Visitors contribute their cilantro stories...

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 "I went to the grocery store and decided to try a new salad mix. I decided on the baby herb mix. I even tried a new salad recipe. As soon as I took my first bite of this beautiful looking dish, I immediatly was disgusted! My gorgeous salad tasted like my dish detergent! I really don't know how I know what my dish detergent tastes like, but I do. Yuck! My husband did not find the same offensive taste to this dish, but my mother and daughter were both truly grossed out!"




 "UGH!!! My first experience with cilantro...in all fairness, i had probably had cilantro before, in a salsa, or perhaps a burrito, could taste it there, but had no idea what it was, until i went to a traveling tournament softball game with my daughter, and all of the families got together for a pot luck. One of the other mothers brought me some chips and salsa. "You just have to try this!" I looked at what she called salsa...it looked like it had been beaten to heck with a food processor, and it was green...not chili verde green...but bright, lawn clippings green! Not wanting to be rude...i tried it. As soon as it was in my mouth i wanted to spit it out, but of course i could not. I swallowed the foul mixture, somehow managing to not gag. For the rest of the day that taste lingered in my mouth...no matter what else i ate,drank, how much gum i chewed, or how many mints i comsumed. It was only after i got home, brushed, flossed and mouth washed several times that the offending flavor was finally gone. Who ever decided this stuff was edible? Really? Now i can't even walk past the stuff in a grocery store with out wanting to gag! I feel better now! I love this site! Cilantro Haters Unite!"




 "Several years ago,we were having friends over for a visit and my husband prepared fresh salsa which apparently had fresh cilantro in it. He asked me to taste it before everyone came over to see if it lacked anything or if anything was overpowering. I immediately tasted soap in the concoction and asked him if maybe he hadn't rinsed the bowl he prepared it in properly leaving a small bit of dish soap in it. He denied that and said that the salsa tasted fine to him. When our friends arrived they tasted the salsa and they said they loved it. I was sure they were just being polite because when I tasted it again, all I could taste was a soapy flavor. I avoided the salsa for the rest of the day.

Years later, I was reading about certain foods online and in one blog I read that cilantro tastes like soap to some people. I was so glad that I wasn't crazy! I also learned to definitely steer clear of cilantro!"





 "We had just moved to South Dakota and one day while shopping we stopped and got a couple of burritoes to go. I was starving and couldn't wait to unwrap my food.
At first I did smell something "off" but like I said, I was starving and took a huge mouthful. Oh my sweet Jesus! This ungodly taste filled my mouth, throat and even my nostrils! I couldn't breathe, I couldn't chew! I spit it back into the wrapper and just about died in a fit of coughing and gagging. It took about 30 minutes before I was able to breathe normally.
Finally hubby explained that the burrito wasn't tainted. No I was not going to die. It was the cilantro I was tasting.
Since that day I have found it in quite a few foods. Now I am on the lookout for that evil green weed and will do a complete check before taking a bite.
Seriously, how can anyone eat that crap??? Seriously???
"




 "I had this misfortune of trying cilantro when my mom's boyfriend from Guadalajara made us dinner. The food looked amazing but as soon as I tasted it, this sickly sweet-metallic taste permeated my mouth and nostrils. I couldn't finish the food, and eventually found out what the root of the taste was. Cilantro!! And my mom and her boyfriend love it!! I thought I could trust these people! "





 "I knew I hated cilanthrax before I even tasted it. We were with friends at their favorite restaurant in Denver and I had ordered the 'fish pot'. It looked fantastic on the menu, I was starving, we were on vacation - couldn't wait. Finally the food came. I took off the lid. The fetid stench of cilantro immediately killed my appetite. Others at the table took a sniff and informed me: "Oh, that's cilantro!" with that glazed "and we think it's Yummy!" look in their eyes common to most cult members. 'Cilantro'.. Now I knew the name of this most foul thing. Since that awful day, it seems cilantro has spread faster than the Andromeda Strain throughout America. Today, I found this web site, and I know I am not alone. I know there IS hope. Change IS COMING America!!"




 "My husband and I were traveling from South Carolina to Kerrville, Texas for my aunts 89th birthday party. We use her birthday as a time to reunite with family, as she is the last living sibling of my father's family. All the other cousins were coming too.

