If you can taste a soapy cilantro on a dish, the chef fucked up.
Discussion
do we really need to talk about the traumatic neurological associations of food and corporal punishment in Mexican households today, Vitor.
Incorrect. Some people are genetically predetermined to taste cilantro as soapy no matter what.
Cooks prepare the cilantro to break down the soapy molecules. They usually end up sautéing, frying or blending it in salsas/curries to break down E-2-alkenals, the aldehydes others hate so much. If you look at cuisines that frequently use cilantro (Spanish, Semitic, Mexican, Indian, Thai etc.), you'll rarely encounter it fresh in a dish. That's why they can use it without triggering mass reactions.
I like fresh uncooked cilantro on my tacos 😀
Freshed chopped cilantro is most often used as a garnish in Indian foods.
Cilantro only needs 10 minutes with lemon juice, tomatoes, etc to get rid of the soapy molecules. If the leaves are touching hot oils, it also tones down the the soapy molecules. Obviously, assuming the rest of the plate is not massively overpowering the small amount of chopped cilantro at the end.
I've only heard of this soapy cilantro thing on the internet.
I don't actually believe it's real.
No tip for u
As others have said, it's genetic. Also see "Asparagus anosmia"
Nothing a little preparation can't solve.
My wife will 100% never eat cilantro
Then find a better chef. It's not that hard. Lowering the PH with some citrus juice already removes most of the soapy taste.
This is a weird take. It's never soapy to me, always soapy to her ... the preparation has no effect on either of us
Then you have never actually tasted prepared cilantro. My wife hates it as well. But not when I cook.
Maybe she just likes when you cook 🤔
Not really, she loves Thai and Indian food where cilantro is common. You just need to remove the compounds that create the bitter taste. Citrus juice, vinagger, tomatos and onions all break down these molecules.
Cilantro is commonly combined with those things, and it doesn't seem to change anything either. This seems intensely YMMV
I don't care if you add lemon, orange, 24k gold leaf or whatever you want. It still tastes terrible to me and screws up my dishes. 😂
But maybe there's also a range of soapiness? It's never tasted soapy to me, no matter how its prepared
I never ate asparagus as a child, so when I finally tried some as an adult, I liked it.
Then, 2 hours later...
Blame your ancestors not the chef.
I blame the chef. It's cooking 101. Lower the PH with some citrus and you already make it much nicer.
Why would a so call chef use soap to clean cilantro? that's the dumbest thing ever. Don't go to that restaurant, they are going to use cleaners to clean potatoes and kill you by their stupidity
Please accept my condolences. You can’t enjoy the 2nd best herb ever