Coriander (cilantro) tasting like soap. Alternative? Or not bother?

[GroundAlmonds]

I was a bit slow on the uptake about this.

My 21 year old was talking about the way coriander tastes like soap to her. Apparently about a quarter of the population have a gene that makes it taste that way to them.

I looked it up and read about it and it turns out, to the majority of the population, coriander tases citrusy. I chewed a bit more, and d coded it definitely tastes more perfumey than fruity to me. So I have the same gene. Great. Slightly interesting. I’ve always quite liked coriander regardless. To me, it’s definitely an unusual taste.

A whole week later (today), I’m meal planning again and it suddenly hits me. Curries and chillies aren’t tasting to me as they “should” if I’m tasting coriander “wrong”. They aren’t supposed to have a soapy tinge to them. Mind blown.

So is there a substitution I can make? Or is it an individualised perception thing? 🥴🤯

Doesn't Parmesan smell like vomit to everyone then? I've always thought it does, although I love the taste.

It's disgusting! 🤮

Dried, ground coriander is much more palatable than the fresh leafy kind.

I thought there was something wrong with my recent take-away treat until I noticed it had nasty green stuff on the top.

I hate it.

So does Angela Hartnett.

Ortam, that vomity parmesan thing is down to a chemical, butyric acid - it's in vomit and also in most American chocolate - I couldn't understand why people raved over Reece's and Hershey's when ti me it just tasted of vom . I don't get the taste with parmesan but definitely do with American chocolate.

I love it. If the scent were a perfume, I’d wear it.

IIRC it’s very nutritious - it’s not just added to curries as a garnish for colour but is believed to have medicinal qualities.

Coriander seeds or ground coriander taste and smell completely different.

wow, parsley won't work at all.

Just skip the coriander, there are plenty of curries that don't use it.

If ever you’re in London, the Science Museum does a great children’s workshop where you can be genotyped for this gene. Broccoli and Brussels sprouts are also affected.

For curries you can add dried fenugreek for flavour, just a sprinkle towards the end of cooking time. Hell, I even add a vegetable oxo cube if I feel like it. My fellow Indians will probably think I am quite mad but hey ho.
With coriander I use it as a garnish only for curries, so a very small sprinkling. (I love it but the rest of the family aren't keen).

Doesn't parmesam smell like vomit to everybody?

Certainly, I've talked about it before and everybody agrees that it smells bad but mostly tastes good (not to me, I don't like it!).

Wow, I'd never heard of that at all, how interesting! Coriander is one of my favourites and I use it a lot.
Is it soapy just in it's fresh form or does it effect the ground dried version too?

I used to hate coriander, to the point where I'd request 'no fresh coriander please' when ordering a takeaway. Tasted very soapy. Then, DH and I went round to a friend's for dinner, and as part of the meal he served up a coriander salad - great bunches of the stuff. Being polite, I made myself eat it without comment - and it was like a switch flicked on (or off) in my head - after that over exposure, I started craving fresh coriander, and nowadays I have to have it in curries, or they don't taste right to me. The first 30 years of my life I hated it, the second 30 years I've loved it. There really is such a thing as an acquired taste!

I used to love Tarragon (especially in chicken tarragon) until someone pointed out that it has a licorice flavour (and I cant stand that stuff) and now Tarragon is ruined to me forever...

@clearedfortakeoff but liquorice is lovely 😭. I am amazed you don’t like it. Why?

I despise liquorice and anything else that tastes of aniseed, like fennel, celeriac, dill, pernod, star anis. Yuck. But I love coriander.

@Hohofortherobbers what is this outrage? You hate all the things I love. Why? How?

So: we need some sort of a straw poll thingy. Do people who love coriander, hate dill and star anise and Aniseed? Are these flavours some how diametrically opposed or something?

No, that doesn't work - I love coriander, dill, fennel, star anise, liquorice, celeriac.

@Doobiedooo

So: we need some sort of a straw poll thingy. Do people who love coriander, hate dill and star anise and Aniseed? Are these flavours some how diametrically opposed or something?

I hate aniseed with a passion.

I don’t think I could over come it. I can taste one leaf inadvertently in a large pot of something, it’s an over whelming taste of soap and taints the whole thing, it would be no different to me than necking the fairy liquid.

On the poll, I also dislike dill, but love aniseed and star anise. I just don’t like dill though, it’s not like coriander.

I used to hate coriander,just tasted like soap to me but then somewhere along the line I suddenly loved it. I'll happily just eat it raw now. Used to hate fennel too but eat if often now. Still can't abide liquorice though. Or most other aniseedy things.

I don't know what value I thought my post would add to this thread!

I'll add cloves into the mix with the aniseedy horrors.