They came from Fla. and Ohio. A couple came from WV and we of course from SC.

My cousin had moved to Texas where the area had milder weather for her and her husband, but especially for my aunt as she is stricken badly with RA.

We are all from the East and Mid-West, i.e., Ohio. So we all wanted to get the full experience of being out West and wanted to taste everything we could, that was native to Texas and the cuisine.

My Husband I had stopped at a very nice retaurant before we got to Kerrville that advertised "authentic taste of Texas".

I order the chili of course. I make killer chili (very good)and wanted to compare to see it they could hold a light to mine.

When it arrived I saw the green leaves and thought it may be parsley. But they were cooked in with the chili not as a garnish. OMG!!!! When that taste, that god-awful taste hit me I was overwhelmed with nausea and almost didn't make it to the bathroom on time.

I was sick for the rest of the stay. Every time I hiccuped or had the slightest burp I could taste that cilantro. I thought I had some sort of foreign virus as I had never tasted anything as disgusting in my entire life. I actually thought it was food poison because of the after taste.

I love Mexican food, but if they even as much as chop my other veggies with the knife they have used on cilantro I can taste it and get violently ill.

I bet you this; if you put a horse or cow to graze in a field where it is grown they would not touch it.

My other cousins had similar reactions as I, but I was so sick from that god-awful weed I would not serve it to my worst enemy!

That's my "I hate cilantro story" and I am sticking to it and spreading the word. I would rather eat ground up pine needles!

Sincerely,
HalesAngelGirlRox"




 "My mother, brother, and I always had an intense dislike of cilantro. It's not that it tastes bad, it actually tastes inedible. I learned to just avoid it as much as I could and thought nothing more of it.

When I was 19 and living with a new boyfriend, we got drunk one night. In my inebriated state, I ate an entire tub of cilantro salsa.

Within an hour, this is what I looked like http://www.flickr.com/photos/28883151@N00/3071759442/. Apparently, I'm allergic.

I wasn't scared because I could swallow and breathe okay, but he was terrified, thinking that I was going to look that way permanently. The swelling eventually went down and I now avoid cilantro not just because I dislike it, but because I fear the next allergic reaction could actually kill me."




 "I haaaaaaaaatttttttttteeeeeeeeee cilantro!!! The first time I ever had cilantro was also the last. I was eating some asian dish from a local japanese restaurant, and since I had never had cilantro before, I was SO not prepared for what was before me. I bit into my food and OMG!!! What the ----!!!! My mouth was being assaulted by the most disgusting taste I had ever had in my mouth! I gagged and blew it right across the room. Everyone was grossed out (understandably so), but I just had to get that god-awful taste out of my mouth! My eyes watered, and I could even feel it in my sinuses! It tasted like a mixture of perfume, mothballs and rusty nails. I drank about a gallon of water and ate a tube of toothpaste just trying to get rid of the taste. I thought maybe there was something wrong with the food so I complained to the manager. When I described the taste to him, he just laughed and said it was the cilantro.
People really eat that crap? On purpose?
It should be fed to criminals to get confessions.
Thanks for letting me share my feelings about cilantro, the 'devil-weed'."




 "I was at a client lunch and was so excited about the Thai peanut chicken salad that I had ordered from The Cheesecake Factory. I had never eaten there before and I love anything (or so I thought) with peanut flavor. So I take a bite and I'll never forget the sensation of iron in my mouth. I truly thought that the restaurant had put a foreign substance in the salad and I could barely swallow the bite. I was totally miserable because I was hungry and really wanted the salad but could only pick at it. I couldn't undertstand why it tasted so bad because it seemed to have all the ingredients that I love. I told a colleague about my experience later and she suggested that it might have had cilantro in it--an herb that I had never heard of before. Since that time, I always tell the waiter at a new restaurant that I don't want any cilantro IN the dish or ON the dish. Whenever I forget to say that, it's INVARIABLY included. I hate it with white-hot heat of a million suns. Thanks for letting me vent about it. Great to find your site of like-minded cilantro-haters!"





 "I'm glad I found this website. To read like minded people relaying their experiences must be akin to alcoholics unburdening their problems at an AA meeting.

