We’re blogging about the various research projects and discoveries 23andMe scientists are presenting in November at the annual American Society of Human Genetics meeting. This is the first in our series of posts. Check back for more as the meeting gets closer!
Hated, vile, foul herb;
One mere leaf destroys the meal.
Oh, to be tongueless!
by ItReallyIsAwful at ihatecilantro.com
For some people, dining out can be a minefield for the tastebuds. As once-Spittoon contributor Erin wrote, “For years I believed that every Mexican restaurant my family took me to had some kind of problem with their dishwashing machine. Why else would the food always taste like soap?”
It turns out that cilantro (also known as fresh coriander) was the culprit. One of the most widely used herbs in the world, it is also one of the most divisive. Many people have no idea that this leafy green herb can cause such repulsion, much to the chagrin of those who find it foul. To Erin, cilantro tastes like soap. To others, it can taste like stinkbugs, dirt, or — if they’re feeling really dramatic — anarchy, pure evil, or the plague.
Cilantro taste in 23andMe customers
Cilantro soapy-taste by ancestry
| Ashkenazi Jewish | 14.1% |
| Southern European | 13.4% |
| Northern European | 12.8% |
| African-American | 9.2% |
| Latino | 8.7% |
| East Asian | 8.4% |
| South Asian | 3.9% |
Sex differences in cilantro taste perception
| Female vs. Male | |
| Tastes soapy | 57% vs. 43% |
| Doesn’t taste soapy | 49% vs. 51% |
Coincidence? No!
Cilantro enters Europe.
Along with Black Death.
by Popmusicguy at ihatecilantro.com
Why do some people love cilantro, while others hate it with every fiber of their being? The environment or culture in which you grew up can matter — one study found that 14-21 percent of people of East Asian, African, and Caucasian ancestry disliked cilantro while only 3-7 percent of those who identified as South Asian, Hispanic, or Middle Eastern disliked it.
But clearly environment isn’t everything. Could genetic differences explain some of this love-hate trait?
We put the cilantro taste question to about 50,000 23andMe customers, asking whether they liked the taste of cilantro and whether they thought cilantro had a soapy taste. When we compared the DNA of the cilantro haters to the DNA of cilantro lovers, we found a SNP (or genetic variation) called rs72921001 to be associated with the trait in a subset of about 25,000 people with European ancestry. (About 13 percent of 23andMe customers with European ancestry answered that cilantro tastes soapy, and 26 percent dislike it.)
People with the less common version of rs72921001 had lower odds of perceiving a soapy taste and of disliking the herb. This SNP is not directly tested by 23andMe’s DNA chip (it was inferred from nearby SNPs), so 23andMe customers can instead look at their results for rs7107418, which is highly correlated with rs72921001 in people of European descent.
It shouldn’t be surprising that this SNP is located near eight genes that code for olfactory receptors, biological sensors that detect chemicals in the air and in food. Humans have hundreds of these receptors, which send signals to our brains to produce what we recognize as aromas and flavors. But exactly how this works is complex and differs from person to person. The same chemical can be found in both appealing and unappealing places — cheese and body odor, for example. Conversely, the same ingredient — such as cilantro — can contain both pleasant and unpleasant chemicals. Whether stinky cheese and cilantro are delicious or disgusting depends on your particular perception of many different chemicals.
Soak your dirty feet
In lemon water and drink.
Tastes like cilantro.
by Sheri2names at ihatecilantro.com
Cilantro’s aromatic qualities primarily depend on a group of compounds known as aldehydes. One type of aldehyde has been described as being “fruity” and “green” and another type as being “soapy” and “pungent”. One of the eight genes near the SNP we identified codes for a receptor called OR6A2, which is known to detect aldehydes such as those found in cilantro.
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Although this finding provides evidence that genetic variation in olfactory receptors is involved in cilantro taste perception, common genetic variants explain only a very small part of the difference — a half percent — between 23andMe customers for this trait. This doesn’t mean that genetics can’t play a large role for a particular person (indeed, some people are “supertasters”, or may have specific genetic variations that cause them to detect or not detect certain smells and flavors), it just means that in general, genetics isn’t a huge part of why our tastes for cilantro differ.
One thing’s for sure — if you hate cilantro, you REALLY hate cilantro! Check out some of the passionate poetry people have written (some highlighted throughout this post) at ihatecilantro.com.
Read more about our cilantro discovery at:
- Nature News – Soapy taste of cilantro linked to genetic variants
- Business Insider – Our hatred (or love) of cilantro may be genetic
- The Daily Meal – Cilantro-hating apparently genetic
- Medical Daily – Research has found that genetics is behind your dislike of cilantro
- Gizmodo – Genetic proof that you really do hate cilantro
- NPR’s food blog The Salt – Love to hate cilantro? It’s in your genes and maybe, in your head
- Huffington Post — Cilantro aversion linked to gene for smell, new study finds
- Haldane’s Sieve — Our paper: A genetic variant near olfactory receptor genes influences cilantro preference (by 23andMe scientist Nick Eriksson)
Here is what I have to say about Cilantro. There are many sites on the internet that states that it chelates mercury, cadmium, lead and aluminum from the bones, brain, and the central nervous system. If this is true, then it seems to be a food worth eating.
