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Who likes cilantro?

Poll Results: What do you think of cilantro?

This is a multiple choice poll
  • 9% (8)
    I hate it
  • 78% (65)
    I love it
  • 1% (1)
    Never had it/don't know what it is
  • 10% (9)
    I can take it or leave it
  • 0% (0)
    I'm allergic to it
83 Total Votes  
post #1 of 54
6/7/02 at 5:54pm
Thread Starter 
I for one cannot stand cilantro, I can smell it a mile away and it makes my stomach turn. My mom on the other hand loves it. I was just wondering what you all think...
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post #2 of 54
6/7/02 at 6:30pm
KateW,

I think you may need to add some more options:

Learned to like it later in life

Growing on me over time

I think I fall into those categories. I used to have the same opinion as you did...

;)
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post #3 of 54
6/7/02 at 6:41pm
Hubby and myself just love it!
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post #4 of 54
6/7/02 at 7:12pm
Thread Starter 
Good idea, cchiu. I hadn't thought of that!
Edit: Hmm, I can't seem to edit the poll. Sorry...if your opinion isn't on the list, please tell me how you do feel about this odd little herb...hehe....
I can certainly understand not liking something at first and then growing into it. But no matter how many times I try to sample cilantro, even in tiny nibbles, I still hate it!
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post #5 of 54
6/7/02 at 8:48pm
I love cilantro. It's shiso I can't stand. Stuff makes me gag.
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post #6 of 54
6/8/02 at 6:58am
Cilantro strikes me as something you either love or hate, with very few falling in the "neutral" zone. Some people are terribly allergic to it - and suffer from symptoms like ferocious headaches if even the smallest trace is consumed. I love cilantro and feel it gives a fresh flavor to Mexican foods - or any food with a southwest slant.
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post #7 of 54
6/8/02 at 9:14am
Thread Starter 
What is shiso?
I went to Chili's once recently and asked for no cilantro on their chicken tacos. The waitress said Oh, are you allergic? That was the first time I had heard of someone being allergic. I said No, I just can't stand it!
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post #8 of 54
6/8/02 at 11:32am
KateW,

Some information on Shiso for you here. Shiso is a mint-like herb which is traditionally used as part of sushi presentation. It is hard to find in the west and is often replaced with bits of green serrated plastic.

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post #9 of 54
6/8/02 at 12:10pm
I fall into the "used to hate it, now I love it" category. When I go to Chili's, I ask for extra cilentro on my fajita salad! I used to think it tasted like herby soap.
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post #10 of 54
6/8/02 at 4:57pm
Can't stand the stuff!!! I love Mexican food but when Cilantro shows up I have to skip it. When I see it in a recipe I substitute Italian parsley.

Jock
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post #11 of 54
6/8/02 at 6:08pm
I knew a girl who felt that way about fresh ginger!
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post #12 of 54
6/8/02 at 8:27pm
Thread Starter 
I think cilantro tastes like soap too, but this is not a good thing in my opinion ;)
Thanks for the info on shiso. I don't think i've ever had it...
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post #13 of 54
6/8/02 at 10:16pm
There has been suggestions that one is genetically predisposed to like or dislike cilantro......
Down here, and in most of Europe, b.t.w., you will look in vain for cilantro. Ask for coriander leaves.
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post #14 of 54
6/8/02 at 10:30pm
I don't know how I could eat without it. It's such an important flavor in so many ethnic dishes - I couldn't imagine making pico de gallo without cilantro. And then there's all the Asian dishes - steamed fish with scallions and cilantro, Thai and Vietnamese noodle dishes, Indian food with dosas and curries...the list goes on...

cchiu - at the sushi bars where I've eaten, shiso is often used as an integral part of the dish. I have had it as a chiffonade on top of sashimi- (which I can sort of handle) but sometimes it gets tucked into a handroll and then it's overpowering (to me).
There's a bar I go to - 15 seats- you eat what the chef presents to you - and I love it so much but I have to carefully watch what he's making so I don't get the dreaded leaf and end up gagging and embarrasing myself :D(and showing disrespect to him!) :eek:

Monkey:)
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post #15 of 54
6/9/02 at 6:18am
I have a Thai cookbook written by a former Peace Corp volunteer that spent time there. He writes in the intro that the first thing he learned to say in Thai was "Hold the cilantro." They use it a LOT. He said six months later he was saying "Extra cilantro please."