I've adored Indian food for over 40 years now, however it wasn't until 1978 when some work colleagues and I went for an Indian to celebrate a birthday and that was the first time I encountered the dreaded Coriander(Cilantro). I can only assume that the trend - in London at least - started about that time because prior to that I cannot remember tasting this vile leaf. It completely ruined the meal but I wasn't aware until a couple of curries later that it was the innocuous green leaf that was the guilty party. To me the taste was like somebody had poured the contents of a small bottle of Chanel, or some other perfume over my food, or ground down up a bunch of tulips and sprinkled thereon.

Perhaps in the event that cilantro lovers accidently run out of the dreaded leaf, then I feel the perfume option would be an acceptable alternative. Maybe they could replace Olive Oil on their salad with Chanel No.5 as well.

Sadly, it's not just Indian restaurants that liberally spread this disgusting leaf, even worse are the Thai restaurants. I envisage the day will come when I stop off for a full English breakfast but will have to insist "No Coriander please!"

I believe Stephen Fry once said on TV that he had an aversion to this stuff. For those of you around the world who don't know him, Stephen is a well known TV personality in the UK. It would be nice to get him to do a blog withis his wit and command of the English language.

Steve G.



"




 "HOLY SHNIKIES!!! What is with these cilantro eating foolios?!?! Seriously i almost died the first AND LAST time i ever tasted it. Some chump in a "fancy, shmansy" resturant (if it can be called that) decided to put cilantro on my chicken cilantro pizza! Idiot!! I ordered the Cilantro-Chicken Pizza WITHOUT Cilantro, if I had wanted cilantro pizza I would have ordered it!! ok to the point of the pizza. I almost puked and my anti-cilantro girl wouldn't kiss me for two weeks. Any horrible weed that can do that to a mans game should be exterminated!!"




 "I like "Tumbleweed" retaurants. Actually, it's more the atmosphere than the food, since I am fully aware that they specialize in southwestern cuisine that often contains some amount of cilantro. So I stick with the usual... Bison burgers, steak or their yummy sweet potatoes. The service there is always good and they present you with tortilla chips with either hot or mild salsa. Up to this point, I have always enjoyed their hot salsa.

My husband and I dined there recently, and knowing that I never had a problem with their salsa, I dug into the dip. This time when I became repulsed, I didn't need an explanation as to why. When our waiter came over, I asked him when they started adding cilantro to their salsa. He said "Oh, it comes premixed in bags without cilantro, but we add it ourselves. It's really good that way, isn't it?" I told him that cilantro has a toxic, putrid taste to a certain subset of the population, and I'm one of them. I asked him if he ever got other complaints since they started tainting the appetizer with this noxious herb. He said "No, I haven't, and I've been here for several months." I told him that they should offer people a choice, "cilantro or cilantro-free". Then I asked him if they had some nacho cheese dip that I could have instead. He said yes, but apologetically added that it too, has cilantro in it.

I took a comment card home with me to fill out. I will be sure to add (along with my praise for the service and the food that I ordered) that I am highly disappointed with their decision to kill the salsa... and now, the nacho cheese!

Meanwhile, I'll continue to patronize them... they don't put cilantro in the menu items that I prefer. But from here on in, I'll order carefully and with suspicion!!!!

"




 "my first run in with coriander i was 18 - i was out with a girl i desperately liked and so as to seem exotic and interesting, i suggested we have thai food. upon taking the first bite of my meal, the most vile and overwhelming taste almost led to me spitting it out right onto our (shared) plate. i gagged the mouthful down, no idea what the problem was, and to my amazement, my date actually appeared to enjoy it! i was shaken to the core.
it took me several years to find the disgusting, repelling culprit. i've been on my guard against it for the past 10 years but it's insidious, hiding in your food and NOT ON THE MENU! argh!
i've been asked many times if i had some kind of bad coriander experience in the past - yes, i have. every time i have ever eaten it has been an atrociously bad experience.
people look at me doubtfully when i try to express the depth of my disgust - "try this, i bet you won't even taste the coriander". they clearly don't realise the gravity of the situation. they just don't see the danger.
"




 "Why I hate cilantro.

