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Why Do Some People Think Cilantro Tastes Like Soap?
lifehacker ^

Posted on 04/09/2021 10:43:50 AM PDT by mylife

You probably take your tongue for granted, or at least, don’t fully grasp the complexities of how it deciphers the flavors it encounters and sends those delicious or distasteful signals to your brain.

This is all the more important because things don’t always taste the same to different people. In fact, when it comes to the herb cilantro, the fresh earthiness you taste might actually taste like Palmolive or a fragrant bar of bathroom soap to someone else. There is a lot to wade through when it comes to common myths about food, but the idea that to some people, cilantro tastes like soap is no outlandish rumor.

Why cilantro tastes like soap to some people Whether you taste a mouthful of antiseptic when you chomp into a bite of cilantro-rich salsa comes down to a roll of the genetic dice. Specifically, it come down to the aldehydes—organic compounds in which a carbon atom shares a bond with another atom or group of atoms, per Britannica— found in cilantro, which are often used in various perfumes and cleaning products, owing to their pronounced fragrances.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, the aldehydes are best detected through the olfactory receptors, which allow you to smell things. The organization notes:

The difference may be small at the molecular level, but has large implications at the olfactory (smell) level. It’s suspected that a dislike for cilantro is largely driven by the smell (and smell is directly linked to how we taste.)

(Excerpt) Read more at lifehacker.com ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Food; Gardening; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: cilantro
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so explain to me how it tasted like soap the 1st time but now it does not.

wonderful with diced white onion and a splash of lime...

1 posted on 04/09/2021 10:43:50 AM PDT by mylife
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To: mylife

You didn’t rinse it well???


2 posted on 04/09/2021 10:45:12 AM PDT by gov_bean_ counter (Lift the rim. You’re not that good a shot.)
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To: mylife

It’s a genetic thing..................


3 posted on 04/09/2021 10:46:10 AM PDT by Red Badger ("We've always been at war with Climate Change, Winston."..............................)
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To: mylife

Cilantro is one of those foods.....some love it ...some hate it.


4 posted on 04/09/2021 10:46:50 AM PDT by Liz (Our side has 8 trillion bullets; the other side doesn't know which bathroom to use. )
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5 posted on 04/09/2021 10:46:55 AM PDT by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: mylife

If cilantro is on the ingredient list, then my wife and I won’t eat it.


6 posted on 04/09/2021 10:49:29 AM PDT by the_Watchman
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To: mylife

7 posted on 04/09/2021 10:49:39 AM PDT by DannyTN
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To: gov_bean_ counter

My 1st thought when having it the 1st time was “did someone forget to rinse the cookware after they washed it”?


8 posted on 04/09/2021 10:50:02 AM PDT by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: mylife

I don’t think it tastes like soap. It smells like mildew. Watercress and cilantro look alike and are placed near each other in the produce section. Watercress does not have an odor.


9 posted on 04/09/2021 10:50:20 AM PDT by forgotten man
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To: mylife

Why does everything mexican smell like refried beans?

Nasty people, nasty food.


10 posted on 04/09/2021 10:50:26 AM PDT by Born to Conserve
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To: mylife

They’ve been tasting the wrong soap.


11 posted on 04/09/2021 10:50:28 AM PDT by DannyTN
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To: mylife

It smells like stink bugs


12 posted on 04/09/2021 10:50:42 AM PDT by Sgt_Schultze (When your business model depends on slave labor, you're always going to need more slaves)
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To: mylife

Fresh chopped Cilantro on your Durian.

Yeah, that’s the ticket!

Why Do Some People Think Cilantro Tastes Like Soap?
because it does?


13 posted on 04/09/2021 10:50:58 AM PDT by Macoozie (Handcuffs and Orange Jumpsuits)
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To: DannyTN

yummy and prevents covid19...


14 posted on 04/09/2021 10:51:30 AM PDT by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: the_Watchman

My wife loves it. I dont.


15 posted on 04/09/2021 10:51:40 AM PDT by Mmogamer (I refudiate the lamestream media, leftists and their prevaricutions.)
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To: mylife

Dang you. Now I’m gonna be craving Sanchez Tacos all day. They’re the best in my little berg.


16 posted on 04/09/2021 10:52:29 AM PDT by IYAS9YAS (There are two kinds of people: Those who can extrapolate from incomplete data.)
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To: DannyTN

17 posted on 04/09/2021 10:53:06 AM PDT by Tallguy
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To: mylife

Regardless of what they tell you at Grubby’s Mexican Grill, Cilantro is not blue and in a plastic bottle labeled Dawn Dishwashing Soap.


18 posted on 04/09/2021 10:53:29 AM PDT by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer”)
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To: Born to Conserve

I’ll have your frijoles with extra lard and cilantro


19 posted on 04/09/2021 10:53:33 AM PDT by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: mylife

I can’t smell cilantro other than it being a plant. But, it is no rumor. I can confirm that to me, cilantro has a soapy taste. Yuck, yuck, yuck.


20 posted on 04/09/2021 10:53:45 AM PDT by Jemian
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