Comments on: I hate cilantro.

I hate cilantro.

Ambrosia Voyeur — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 14:45:57 -0800

Freedom haters wail:
"Cilantro! More cilantro!"
The terrorists win. - Dstieve

By: contraption

contraption — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 14:49:32 -0800

There seems to be strong pro-cilantro troll presence, based on the avatars.

By: Wolfdog

Wolfdog — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 14:52:33 -0800

Congratulations on your ensuing large, "I like cilantro" / "I don't like cilantro"-insight-filled thread.

By: eddydamascene

eddydamascene — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 14:53:39 -0800

I like cilantro.

By: hermitosis

hermitosis — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 14:55:00 -0800

I like cilantro / I don't like cilantro

By: lekvar

lekvar — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 14:58:00 -0800

I like large "I like cilantro" / "I don't like cilantro"-insight-filled threads.

By: Ambrosia Voyeur

Ambrosia Voyeur — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 14:58:03 -0800

Previously.

By: kittens for breakfast

kittens for breakfast — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 14:59:15 -0800

Well, this post isn't balanced at ALL! Where are the links to ilovecilantro.com? AgendaFilter!!

By: It's Raining Florence Henderson

It's Raining Florence Henderson — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:00:12 -0800

Cilantro haiku... A stain on the precious Blue: Seasonings Greetings!

By: 2or3whiskeysodas

2or3whiskeysodas — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:02:16 -0800

I like cilantro. Furthermore, from this page trying to describe what cilantro tastes like. S: Really? What does it taste like? Some people describe it as soapy. M: Mmm. not soapy, but not like food, either. At least not like a vegetable. I expected maybe bitter, because vegetables people don't like are usually bitter. This was more like a closet might smell...translated into a taste. I pictured shoes. The taste lingers, too. Wow, that is, like, a million miles away from how I would describe it. Not even remotely similar. So different, in fact, that I wonder if maybe these people are eating something that someone is telling them is cilantro, but is in fact not*. Cilantro. Or maybe I am. *like shoes covered in soap, maybe.

By: cortex

cortex — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:05:03 -0800

study the dislikes writ of food on internets cilantropol'gy

By: konolia

konolia — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:08:08 -0800

I've been a member for over a year.

By: randomination

randomination — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:08:09 -0800

What the hell is cilantro?

By: Addlepated

Addlepated — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:10:09 -0800

I was a loyal reader of that website up until a couple of years ago when I finally killed enough taste cells so that cilantro didn't strongly resemble dishwashing liquid to me anymore.

By: EndsOfInvention

EndsOfInvention — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:10:11 -0800

randomination wrote "What the hell is cilantro?" It's what Americans call coriander.

By: It's Raining Florence Henderson

It's Raining Florence Henderson — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:10:17 -0800

cortex sells it for 20 bucks...

By: The Bellman

The Bellman — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:10:48 -0800

Cortex is a mod, but still I must remind him: "Seven syllables."

By: randomination

randomination — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:11:01 -0800

Never mind, I just found it on the tags. I suppose 'cilantro' is something I could put on my 'eggplant' and 'zucchini'.

By: pompomtom

pompomtom — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:11:51 -0800

What's a cilantro?

By: It's Raining Florence Henderson

It's Raining Florence Henderson — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:11:59 -0800

It's what Americans call coriander. To be specific, we call coriander seeds coriander, and coriander leaves cilantro.

By: pompomtom

pompomtom — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:12:35 -0800

Ahh... OK. I like cilantro.

By: The Bellman

The Bellman — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:12:50 -0800

Bellman's fingers count. Did Cortex really flub it? Count again, Bellman.

By: randomination

randomination — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:13:53 -0800

Coriander seeds are nice. They smell a bit like fresh cookie dough.

By: It's Raining Florence Henderson

It's Raining Florence Henderson — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:13:57 -0800

The Bellman can't count. Ding Dong, Ding Dong, Ding Dong, Ding! Seven is magic.

By: Ambrosia Voyeur

Ambrosia Voyeur — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:14:08 -0800

sparsely parsleyed with ample cilantro and make mine shiso heavy

By: Mental Wimp

Mental Wimp — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:14:33 -0800

Feh. It's a genetic polymorphism that determines the taste of cilantro for these poor souls. So well known that it's a teaching lab experiment.