I first detected cilantro in the form of coriander when I was about 16 or so. My father had taken me to an Indian restaurant and I ordered lobster tandoori. Something just wasn't quite right, but I felt obligated to eat it anyways. We went back another time and I thought I'd perform a small scientific study. I ordered the same thing, but minus a spice. I don't recall what that spice was, but that weird taste still remained. The next time I went (yes, I went three times), I ordered it again, and under the waiter's advice, minus coriander. Bingo!

To avoid future misunderstandings, I learned how to say it in Hindi (dhania). Even still, I have almost always had to send it back the first time because they forgot. Oh well, it's only in Indian food, I can live with that. God, was I wrong!

I used to live in San Diego, a place that tries to keep up with all the latest fads and fashions. I don't know what started the trend of cilantro, but I think it might have originally been due to a drop in price. It started as a seemingly harmless garnish swap, where parsley was replaced with this exotic cilantro. Then, all of a sudden, it was in my food, not just loitering on the plate. The breaking point was when I ordered a tuna melt, one of my favourites, and some muppet-chef thought it was a good idea to add cilantro to the tuna! Cilantro in tuna salad? Now, even when I order pancakes, I go through this whole, "Is there any cilantro in or near this dish?" just to be on the safe side.

My husband and many of my friends think I am a big, picky baby about this (I also hate raw tomatoes, which are in everything as well, but easy to remove. As you can imagine, salsa fresca is my absolute nemesis). I am NOT overly picky! I just really hate cilantro and it's not my fault it happens to be ubiquitous nowadays! I try to explain to my cilantro loving friends, that it tastes like soap. Yes, soap. So, imagine if dish washing liquid was the unlisted ingredient on the menu and you wanted to avoid ordering those items. That's how it is for me. On a side note, it's odd that people either love it or detest it with very few cases of those who think it's just ok. I chalk it up to genetics.

Anyways, I found this site after heating up a frozen burrito from Amy's only to find that it had cilantro in it. It is now gutted and growing cold on my kitchen counter. Was cilantro listed as an ingredient? No, but "spices" was. Is it too much to add the word cilantro on the list? Garlic had its own listing, after all.

I feel a little naughty about this, but now I tell waiters that I am actually allergic to cilantro in the hopes that they will be more diligent at reminding the chef of my request. Too many times have they forgotten. Too many times I have gotten the evils from the server and whoever I am eating with when I send it back. I am tired of making excuses for my hatred of this evil spice. I want to stand up and be proud. Cilantro haters unite!

Thank you for listening. That was cathartic.



"




 "I first tasted cilantro when I was about 10 years old. My aunt had made some home-made salsa. I tasted it and it was the most disgusting thing I had ever put in my mouth. Everyone else was just going on and on about how delicous it was. After that, every once in a while I would notice that same horrible taste in foods at restarants (especially Mexican ones). Finally, years later, I figured out the culprit was a nasty little plant called "cilantro". Uggg, it makes me mad just to hear that word. What is wrong with people who like it??? I don't get it!!! "




 "I first ate the offending herbage at a Thai restaurant in Toronto when I was in my twenties (15 years ago now). The Pad Thai was delicious until I got this sudden flare of grossness that ground my taste buds to a screeching halt. It wasn't just the taste, it was the SMELL. It went straight to my sinuses and it reminded me of those playground corners where some kids peed in during the night and the next day there's this baked-in urine smell that won't go away. Yes, cilantro smells like old pee. My friends told me it was cilantro and thought i was a close-minded neanderthal for almost vomiting my entire meal right then and there. Those friends are gone, my hate for cilantro remains, I'm proud to say. I'm so happy to have found fellow haters. DOWN WITH CILANTRO"




