Me too! It's a gene. It's not lack on either of our parts 😉

Many of my family members report this; apparently, its a genetic thing.

Fortunately, I don't have this problem -- I love cilantro, there's no such thing as too much cilantro as far as I'm concerned :0)

I adore cilantro! My husband detests it, but doesn't detect a soapy taste.

cilantro=soap to me too I cut it out of all recipes and sub parsley sometimes

I've never consciously noticed either way.

🤮🤢

Love the taste and the scent!

It must be a recessive gene. I have one daughter who can't eat cilantro. I find it fresh and bright in salads and love it in so many sauces.

I love it. But if I concentrate, yes, it does taste like soap.

My response has changed; the flavor went from metallic to enjoyable. I particularly love the scent.

I leave it out of recipes when I cook or substitute something else because it tastes like soap to me.

It is hit or miss for me. I only occassionally get a strong taste of soap. The first time it happened was in a Chinese restsurant and I thought they put liquid hand soap in my broccoli with garlic sauce.😄

Not my favorite herb -- which is basil -- but it does have a nice taste to me.

Not a fan - tastes soapy to me for sure, but I can sometimes take it when it's cooked into the food.

I prefer coriander, which is cilantro seed and has the orange-y flavor without the soap.

Cilantro doesn’t taste like soap to me, but I understand how it could. If that makes any sense. I love it.

The herb I really don’t understand is parsley. I won’t say I dislike it but I don’t see that it typically brings anything particularly pleasant to the table. Unless I happen to have some one hand, or foresee other uses in the near future, I often find myself on the fence about spending the two bucks when a recipe calls for it. Aesthetics may play a bigger role than taste, in making the decision.

I love it but it tastes like soap to DH. I grow culantro and Thai basil to substitute at home.

I love parsley - flat leaf, a.k.a. Italian, parsley brings a wonderful flavor to many dishes - and I love it battered and fried for tempura too.

Curly parsley seems very bland to me tho.

I've heard of the hereditary "cilanthro tastes like soap" issue. I don't have it and enjoy the flavor.

Parsley adds a pleasant "garden freshness" flavor to dishes it's sprinkled on, whether certain soups, salad, or whatever. It's the main flavor in the delicious Middle Eastern salad Tabbouleh.

"The herb I really don’t understand is parsley. I won’t say I dislike it but I don’t see that it typically brings anything particularly pleasant to the table."

Oh, really good fresh parsley is wonderful, both on it's own and in recipes. I often add parsley leaves to my tossed salads for a bit of a flavor kick, and I find dishes that call for parsley as an ingredient are not the same if I omit it. Like Carol, I use flat-leaf Italian parsley; I never use curly parsley.

ETA: I have family members, including DH, who don't like parsley. I have to remember not to garnish with parsley if certain family members come over for dinner. DH will pick it out of salads and doesn't like Tabbouleh but he won't complain if it's in a cooked dish because you don't really taste parsley, its simply there to enhance the dish. So you're not alone with the parsley :0)

I get the freshness thing, and possibly overstated my opinion just a bit. I think it’s just something I generally wouldn’t particularly miss, when it’s a minor ingredient or garnish. And yes, I only use flat parsley. Not only is curly bland, I dislike the texture. I just conversed with chatgpt who agreed that it can feel unnecessary when simply added without much thought or purpose, saying that my ”parsley cynicism” is common. They agreed about brightness, freshness, flat over curly.

“Parsley is unnecessary most of the time… except when it’s absolutely essential.”

I love the taste and smell of cilantro. I always keep it on hand.

No soap gene here, but I like just a teensy bit, or I find the flavor overwhelming. So it ends up getting old in the fridge, and getting tossed, even when stored with a lot of fussing. I'm not a fan for home use. Better at restaurants. Anyone use the freeze dried stuff in a jar?

Huge cilantro fan here, although I do get the soap thing. Years ago I used to think it smelled like a sink full of soapy dish water. IDK, it just works for me and it’s got to be in certain dishes, starting with salsa. I like parsley but it’s a poor sub for cilantro for me. Just not the same.

" “Parsley is unnecessary most of the time… except when it’s absolutely essential.” "

I don't know if that's you or AI but I don't think it's a thoughtful comment.

I think most food preparations are like team sports. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Is any one ingredient of any dish essential? If it's not part of what I think of as "the physical process" (like a roux or other thickener in a sauce, a leavening agent in a baked item) and is added just for flavor, then it may be desirable but often not essential.