By: Ambrosia Voyeur

Ambrosia Voyeur — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:16:48 -0800

Mental Wimp: Poor souls indeed.

By: cortex

cortex — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:18:20 -0800

a sotto voce, cradling the banhammer: admin please hope you

By: Max Power

Max Power — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:19:25 -0800

I hate cilantro, but having grown up eating mexican cooking there are plenty of dishes that don't taste right without it. I think the trend of T.V. chefs overloading everything in site with cilantro is disastrous, its an herb and easily an overpowering one. Next time you see some clown piling cilantro onto an otherwise edible dish, try picturing it with too much tarragon or sage, maybe too many cloves. Its an herb that should be handled with care and finesse, something the clowns on T.V. seem to have forgotten, probably since they don't eat the show pieces they are destroying for our entertainment.

By: mcstayinskool

mcstayinskool — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:26:51 -0800

I used to hate it now I think cilantro's good who knows what changed me

By: poppo

poppo — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:32:36 -0800

fools, cilantro rulez

By: quonsar

quonsar — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:36:18 -0800

Previously. posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 5:58 PM on June 25 [+] [!] no, no, that isn't a previously. previously means it was posted here before. here means the blue. this has nothing to do with that other, green site.

By: wendell

wendell — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:36:39 -0800

Is this something I'd need TV and the Food Network to know about? Hey! Seventeen syllables! Is this something I'd need TV and the Food Net- work to know about? Aw, crap.

By: wendell

wendell — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:40:01 -0800

Maybe comments here should be limited to 17 syllables. Aw, crap.

By: infinitywaltz

infinitywaltz — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:41:39 -0800

It's better in some things than others. I like lots of it in my salsa, slightly less in my Mongolian barbecue.

By: motty

motty — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:42:25 -0800

Coriander hate Makes about as much sense as Hating sage or thyme

By: Brandon Blatcher

Brandon Blatcher — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:44:44 -0800

Cilantro in chicken salad is damn tasty.

By: Wolfdog

Wolfdog — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:47:45 -0800

You fools! Ignominious traitors! You spurn the gifts of your creators Cilantro is love From the gods up above So suck it, C. sativum haters.

By: Mr. President Dr. Steve Elvis America

Mr. President Dr. Steve Elvis America — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:52:28 -0800

Ask your subject if they like cilantro. Force them to answer as yes or no. Yikes.

By: dosterm

dosterm — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:55:57 -0800

I have experienced an epiphany just now. I can finally admit the depth and extent of my hatred of cilantro. There is a place for me. There are others who share my pain. I have goosebumps reading these accounts. How can I describe this? It suppose it's like growing up feeling as though you see a different color than everyone else in the world, but not having any way to confirm it. A slight shift in perception, but always nagging in the background. I pride myself on being able to eat damn near everything, and to find a way to enjoy it. I have lived in Scandinavia, and eaten the contents of yellowed-out jars full of graying fish offal. I have eaten raw beef, drowned in what I could only imagine was lemon juice and raw eggs. I have chewed crickets. I have drank Bud Light. But these are pale horrors before those foul leaves that too many times have burst upon me, floating, silently sneering at me up from an otherwise delectable Thai soup. Oh, cilantro. How I despise your piss-strong chemical tang. Your soap-sud flatness. One day, my brothers will rise up against you, and that will be the end of your tyranny. Mark these words and fear me, green beast.

By: Tehanu

Tehanu — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:56:24 -0800

True story: this eerily resembles an angry, half-drunk argument on cilantro love vs. hate that I witnessed in grad school. I love both cilantro (leaves) and coriander (seeds). No one else in my family can stand them. That's right: more evidence that I'm actually adopted. Thanks MeFi.

By: Pope Guilty

Pope Guilty — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:58:32 -0800

One of the things I miss about playing Kingdom of Loathing was the haiku dungeon, from which was unlocked the /haiku chat channel.

By: DevilsAdvocate

DevilsAdvocate — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:59:25 -0800

It's a genetic polymorphism that determines the taste of cilantro for these poor souls. So well known that it's a teaching lab experiment. Mental Wimp (eponymous!), the PDF you link to, if carried out, would only demonstrate that there is variation in whether people like cilantro or not--it would not demonstrate that the variation is the result of a genetic polymorphism. The document asserts that the variation is due to a genetic polymorphism, but that's very different from actually collecting evidence in support of that hypothesis.