 "I was about 18. My boyfriend at the time was Chilean. His family used to have small get-togethers in the park, with a packed lunch and some BBQ food. His Mum made this salad, pretty standard,just cucumber, tomato, lettuce, etc. All through it would be these innocuous looking small green leaves. I just thought it was parsely, so I took a big mouthful.. big mistake. This awful flavour like old dishrags (do you have Chux Superwipes in your country?) filled my mouth and nose, making me gag. I honestly thought that perhaps the bowl/fork had been improperly washed. I asked my boyfriend if he could taste something funny, but he noticed nothing. When I later found out it was coriander (my bf had to ask his Mum what was in the salad), he said that to him it tastes just like parsely and he can't tell the difference! This,to me, is just crazy talk!! I like parsely, it is mild and harmless!! Coriander is so pungent,and doesn't actually taste like something fit for human consumption. I didn't encounter it again for years, fortunately, until I went to yum-cha at a Chinese restaurant. I bit into this delicious looking dumpling that happened to have little green flecks in the dough.. I paused, dumpling in the air, mouth half-open, eyes watering. My brother twigged immediately - "coriander?" he asked. I nodded and he guided me to the ladies' room where I spat out the mouthful and rinsed my mouth out thoroughly. I didn't eat for the rest of the day, and washed my hands over and over, trying to rid my fingertips of the offending odour. Fortunately, I haven't tasted it since. I think it's cause I can smell it before I get in too deep. The smell alone makes my gorge rise. I hate how certain foods/ingredients become trendy to use in every dish, and the prevalence of this repulsive herb is my case in point!! Thanks for listening, this is quite cathartic! "




 "Even as a child, everything I ordered from taco bell was ordered with 'NO pico de guillo'. If they screwed up and put it on the food, it was inedible. Even removing it by hand left the essence of the putrid taste. I didnt know why. I liked tomatoes and onions. I thrived on jalapenos. Why did Taco Bell's little salsa mix taste like rancid dirty dish-water?

It wasnt until after I moved out of my parent's house and into my first apartment when I was 19. It was then that I first discovered what the cause of that familiar unpleasant taste was. I ordered a simple cheese enchelada from a small mexican food restaurant in Dallas and the first bite nearly killed me. I immediately recognized that taco-bell dishwater lingering flavor. I KNEW it wasnt the cheese or the tortilla. I unwrapped the enchelada to expose nothing but gynormous mound of fresh chopped green herb sitting atop the cheese. I called for the waiter and asked what the foul green leaves were. I took IMEDIATE mental note when he replied "It's cilantro sir".

I was relieved that I had finally discovered the source of so many ruined meals. Cilantro has since been my worst enemy in cullinary discovery."




 "My first experience with Cilantro was in 1985. I went to a local American owned and run, "Mexican" restaurant. I had been going there for years, enjoying the pre-meal complimentary hot salsa and chips. One afternoon while joining a group of co-workers, I delved into a mound of salsa, piled onto an authentic corn tortilla. "Arrrggghhhh...Ptooey...plahh"!!!! I thought I had lost a filling and shattered it with my teeth. Then, this wierd sensation set in, almost as if I had sucked on a natural gas pipeline!!!! I waited for a reaction from my friends, who to my surprise, chatted merrily on as if they were actually enjoying themselves. It would be years before I actually learned what it was about that salsa that made me repulsed by it.

Nearly a decade later, a friend gave me a starter herb garden. I planted and cultivated it until the herbs were mature and ready to add to my favorite dishes. One of these plants was Cilantro. I was still ignorant to the fact that THIS was my enemy! Looking like parsley, but a little larger, I added it to my redskin mashed potatoes, to serve to my family. As all cooks do, I tasted my cullinary work. "Arrrggghhh....Ptooey....plahh"!!! Yess... this was it! The same taste that I remembered from a decade earlier! The mashed potatoes were never given the chance to get the thumbs up or down from my family. My beautiful potatoes received a burial at sea. Smugly satisfied with my newly solved mystery, I waved goodby to them as they disappeared down the garbage disposal.

Since then, I have been the victim of several surprise visits from this awful, vile herb. Why people make a conscious effort to torture the likes of me by HIDING cilantro in dips, salads and pasta dishes, is beyond me. Cilantro should be included in fair labeling laws!

The very last time that I was attacked by this nasty stuff was at a Wild Oats store. A young girl asked me to try a dip made from a mix. I deliberately picked up the package to scrutinize the ingredients for things like MSG, high fructose corn syrup, yadda, yadda, yadda. Seemed safe enough, so I took the dip laden cracker and put the whole thing into my mouth. For a millionth of a second, I was pleased... then, all hell broke loose in my tastebuds. I made a mad dash to the bathroom, spitting and rinsing for 5 straight minutes! I marched back to the apron clad girl and demanded to know just what else was in that dip. Surprised and almost offended, she said "Nothing, other than a little cilantro!" Nuff said!!!!

Among my other disdains are black olives and whole garlic pieces."





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Please contribute YOUR cilantro story.