It says I shouldn’t like it but it’s one of my favorite spices.
@Julie
One of my favorite herbs. I grow tons of it out on the patio. Yet, I too carry the SNP correlating to the “soapy taste”; however, I don’t perceive cilantro as “soapy.”
Ah! I’m so glad to find company in my intense aversion to raw cilantro leaves!!! When I order a meal in Mexican or Asian restaurants, I’ve gotten to the point of interrogating the server and sending them to FIND OUT FIRST whether my food will be contaminated with this nasty poison.
Curiously, I discovered at a Thai restaurant that my hot soup loaded with cilantro was not a such a great problem as long as the cilantro was fully cooked. The raw cilantro scattered on top of the soup was the major problem. I spent quite a long while sieving through the soup bowl removing the leaves, missed a few cooked bits, but was able to finally enjoy the dish.
I am GG, and I can’t eat cilantro. I used to think that the restaurants weren’t rinsing their dishes properly. It tastes like soap to me.
AG and it tastes like soap to me! Gag!
I am AA and hate cilantro but I am also wondering whether there is a similar genetic link to green peppers. It also seems to be a love them or hate them thing. I’ve had more restaurant meals spoiled by an unsuspected pepper.
For years I thought I was going crazy becuase I was the only one in my family who thought cilantro tastes like soap! To me, it tastes like a wierd mixture of soap and rotten lettuce. I despise the stuff. Thank you, 23andme, for proving I am NOT crazy!
My reaction exactly! When it’s used sparingly, it’s like soap and fresh-cut grass. The grassy taste comes first, then, about a second later, that nasty soap taste. But sometimes it’s not a neutral grassy taste — it’s that compost smell you mention. Oddly my brother loves the stuff — says it tastes like parsley, but includes both a citrus-type flavor and a deeper savory note. I can’t taste either of those components, or even a parsley-like flavor.
I think there are more genes involved in this scenario that have yet to be determined. I don’t recall ever detecting a soapy taste in cilantro even though I am AA. I actually like the taste of cilantro as well as coriander. Also, I am CC for the “supertaster” even though I have never had a problem detecting bitterness in greens. I will say that I have noticed my taste has changed as I have gotten older and depending on where I have lived. I think it’s too early in our understanding of the interactions between genes and the environment to hint at conclusive evidence for anything, especially considering the complexities of biology.
I used to hate it, and I fall in the “cilantro-tastes-like-stinkbugs” category.
However, over time I’ve grown to love the flavor. It still tastes the same to me, I just don’t hate it anymore.
I answered that I was not sure, thinking there would be a comment area. Here it is!
The first time I tasted ciiantro, I thought the restaurant had not cleaned a cast iron skills. Not soap, just dirty iron. I like it now that I know it’s not dirty pan.
I think Cilantro and Arugula are two of the vilest substances on the planet. Even a tiny bit will not only ruin a dish, but make me sick to my stomach. I can’t even stand the smell if my next door neighbors are chopping it up for a salad. My results for that gene are AA, and my mother agrees with me on how disgusting cilantro is (she doesn’t know what arugula is). Fortunately, many restaurants are now listing on their menus which items are putrified with this awful weed.
can’t stand the stuff (I also have issue with over use of Basil)
one more interesting thing to check out when my results come back :)
When I was young, let’s say about 25 years ago, I too, thought cilantro was soapy tasting. Now, I can’t live without it, and always have it on hand. Genetics….well, I was adopted, so I’m not sure.
Having a genetic predisposition to Cilantro/Coriander hate, if the percentages shown above are correct, I love the stuff. Never thought it tasted ‘soapy’. Adore it in Mexican, Indian and Thai food. The more the merrier!
Remember when Mom used to threaten to wash your mouth out with soap? Might as well have threatened me with cilantro. It tastes just like Ivory. If I forget to ask and get a dish contaminated with it in a restaurant, I can’t take a bite until I’ve removed every particle. OTOH, Thomas, I can’t get enough arugula.
Funny, I’ve been wondering the same thing ever since I first tasted cilantro almost 40 years ago, i.e., is the world divided between people who taste it differently? Initially, and for many years after, I thought it tasted almost metallic, and definitely not good. And I’m not one of those picky eaters with what I call a “child’s palate”. About the only foods I don’t like are liver and uni (raw sea urchin). But after living in the West and Southwest for decades and repeated exposure, I’ve developed a taste, or at least tolerance, for cilantro when it’s used in moderation, and even add it to my own salsa recipe. Coriander’s another matter entirely; I don’t think it tastes anything like cilantro.
