Harold McGee on the Great Cilantro Debate

Good article on some of the science behind wildly varying attitudes towards cilantro. Read it here.

I have a recipe for cilantro pesto around here somewhere.

My favorite comment about cilantro, which I can only paraphrase, goes something like, "Use the flavorful seeds and throw those smelly leaves on the ground where they belong!"

I like the stuff, for the most part. It can be overused (like most flavoring ingredients) but it doesn't taste overly soapy or "buggy" to me. I think I'd probably like cilantro pesto.

My favorite comment about cilantro, which I can only paraphrase, goes something like, "Use the flavorful seeds and throw those smelly leaves on the ground where they belong!"

Very close to a Julia Child quote from the article, though Julia includes arugula in her disapprobation.

Mark Lipton

My favorite comment about cilantro, which I can only paraphrase, goes something like, "Use the flavorful seeds and throw those smelly leaves on the ground where they belong!"

Fully agree as well. I use the seeds (or the powder from seeds) in a lot of Indian recipes, but I absolutely loathe the raw leaves.
(Funnily enough, I don't mind coriander paste or chutneys made from mixes of coriander/mint leaves - but the raw leaves as garnish literally make me gag at times. Unfortunate as almost nobody else in my family has the same issue.)

[David M. Bueker]

I can take or leave the stuff (though I love the seeds). My wife's reaction is something like Salil's times ten. She so hates the stuff that if a leaf gets on her plate (e.g. as garnish) she likely won't eat any of the potentially contaminated food. She also has the "mixed with mint" blind spot the same as Salil.

This debate has always puzzeled me, as I've very slow to many foods (e.g. asparagus), and still avoid many (broccoli and pickles). Yet, I have enjoyed Cilantro from the first bite.

I, too, am a cilantrophobe. I can smell one leaf in anything and agree that the floor might be the best place for it short of the compost bin. Dried leaves don't bother me, I love the seeds and I crave arugula. That said, acid seems to modify the flavor enough to make it tolerable. I have noted the fresh leaves in salsa, but don't get the knee-jerk, want-to-spit-it-out reaction.

I, too, am a cilantrophobe. I can smell one leaf in anything and agree that the floor might be the best place for it short of the compost bin. Dried leaves don't bother me, I love the seeds and I crave arugula. That said, acid seems to modify the flavor enough to make it tolerable. I have noted the fresh leaves in salsa, but don't get the knee-jerk, want-to-spit-it-out reaction.

That article presents a possible explanation for not liking the whole, fresh leaves but being ok with torn up ones. Tear them up and there are enzymes that are thought to alter some of the more aromatic chemicals in the cilantro into odorless ones. I would assume that treatment with acids or drying might also modify those chemicals.

I love cilantro and grow it in my garden.. To me, it is a bright, fresh taste as I stated here. http://whatscookingamerica.net/KarenCalanchini/ThaiChickenSoup.htm I never cook it, but serve as a garnish or included in green salads. I also combine it with mints in pineapple, watermelon, salads. When I can get it, roots and all, at the Farmer's Market, I'm in heaven. At home, I just pick what I need from the plants...I use it often.

I, too, am a cilantrophobe. I can smell one leaf in anything and agree that the floor might be the best place for it short of the compost bin. Dried leaves don't bother me, I love the seeds and I crave arugula. That said, acid seems to modify the flavor enough to make it tolerable. I have noted the fresh leaves in salsa, but don't get the knee-jerk, want-to-spit-it-out reaction.

That article presents a possible explanation for not liking the whole, fresh leaves but being ok with torn up ones. Tear them up and there are enzymes that are thought to alter some of the more aromatic chemicals in the cilantro into odorless ones. I would assume that treatment with acids or drying might also modify those chemicals.

Yes, aldehydes are generally quite reactive and unstable to oxidation, so either treatment would most likely drastically reduce the amount of aldehyde present in the cilantro.

Mark Lipton

Nice article and I don't think I have every seen so many comments on any internet subject, as this one had. That was interesting about the Portuguese putting handfuls in their soups. I am half Portuguese, so that must be why I like it so much. Hmmm.....wonder how the Danish feel about it, since that is my other side.

[Robin Garr]

I like it, especially in Southeast Asian dishes (Thai and Vietnamese). I did have to teach myself to like it, though. My initial reaction was "meh," but I decided I couldn't reject it without locking myself out of way too many dishes in ethnic cuisines that I love, so I kept trying it until I got it. Sort of like the doctor mentioned toward the end of the article, I guess.

One querulous question: How come everybody says it smells like SOAP? To me (and Mary agrees) it smells exactly like a box of Crayolas, a descriptor that for us is absolutely dead on. Hasn't anyone else noticed this?

A friend of mine says that biting into a cilantro leaf gives him a fleeting moment of mental depression.

