Cilantro is somewhere like the city of Marseille “we love it or we hate it!” ". It is also curious to note a real aversion for those who do not like coriander. And it will be impossible for you to make them taste even the slightest milligram of coriander. In this case, we will note an astonishing taste description of coriander “smells like detergent, tastes like soap, musty, dishwashing liquid, disgusting, etc…” But then why do others find it so sublime? Why such a gap in appreciation? Such bipolarization?
A genetic survey of nearly 30,000 people identified two genetic variants linked to the perception of coriander, the most common of which is a gene involved in detecting odors. According to this study published in 2012 in the journal Flavor 1 , 21% of Asians, 17% of Europeans and 14% of Africans would not like said aromatic herb. Thus, coriander lovers would mainly be those for whom it is essential: only 7% of South Asians, 4% of Spanish speakers and 3% of Middle Easterners say they do not like it.
Behavioral neuroscientist Charles J. Wysocki of the Morell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia attempted to identify the polarizing nature of cilantro leaves. Charles Wysocki studied preferences for cilantro in twins, both fraternal and identical. In identical twins, if one twin hates the smell of cilantro, the other is more likely to hate it; the other side of the coin is also true. If one identical twin likes the smell, the other will probably like it too.
“This does not hold true for fraternal twins,” says Wysocki, adding that these results “suggest very strongly that what people underlie the preference is genetically determined.”
Continuing the research: very aromatic, the aldehydes found in the coriander leaf are released when the leaf of the plant is crushed between the fingers or when it is chewed. Aldehyde is also a chemical component found in both coriander and soap! Do we have a lead? Some would view coriander as soap?
In an article in The Guardian newspaper, neuroscientist Jay Gottfried of Northwestern University in Chicago believes that this particular distaste for coriander comes precisely from this assimilation to soap. For him, the brain places food smells in categories that it already knows and will think, in this specific case, that it is an inedible product.
There is in fact a gene, programmer of the olfactory receptor, which particularly detects aldehydes. The gene in question is 0R6A2 which controls sensitivity to aldehydes and which codes for olfactory and taste receptors. These receptors therefore send signals to our brain to transform them into aroma and flavor descriptors. So those who hate cilantro simply have this gene that is overexpressed.
Thus the message sent and the description that will be given will be out of step with the product itself. Cilantro is then taken for dishwashing liquid and in fact it is not very good to eat.