If a dish has 5 supplementary ingredients for flavor, can it be made with 3? Usually. Is it better with all 5. Of course.

I dont get soap but it is an unpleasant taste to me and not only do I not like cilantro, it does not like me. It gives me an upset stomach. My favorite herb is Thyme. I also love Basil. I grew it in Mississippi and it was like a huge hedge there. I would wack it back to keep it young and fresh. I once sent a friend home with huge gallon bags of pureed Basil. I wonder what they thought at the airport. We cant grow it here, not enough heat. Thyme thrives. I grew my own flat leaf parsley for a while and totally fresh beats the socks off what you can buy

I get the soap taste if I eat cilantro raw in anything. The only thing I use it in is when I make Annie's Salsa recipe and then I cut the amount in half from what the recipe calls for. When it is cooked down I don't get the soapy aftertaste.

I mostly use cilantro raw. The only time I can think of where it’s cooked is in these burgers. Cooking cilantro tends to lessen its taste, but these are good.

Argentine-Style Burgers

1 T. olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
2 T. finely chopped garlic
1 T. finely chopped jalapeno (or to taste)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds ground round (85% lean)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

In medium skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, jalapeno and 1/4 tsp. salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl, let cool for 10 minutes, and add the ground beef, cumin, oregano, cilantro, 1 tsp. salt and several grinds of pepper. Mix gently with your hands until just combined. Shape meat into 4 burgers, 3/4 inch thick and 4 inches across, working the meat as little as possible. Grill and serve in pita pockets with red onion, lettuce and chimichurri.

I love cilantro, however I also have the gene that allows you to smell asparagus pee, which is horrible. I like asparagus, though.

The best way I enjoy parsey is an abundance of it in tabouli. I am not a fan of flat leaf but love curly

It doesn't take like soap to me but I'm not a fan of cilantro. It's got a REALLY strong flavor that I just don't care for.

I grow both cilantro and flat leaf parsley and they each have their uses.

I think it was on ”Friends” that had the line, ”I’m calling you cilantro because you ruin everything”.

tj

NO soapy cilantro for me. Both daughters are not bothered by it. Dont know about their dad's taste.

“I love cilantro, however I also have the gene that allows you to smell asparagus pee, which is horrible. I like asparagus, though.“

I know what you mean, ded. Plain boiled potatoes smell like ladybugs to me. ☹️

I like cilantro and asparagus.

Ha, Rox, will have to boil some potatoes to sniff them.

I didn't know ladybugs had an odor. Stink bugs on the other hand...

My wife loves it when I leave 'asparagus pee' in the commode to mellow. Just saving on the water bill honey :-)

https://wildlifeofalberta.fandom.com/wiki/Coccinellidae

”Another thing ladybirds can do is "Reflex bleeding" this is when a ladybird secretes a orange or yellow blob of fake blood which smell deters predator ”

Yes, they smell! My sisters and I used to catch them when we were kids and they’d leave yellow on our hands.

LOL, rox, I also didn’t know about ladybugs‘ smell.

Regarding the after effect of asparagus, I’ve heard about it but never noticed.🤷‍♀️

Chloebud - I grow asparagus and get around 40 lbs. every spring and eat ALOT of it. The purple varieties seem to be more 'potent' than the green.

And beets make your pee pretty. 🩷

I don't care for too many spices ( though I love garlic especially) -- but I do love Cilantro. Whenever it's used in something I taste, I always think that's a good flavor. I know one daughter loves it too.... have to ask other

“I grow asparagus and get around 40 lbs. every spring…”

Wow, LJ, lucky you! You grow both purple and green?

LOL over some of these comments. I love cilantro.

Wow, LJ, lucky you! You grow both purple and green?

Yep, 2 varieties of green and 2 varieties of purple.

NICE!👍🏻

I used to find the taste of cilantro absolutely repulsive. Then after several trips to Mexico where it was difficult to avoid cilantro I finally decided to try it on some tacos I cooked at home. I can't explain it but now I like cilantro. I still don't really like the stems but the leaves taste great. I don't know if I tasted soap but it used to taste disgusting and chemical and somehow now it doesn't.

I still despise parsley. I haven't put any concerted effort into liking parsley since it seems to primarily show up in Tabbouleh, which I can't eat anyway due to gluten intolerance.

Along with Tabbouleh, Chimichurri and Gremolata are both good uses for parsley. That is, for parsley fans.😊