Comments on thisTangent: Millions of People Hate Cilantro

I am new to finding out that it isn't the food...

2011-09-17T05:46:25.650-07:00

I am new to finding out that it isn't the food but the cilantro repentant all over the food that makes me feel sick. For me it makes everything taste raw. Things with and without meat. Last night I expressed this to some friends and it seemed like the oddest thing to them, but I left with an awful headache to prove it. So I am going to learn to be insist on never having cilantro in my food.

I always ask if there is cilantro in Mexican or ot...

2011-03-22T10:27:38.709-07:00

I always ask if there is cilantro in Mexican or other known genres of food. It is easier to say "I'm allergic" than to explain my own reaction. Just today, I had about 2 leaves in my lunch. They sneaked in somehow, and I didn't realize it until it the taste was in my mouth. To me, it tastes like. . . .well I don't know what it tastes like. I usually spit it out. It has been over an hour and I have a really bad headache. I hate cilantro because it does this to me every time!

I don't know what to call my reaction to cilantro....

2008-10-16T20:16:00.000-07:00

I don't know what to call my reaction to cilantro. If I ingest it I suffer from painful stomach bloating, gas that won't pass easily, and eventually the vomiting up of the undigested remains of dinner which my intestines won't accept, pointing out how much smarter my viscera are than my brain.

I offer this accounting as a possible helpful nugget of info and/or a warning to someone else who has a cilantro sensitivity and finds themselves confronted with a bowl of cilantro chutney at an Indian restaurant and they are thinking about dipping into it with that tasty papadum. Word to the soon-to-be-wiser: DON'T DO IT!

I hate cilantro as well. I tried doing a tiny bit...

2008-10-15T22:16:00.000-07:00

I hate cilantro as well. I tried doing a tiny bit of research to prove to other people (my mother, some friends, etc.) that it is, in fact, POSSIBLE for someone not to like cilantro. I found an article on wikipedia that, as i understand it, says it's genetic. Cilantro haters produce an enzyme that basically makes cilantro taste awful to us (to me it tastes rank, like something is rotting in my mouth). There are two theories: cilantro haters can taste something unpleasent cilantro likers can't OR cilantro likers can taste something pleasent cilantro haters can't.
There used to be a blurb about it on the wikipedia page for coriander, but it seems to have disappeared. In any event, it seems unlikely that we are "allergic" to it as, as far as I can tell, there's no "attacking" per se, but nevertheless as Roy said, it's probably easier to just tell servers/opponents that you're allergic than it is to explain all that.
Just trying to share some anti-cilantro trivia :) it seemed relavant, i hope you find it interesting!

Early on, I thought it was an allergy. Then, I tho...

2008-05-23T12:47:00.000-07:00

Early on, I thought it was an allergy. Then, I thought it wasn't. Now, from what I've read, it is. For me, at least, it's not just a taste issue -- my mouth continues to be bothered for quite some time afterwards.

In contrast, if I taste Saccharin, it tastes absolutely foul, but there is no lingering effect.

But, even if it's not an allergy, it is far easier to tell people I'm allergic than to tell people it tastes like metal. Then, they just argue with me.

I've never viewed the Cilantro thing -- I know a f...

2008-05-23T09:29:00.000-07:00

I've never viewed the Cilantro thing -- I know a few others who suffer from it -- as an allergy per se, but as a genetic quirk (one way or the other) that makes it taste awful. Like people who have strong reactions to overly bitter foods.

Maybe I'm very picky about what I consider an allergy versus what I consider a strong physical reaction. It's like the asparagus/urine thing. I don't consider that an allergy, just something that makes the next 24 hours unpleasant for the consumer.