It was an aquired taste for me too. Now I love the stuff!
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post #16 of 54
6/9/02 at 10:02am
I can take it or leave it – mostly leave it! The first time I had I thought it tasted like soap & went back & rinsed & rinsed the leaves, thinking there was some sort of residue. Still think it tastes like soap, but don’t waste the effort anymore. Maybe making a kid eat cilantro when he became foul-mouthed would save on the soap budget??:lol:
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post #17 of 54
6/9/02 at 1:11pm
I, too, fall into the "it tastes like soap" category. It really is a splendid flavor, like anything in moderation. But, so often it falls subject to the heavy hand. Remember the Food Network's Too Hot Tamales? They used that stuff by the handful.... I wonder if you could blow bubbles after eating their food?!?
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post #18 of 54
6/9/02 at 3:40pm

LOVE IT!!!

I used to think that basil would be the one herb I couldn't live without, but I'm beginning to think cilantro might be more important. I use it when I cook Indian, Thai, and Mexican-flavored dishes. I put it in salsa, omelets, polenta, enchildas, pesto, scrambled eggs, I could go on and on. I planted basil and cilantro in two pots on my deck (all I had room for, we live in a small apartment) and the cilantro ended up growing both places!

Can't wait for more to grow so I can use more of it!!!

~~Shimmer~~
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post #19 of 54
6/9/02 at 7:29pm
Cilantro like durian are the two edibles that you can have physical illness smelling. It used to turn my stomach just getting a whiff of it....I can handle and even like it in moderation.....though I pick it off the top of my noodles and don't add it to spring rolls.
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post #20 of 54
6/10/02 at 8:14am
As someone could remember from a thread I started a few months ago, I had never had Cilantro since in Italy is unknown- both the plant and the name (I always heard about it as "coriander leaves"). So, I planned to grow it at home and got from you some excellent advice. Well, time has passed and I still don't know how is Cilantro since it didn't grow at all:(
It's likely the coriander seeds I got in my pantry were too old :cry:

In any case, the last Shroomgirl post worries me a bit since Durian is definitely the most disgusting stuff I have ever tried in my life:eek: so I hope they don't taste like each other...

Pongi
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post #21 of 54
6/10/02 at 8:32am
Thread Starter 
Hmm...I'm not familiar with durian :)
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post #22 of 54
6/10/02 at 12:26pm

mmmmmmm......

cilantro...... I sometimes just open the bag to smell it!!!


Hey you in Italy...... try looking for it at an asian import food store... that's where I buy mine, since it is unheard of here in sweden
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post #23 of 54
6/10/02 at 12:34pm
Cilantro in an herb that works wonders when used properly...

I had catered a party this past saturday, one of the HDO's was spring rolls with crispy vegetables with a spicy peanut dip.

The little bit of fresh cilantro added a very fresh flavor to the rolls.

just use a little bit in recipes and always try to add it at the end so it stays green and vibrant.
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post #24 of 54
6/10/02 at 8:13pm
I love cilantro, it has such a fresh smell. Plus it goes with almost everything.
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post #25 of 54
6/11/02 at 10:40am

cilantro

I love cilantro!
i love it, love it love it!

But the first time I had it I hated it.
then got used to it till I crave it!

anyboby onto this soap thing?
I do believe that sometimes cilantro does taste like soap, maybe when its too young or who knows what. I remember buying it once and it tasted like soap.
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post #26 of 54
6/11/02 at 12:22pm

Vote yes for cilantro

It's one of my favorite herbs, right up there with basil. In fact, I think they are from the same family along with the mints and parsley varieties. Call it what will, cilantro, coriander leaves or even Chinese parsley, it's the most widely used herb in the world.

All you cilantro haters out there, I agree with some of the other posters that it can grow on you(no pun intended) ;) if you give it a chance :)
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post #27 of 54
6/11/02 at 5:55pm
i fall into the " "herby soap," then grew to love it" group. it's a staple in our home-cooking. fortunately, my kids have acquired the taste for it early on. but then they have also learned to love "Violets" candies. anyone else know about these? i have only seen them on the east coast, and only once outside of nyc. i grew up with the stuff, then moved to the midwest. now when i go back to new york i have to stock up. these REALLY taste like soap at first. my kids thought i was crazy at the beginning, but then they learned to love Violets too. my midwesterner husband has no interest in acquiring the taste.

but at least he loves cilantro.

:rolleyes:
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post #28 of 54
6/11/02 at 9:19pm
I used to hate cilantro, but now I don't know what I would do without it!!! I could not imagine cooking many mexican dishes without it and one of my favorite Vietnamese salads always seems to be lacking something if I forget the cilantro. It is hard to imagine that, once, I hated the stuff.
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post #29 of 54
6/12/02 at 9:25am

Aside re violet candy

Jbuder -- ack, yes! It's so pretty, and in such a pretty-colored box, but ack!! And what about Sen-Sen? Licorice-flavored soap, or soap-flavored licorice????
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post #30 of 54
6/12/02 at 11:17am
Jbuder - I love those violet candies! - there's a gas station in Hollywood that I go to specifically just because they sell them at the window!
Remember Necco wafers - another long gone vaguely funky tasting candy?
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