variant of this. It's funny when it hits you in completely unsuspicious food.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

Yeah, it's used in a lot of different cultures' foods. Like it you eat Indian or Vietnamese food, theres a decent chance it could be there, not just Mexican, which is what I think a lot of people think of when cilantro is used in cooking.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Yeah, I'm one of those people. AMA?

It's weird - sometimes I can kinda understand why people love cilantro so much... It's like, I can kinda pick out the "good" flavors in it even though the overwhelming flavor that registers with me is soap. It's a real bummer, because I love food and feel like I'm missing it on some really unique flavor profiles.

It's always awkward having to ask for "no cilantro" in restaurants, and then explaining that it's not an allergy. It just doesn't taste good to me.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 22 hours ago

I'm the opposite, overall I like cilantro (to a point, too much cilantro is definitely a thing), but I do detect a little bit of that soapiness that people talk about. Luckily not too much though, it's mostly minty to me.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Weirdly, I'm similar from the opposite side. I can see how it tastes soapy to people, I kinda detect the soapyness too. But it doesn't ruin it for me, I like cilantro.

Candied ginger tastes like soap to me though. Fresh or powdered ginger doesn't.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 21 hours ago) (1 children)

Huh. I have no problem with candied ginger (or fresh) at all. I'm not crazy about it, but it certainly doesn't taste like soap.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 21 hours ago

Very interesting, so it's probably unrelated.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Ok, completely irrelevant, but some older and cheaply made chocolates taste like soap, have you ever tasted it?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

Nope. I try to avoid cheap chocolate though. Life is too short for that. Lol

It's hard to describe what cheap chocolate tastes like, but it's day the best description is "waxy"

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Ever been in a public bathroom that has that pink soap. Cilantro tastes like that smells.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago

Seriously? Man I feel bad for you.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

My partner and I both have this, it's awful.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago (3 children)

It doesn't taste like soap to me, but it's intense. So much so that it ruins an entire meal. If I cut the amount to basically nothing it can be pleasant.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 21 hours ago

Huh. It's just another herb for me. Not much different than Parsley. No strong opinions about it either way.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I compare it to the smell of stinkbugs rather than the taste of soap.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

That aligns with some things I've heard about flowers. For instance, a flower might contain skatole in its aroma. In very small amounts, it's pleasant. In large amounts, it smells like what it's named for, scat. At a low level, it makes jasmine and orange blossoms better. At a high level, you have a shit smelling stink bomb.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

Finally got an excuse 😁

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It sucks. I love Mexican (texmex here mostly) food and almost all of it is shoved full of cilantro and then I'm just sad. Delicious food, ruined by soap.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/OR6A2

It's likely linked to OR6A2.

I had a coworker who had this gene and TAS2R38, the one that makes people taste bitter stronger.

We ended up on several multi-country business trips together every year. So we were eating all sorts of local cuisine.

I always tried to sit where I could see her face during any meal. It was comedy gold at times.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

I have both, but I also have ADHD and prioritize the novel over the good. I find cilantro and bitter foods to be more interesting, and don't mind them at all.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I have the opposite -- almost all vegetation has a taste and it's quite good.

Basil? Yes. Garlic.. Cabbage Spinach Asparagus Broccoli Carrots! Peppers! Beets!

I just made a huge pot of Borscht last night with beets, carrots, potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes, basil and olive oil - it's going to feed me for days!

Feel bad for the people missing out on how tasty Earth plants are

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

I dislike grapefruit and durian. Otherwise, I’ve never met a plant I don’t like.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

My father was a farmer for pretty much all of his life (since he could work until he couldn't) and had a crop of cilantro at one time. I never knew nor heard about somebody saying that cilantro tastes like soap, never even imagined it was a thing. It was only until a few years ago when I started to get my nose into Reddit when I read about people saying that.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

I would characterize it more like a floral perfume.