By: cortex

cortex — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 16:00:35 -0800

Limerick is the last refuge of the scoundrel.

By: infinitywaltz

infinitywaltz — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 16:03:22 -0800

At least I learned something today. Coriander and cilantro come from the same plant! Who knew?! Everyone but me, apparently.

By: taosbat

taosbat — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 16:21:48 -0800

mmmmm...cilantro! Despise turmeric!

By: 445supermag

445supermag — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 16:31:05 -0800

The smell of cilantro reminds me of jimpson weed or smart weed or some other poisonous weed.

By: kozad

kozad — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 16:34:17 -0800

What? Turmeric has no taste, just color. Cilantro, though (and I say this - as does everybody else - as one who will eat almost anything), has a taste which, although not as rank as durian, is as least as long lasting. I don't want to taste anything all night long.

By: invitapriore

invitapriore — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 16:36:41 -0800

Haikus are nice, but it's not always they make sense. Refrigerator. Thus, for cilantro, my great love will be expressed with the tanka form. Thirty-one syllables, and all of them love cilantro.

By: It's Raining Florence Henderson

It's Raining Florence Henderson — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 16:52:29 -0800

There once was a scoundrel named cortex, Renowned as a musical vortex. No subject too trivial For a minstrel convivial, Though he might add a soupçon of more sex.

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 16:58:26 -0800

I *really like* cilantro! ah, fresh, ripe tomatoes, pinch of salt, dash of olive oil and chopped cilantro, mmmm. Cilantro ((Coriandrum sativum), coriander-the-leaves, coriander-the-seeds, in Hindi, dhania. According to Wikipedia, the reason some people do not like the smell/taste of cilantro may be genetic: "The leaves are variously referred to as coriander leaves, cilantro (in the United States, from the Spanish name for the plant), dhania (in the Indian subcontinent, and increasingly in Britain), Chinese parsley or Mexican parsley. The leaves have a very different taste from the seeds, similar to parsley but "juicier" and with citrus-like overtones. Some people instead perceive an unpleasant "soapy" taste and/or a rank smell. This is believed to be a result of an enzyme that changes the way they taste cilantro, a genetic trait, but has yet to be fully researched" Apparently, it has a medicinal property of being anti-anxiety, anxiolytic.

By: caddis

caddis — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 17:05:17 -0800

So good you can bathe in it.

By: Deathalicious

Deathalicious — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 17:09:10 -0800

Coriander hate Makes about as much sense as Hating sage or thyme Right, and you have to love Garth Brooks, right? Because Johnny Cash was pretty cool. Look, Cilantro is totally different than any other herb I've tasted. My experience is 100% the same as dosterm. I've eaten nearly everything, and there are pretty much only 2 things I can't stand the taste of -- one of them is whole boiled goat with extra yummy goat-stomache-sausage (on the other hand, I greatly relished the goat liver wrapped in strips goat fat and then grilled over the flame) and the other is cilantro. I even like coriander seeds, even though in some ways they have related flavors. Cilantro, for me, has a sort of pungent astringency and faint soapyness, almost like the effect you get sniffing ammonia. It's not the most pleasant experience. So far all of you out there who can handle cilantro, don't stick your noses up at us haters like we're being picky or something. We want to like cilantro -- at least, I do -- and I actually eat it quite often with the hope that one day I'll develop immunity. How many of you people eat things you hate the taste of out of pure shame for being seen as some kind of gustatory freak? Oh, and it's not genetic. My identical twin brother loves the cilantro.

By: Deathalicious

Deathalicious — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 17:10:59 -0800

On postview: 'citrus-like overtones'?!? You lucky bastards. No wonder you add it to everything.