Robin, I don't get the Crayola smell, at all...just a nice bright, freshness!

I like fresh cilantro and hate Brussels sprouts. Must be genetic.

I cannot imagine Mexican salsa, guacamole, Thai food, ceviche, and some Indian foods without fresh cilantro. I have to believe that many people who say they don't like the leaves actually enjoy them when they are incorporated into other foods.

[David M. Bueker]

I cannot imagine Mexican salsa, guacamole, Thai food, ceviche, and some Indian foods without fresh cilantro. I have to believe that many people who say they don't like the leaves actually enjoy them when they are incorporated into other foods.

My wife and I order guacamole sans cilantro at our local Mexican restaurant (they make it by hand to order) & it's great. I now actually prefer guac without cilantro. We use Thai Basil rahter than cilantro in Thai foods.

I love Cilantro too. When it's in a soup, it takes that soup to another level for me.

When I first tasted it, in Pad Thai about 15 yrs ago, I thought it tasted and smelled like lime. In fact, I thought it was lime, and didn't realize that it was cilantro that gave the dish it's distinctive smell/taste. I never got a soapy or crayon aroma or taste (although my brother said blue cheese tasted like crayons when we were little...our next question was, "how do you know what crayons tasted like?"...LOL!). Like Karen, I get a very bright, fresh flavour.

[Jenise]

I love Cilantro too. When it's in a soup, it takes that soup to another level for me.

When I first tasted it, in Pad Thai about 15 yrs ago, I thought it tasted and smelled like lime. In fact, I thought it was lime, and didn't realize that it was cilantro that gave the dish it's distinctive smell/taste. I never got a soapy or crayon aroma or taste (although my brother said blue cheese tasted like crayons when we were little...our next question was, "how do you know what crayons tasted like?"...LOL!). Like Karen, I get a very bright, fresh flavour.

We're on par. I can't imagine the soap thing, but cilantro is proof (another might be chevre cheese, which you either love or think smells of urine) that we're all wired differently. Interesting that Robin was able to cure himself of dislike. I loved it the very first time I tasted it.

I love the stuff. In pico de gallo, beans, soups…I really don’t get the “soapy” or “crayon” descriptors. Its always reminded me of lime & fresh greenery. I can’t imagine fajitas without cilantro.

Richard

I cannot imagine Mexican salsa, guacamole, Thai food, ceviche, and some Indian foods without fresh cilantro. I have to believe that many people who say they don't like the leaves actually enjoy them when they are incorporated into other foods.

My wife and I order guacamole sans cilantro at our local Mexican restaurant (they make it by hand to order) & it's great. I now actually prefer guac without cilantro. We use Thai Basil rahter than cilantro in Thai foods.

No sauvignon blanc, no cilantro, you're living on the edge. It's no wonder you feel the need to be armed when in public.

I do remember thinking that the flavor of cilantro was like soap, maybe castile soap, the first time I tried it long ago. I remember that reaction, that "I want to spit it out" feeling.

But over time and with lots of exposure, and of course using it myself in many dishes both hot and cold, I now consider it a kitchen staple. Just another example of a "learned" flavor or an acquired taste.
Thinking about it now, I think a palate unused to that flavor profile would find it a dominating taste and depending on the preferred level of flavor for that taster's palate, it would take repeated exposure within a range of other flavors (tomato, onion, garlic, curry, coriander, etc.) to gradually find the cilantro a complimentary flavor. But I suppose many just don't get there...for whatever reason.
BTW, I get Robin's analogy to crayola--it's a waxy, neutral aroma like basic unperfumed soap.

I do not like cilantro, and I gag if I bite into a stem (which for some reason tastes much stronger than the leaves to me). However, there are certain foods that I love where it would seem ill-prepared if the herb were missing (Thai, Indian, Mexican, Vietnamese, to name a few). Curiously, I found that I really love Indian green chutney, which is primarily cilantro and mint. Go figure! Over time I've come to tolerate it, but I still look for it in my food to pull it out.

I do not like cilantro, and I gag if I bite into a stem (which for some reason tastes much stronger than the leaves to me). However, there are certain foods that I love where it would seem ill-prepared if the herb were missing (Thai, Indian, Mexican, Vietnamese, to name a few). Curiously, I found that I really love Indian green chutney, which is primarily cilantro and mint. Go figure! Over time I've come to tolerate it, but I still look for it in my food to pull it out.

That stem flavor strength thing is true of many herbs, Jo Ann. While I will use stems in stock I try to keep them out of savory dishes I am preparing. While I am not a "super taster" I tend toward that end of the spectrum. Many flavors strike me more strongly than they do most folk - cilantro, Brussels sprouts, mussels, rosemary and salmon just to name a few. I actually like all those things, but know to take them in moderation as they will overpower any other flavors present.