I had never (knowingly) had it until I was about 24, when I watched a friend make a “mexican-style” casserole. When I tasted it, it was like a bell went off and I realized all those years what made some asian/mexican restaurant food taste like they didn’t get all the lemon soap off the plates! However, I now LOVE cilantro, and it tastes like green/bitter/brightness that works so well in asian and south american cuisine. I see that I was genetically likely to dislike it and, as at I did at first, but being adopted, I guess it only reinforces my belief in nurture over nature!
To me, it tastes like dirty socks smell, but then I say the same thing about lamb.
Any explanation for taste changing (as one ages I presume)??? As a kid I hated this stuff. Soap doesn’t do it justice. I thought it was pungent and poisonous. Now as am much older approaching 50 this stuff doesn’t taste bad at all. And I heard it has antibiotic properties so I probably overdose on the stuff when I go to a Vietnamese restaurant. Can genetics explain a change from hate to love?
The change in your taste preference has more to do with aging than genetics. As you age your ability to smell and taste changes, become a little less sensitive. So what was once pungent becomes less so over time.
I love this herb!!!!!!! By the way , this herb helps remove toxic heavy metals out of the body big time! Mix a bunch of this chopped herb with lime juice, a bit of salt. a dash of habanero hot sauce and a splash of maple syrup to cut the lime edge and you have the most fabulous condiment for fish, chicken or samosas. Yum
stealing this! :)
Sometimes I like it, sometimes it’s unpleasant. Not really “soapy”, just tastes foul in some dishes like something rotten. I find in most asian or latin dishes it tastes good or at least OK. I’ve had it raw as a garnish on plain asian dumpling and it tasted fine. In other dishes, it can be repulsive. I can’t smell stink bugs so I can’t compare it to that – which may be related to my basic liking for the herb.
I hate it! It’s terrible! Why can’t restaurants leave it on the side so we have a choice? I’ve stopped going to many restaurants because of this terrible weed.
Interestingly, I did not care for the taste of cilantro when I had it with Mexican food, but I loved it with Thai food. Once I realized that I liked with Thai, I taught myself to enjoy it with other cuisines, including Mexican. I don’t like a heavy hand with cilantro, but I find its distinct flavor to be quite tasty with many ethnic foods now.
I also remember how the Food Network “chefs” went wild over cilantro a few years ago when the herb was so trendy. They added huge amounts to, seemingly, everything from hamburgers to brownies. I can definitely live without the cilantro hype, but I did enjoy two fish tacos for lunch today that were sprinkled liberally with chopped cilantro leaves.
In my case, my genotype GG (Myra GG ~ Slightly lower odds of detecting a soapy taste in cilantro) is very “off”. I hate cilantro!! It ruins the food. The first irst time I tasted it in a salad I thought someone poisoned the food, or just poured soap on it. I could not eat the salad. So, there must be other factors involved. I am Ashkenazi Jewish.
I never knew cilantro existed till I moved to TX where it’s used liberally! Thankfully I’m a GG so I do like it, but here’s what I have discovered thru personal experience: if used correctly, and in the right amounts, it’s great – it can make a huge difference in a dish. But if TOO MUCH is used, then yeah, it can make even the best dish taste like crap. It’s getting that perfect balance that makes a dish all that much more delectable, IMHO.
I used to think cilantro tasted like soap and refused to eat it and picked it out of everything. Now I love it, and when my GF picks it out of her food I add it to my dish. I have no idea how the change came about. Also, when cooked, my GF likes the flavor it adds to the dish.
Don’t hate it but it makes me cough.
Lol this cracks me up. I think cilantro is just an acquired taste. I grew up in the Northeast US and the first time I tasted the herb I was completely grossed out. Flash forward five years and having traveled extensively in S. America, I now LOVE cilantro. I feel like they’re a lot like tomatoes or peppers, when you taste them for the first time (usually as a kid), you don’t like them, but after continued exposure you grow to love them.
I like cilantro. If you want to have some fun put a handfull in some ready hot water. The smell will be so strong that you will need to leave your house!
The first time I tasted cilantro I was immediately reminded of the first (and 0nly) time I put a penney in my mouth. UGH!!
I hate cilantro because I have an allergic reaction when I eat it. I have a wide variety of other allergies too, so it isn’t only cilantro. Oddly enough, cilantro has such a distinct taste that I recognize it immediately. It seems possible that the allergic reaction is mental because I dislike the taste of cilantro. I’m not sure, but if I taste cilantro in my food, I’ll have a mild yet uncomfortable allergic reaction. I don’t eat anything with cilantro in it anymore because it ruins my meal and the rest of my day.
It’s interesting though, I have minor allergic reactions to other things too, but because I enjoy the tastes of these other things, I do not avoid them with nearly as much fervor. Strange stuff.
My parents are from The Netherlands and my entire life I have hated cilantro. I’ve always felt it has ruined any food it’s in. This article was an eye-opener for me. Maybe I have the rs72921001 gene in my DNA…it would certainly make sense,
I simply adore cilantro (and interestingly my parents are from the Netherlands, too). On the other hand, beets taste just like dirt to me.
I also dislike cilantro…..but I absolutely love arugula…….almost crave it.