By: Robert Angelo

Robert Angelo — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 17:29:47 -0800

Funny (peculiar, not humor). Just yesterday I was contemplating posting an AskMe about this, wondering if there was any sort of Thai food that doesn't have cilantro. It tastes like medicine to me. What I really don't understand is why the Tex-Mex food I grew up with in the 70s now has to have cilantro in it. It was fine without it, back in the day. [before I forget, get off my lawn]

By: Tehanu

Tehanu — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 17:35:54 -0800

Oh, and it's not genetic. My identical twin brother loves the cilantro. Unless one of you has mutated. Is he now... Cilantro Man? From the looks of this thread, he could cripple people with such powers.

By: 3.2.3

3.2.3 — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 17:45:46 -0800

i will not date anyone who has the character deficiency of disliking cilantro. or caraway seeds. or mushrooms. or seafood. through exhaustive field research, i have linked all of those food aversions to disagreeable sexual neuroses. beware the cilantrophobes. beware, i say!

By: Mental Wimp

Mental Wimp — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 17:48:48 -0800

DevilsAdvocate, I stand corrected. There is no direct evidence of a polymorphism or any other genetic cause (I searched several scientific databases and found nada).

By: Betty Tyranny

Betty Tyranny — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 18:27:20 -0800

Cool, now I actually know how to describe what it is I dislike about cilantro. Thanks, Ambrosia!

By: SPrintF

SPrintF — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 18:51:07 -0800

Are you going to Scarborough Fair? Parsley, sage, rosemary and cilantro.

By: falconred

falconred — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 19:30:43 -0800

Count me among those who taste Cilantro as being soapy and gross. I can only stand minute amounts in any dish before the flavor completely takes over and I taste nothing but Cilantro.

By: speug

speug — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 19:52:37 -0800

Ogden Nash was ahead of his time...

By: nanojath

nanojath — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 20:13:22 -0800

I would happily kill these filthy philistines with my two bare hands

By: casarkos

casarkos — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 20:32:56 -0800

DON'T DISS ON THE LEAF SALSA VERDE MY HOMIES CILANTRO 4 LYFE

By: gompa

gompa — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 20:39:41 -0800

People of Thailand Always thought farang stupid Now they have the proof.

By: porpoise

porpoise — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 23:26:14 -0800

Ok, so "Chinese parsley" and "Italian parsley" and "cilantro" and "coriander leaves" are used interchangeably... but are they really the same thing (as in, the same sub-species and not "what's sold and named at grocery stores in N. America)?! In my experience Chinese parsley bought from major Asian ~~groceries~~ supermarkets in Vancouver is subtly different than "cilantro" and "Italian parsley" (and even sometimes "Chinese parsley") bought at Western supermarkets here. "Chinese parsley" in Asian grocery stores in Iowa is the (usually) the same as "Chinese parsley" that I grew up with (in Vancouver Asian supermarkets) but may or may not be the same as "cilantro" bought at Western supermarkets/groceries in Iowa - and then throw in the confusion from buying "cilantro" at Whole Foods and Co-op-type stores. Has anyone done a definitive genotyping or am I suffering from something psychosomatic? If anyone wants to throw me a bunch of money (anywhere from a few tens of thousands to millions of $USD/CDN I'd be willing to write up a research proposal and go ahead with the research.... _{one can hope}

By: angeline

angeline — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 23:43:24 -0800

I'm sure if I weren't a genetic mutant, I'd love cilantro. Unfortunately, it's always smelled and tasted exactly like dishwashing soap to me. Only very tiny amounts, usually in very fresh, strong salsa is edible for me. Pity, because people really seem to like it, so it must be pretty good. If, you know, you aren't a mutant. (or maybe you cilantro lovers are the mutants)

By: tehloki

tehloki — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 00:24:55 -0800

Why do people call it cilantro? Did coriander suddenly split into two distinct bloodlines recently? Then again, I'm still confused about the difference between pork and ham.

By: LMGM

LMGM — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 03:15:03 -0800

I *adore* cilantro. So much so, I could just graze on a big bunch of it and call it an appetizer. Mind you, I grew up with two South American parents, so I've been eating cilantro-and-raw-onion salsa since babyhood. My mom taught me to make a Peruvian version of chimichurri, which is essentially a sort of pesto made with cilantro instead of basil...and an assload of cumin and hot peppers (this is unique to the peruvian version, I think). Right now I could go for a big pile of cilantro, tomato and onion, with a bit of lime juice and a lot of hot peppers.

By: Grangousier

Grangousier — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 03:57:49 -0800

It sounds like a car name. The Ford Cilantro, with heated rear windscreen and sun-roof.

By: tehloki

tehloki — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 04:09:14 -0800

Or an exotic travel destination "Come to Cilantro, where the beaches sprawl endlessly and there is a distinct shortage of chairs."

By: bifter

bifter — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 04:57:38 -0800

So far all of you out there who can handle cilantro, don't stick your noses up at us haters like we're being picky or something. We want to like cilantro -- at least, I do -- and I actually eat it quite often with the hope that one day I'll develop immunity. How many of you people eat things you hate the taste of out of pure shame for being seen as some kind of gustatory freak? Actually I do. I've been trying to do that with marzipan (tastes like poison) for years - I think it's actually starting to work too. I positively enjoyed the last morbidi that I ate. On the whole "chinese parsley" thing, I have a cookbook at home that claims that the chinese term for parsley translates to "western coriander". Ha!

By: aught

aught — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 06:40:02 -0800

Grangousier: It sounds like a car name. The Ford Cilantro, with heated rear windscreen and sun-roof. ... but which every third or fourth person who rides with you thinks has a strange musty upholstery smell!

By: Hubajube

Hubajube — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 06:53:10 -0800

On an episode of Prairie Home Companion maybe 15 years ago, there was mention of a cilantro aftershave. I've wanted some ever since. I do worry that supertasters will somehow outbreed us cilantro-loving folk, and cilantro will end up forever hated.

By: jamesonandwater

jamesonandwater — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 06:54:41 -0800

Apparently, it has a medicinal property of being anti-anxiety Really? That's interesting. I love "cilantro" too, we put it in our burgers for the barbecue. It's also pretty much the only thing in my garden that the squirrels/cats/raccoons haven't tried to dug up or ripped out, so they must be among the haters.

By: Wolfdog

Wolfdog — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 07:34:22 -0800

Haiku is the principal refuge of the incompetent.

By: porpoise

porpoise — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 08:19:36 -0800

I think you're onto something, bifter - in Cantonese cilantro is "yiem sai" - the sai is probably the same word as West. From my previous post, I guess it should be cultivar rather than sub-species. Also, isn't "Italian parsley" supposed to be the kind with the really small leaves that are used as garnish in Western North American restaurants?

By: cortex

cortex — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 08:25:28 -0800

Wolfdog is a buttface. Butty butty buttface.

By: Ambrosia Voyeur

Ambrosia Voyeur — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 09:47:20 -0800

Shiso (Perilla... never heard it called that) deserves another mention by me. It's phenomenal with sushi, and easily as strange a taste as cilantro to the uninitiated. I might actually call it soapy... it's ethereal and sharp at the same time, but sweet-green too. With a fuzzy texture! Too soapy for me to eat: anything with violets! I don't want Jane Austen whinging about in my mouf. Galangal is also pretty weird. Truth-or-dare-able.

By: Tehanu

Tehanu — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 17:43:09 -0800

Italian parsley. Coriander = cilantro= Chinese parsley = Western coriander = Dhania. Same families, different species. Ham usually means certain cuts of cured pork in the U.S., tehloki. Unless it's the ham in Spam, which is more of a mystery ingredient.

By: Deathalicious

Deathalicious — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 17:43:42 -0800

I looooove Shiso. And I also positively love candied violets and candies flavored with violets or roses, the stronger the better. I'm currently halfway into this delicious bag of pine-flavored honey candies and I'm popping them like, well, you know. I've eaten galangal raw and enjoyed it. Heck, I've eaten tumeric raw and enjoyed it. Still hate cilantro.

By: taosbat

taosbat — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 22:24:41 -0800

I had to learn to spell turmeric because I'm allergic to it.

By: tehloki

tehloki — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 03:25:46 -0800

Tumeric turns made me yellow. DAMN YOU TASTY FOOD DYE!

By: DevilsAdvocate

DevilsAdvocate — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 09:23:56 -0800

I do worry that supertasters will somehow outbreed us cilantro-loving folk, and cilantro will end up forever hated. It's not at all clear that cilantro-haters are supertasters. I'm a cilantro-hater, but do not show any signs of being a supertaster. Indeed, cilantro is one of very very few foods that I dislike.