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celery tastes like cinnamon? I've read that cilantro tastes like soap

38carrots

By 38carrots,
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marbel

marbel

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Posted

 I've heard people say that cilantro tastes like soap.  How could it taste like soup?  What kind of soup?  :-)

 

I love celery.  To me it tastes like... celery.  My husband can't stand it though so I don't use it in any recipes.

 

Celery stuffed with goat cheese...mmmmmm.....

 

 

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Stacia

Stacia

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I've never heard of celery tasting like cinnamon. I love celery, esp. in soups as it gives them a really nice flavor, imo.

 

My dd has that thing w/ cilantro (where it tastes like soap). Which is too bad. I love cilantro & would put it in so many dishes, but I don't because she won't eat it.

 

My mom & sister have a hard time with most fruits tasting extremely terrible to them. I've read that some people have a chemical reaction occur that makes the fruit taste awful, so I guess that's what they have. Bananas are the one fruit they both eat.

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Tanaqui

Tanaqui

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Celery tastes like disgusting. It's truly the devil's vegetable. :tongue_smilie:

 

The big, watery variety they sell in supermarkets isn't that good, but if you are lucky you can sometimes get a much darker, denser variety in farmer's markets that tastes more like anise crossed with fennel. Mmm.

 

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Word Nerd

Word Nerd

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The big, watery variety they sell in supermarkets isn't that good, but if you are lucky you can sometimes get a much darker, denser variety in farmer's markets that tastes more like anise crossed with fennel. Mmm.

 

No thanks. Whether it's from a grocery store shelf or straight from the garden, it tastes awful to me.

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Tanaqui

Tanaqui

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It's not the age that matters, again, it's the variety. It may be that you don't like any variety of celery, but my guess is that, like most people, you've only had one variety. It's like saying "I don't care if it comes fresh from the tree or from the shelf, I hate apples" when the only type you've ever had is Red Delicious. Red Delicious is nothing like Granny Smith, which is nothing like Jonagold, which is nothing like Honeycrisp, you know?

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SparklyUnicorn

SparklyUnicorn

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I love celery.  It tastes like celery to me.  LOL

 

Cilantro, on the other hand, tastes like soap.  Yuck

 

I also like the celery root that I think you are talking about Tanaqui.  It doesn't taste the same as the green stuff.  It's not easy to get a hold of a somewhat fresh one around here though so I rarely have it.

 

 

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Tanaqui

Tanaqui

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No, I don't mean celery root. I really mean celery stalks, just a different variety. It's dark green and small and dense instead of light green and large and watery. Next time I go to the farmer's market, say, Friday (because that's bialy day), I'll pick up a bunch and take a picture alongside a picture of supermarket celery.

 

Of course, what I really want to try is red celery, but I have yet to obtain any.

 

On the subject of celery, check it out - celery vases! Back in great-great-granny's day, celery was an aspirational sort of food. You made a big presentation of it.

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BooksandBoys

BooksandBoys

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I have never really been able to identify what cilantro tastes like, but I do know it is highly unpleasant. This is a trial because I love to cook and eat foods that traditionally have cilantro in them. I leave it out but try to offer it on the side for guests and my long-suffering husband.

 

Celery just tastes like celery to me.

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SparklyUnicorn

SparklyUnicorn

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No, I don't mean celery root. I really mean celery stalks, just a different variety. It's dark green and small and dense instead of light green and large and watery. Next time I go to the farmer's market, say, Friday (because that's bialy day), I'll pick up a bunch and take a picture alongside a picture of supermarket celery.

 

Of course, what I really want to try is red celery, but I have yet to obtain any.

 

On the subject of celery, check it out - celery vases! Back in great-great-granny's day, celery was an aspirational sort of food. You made a big presentation of it.

 

Huh...

 

I don't think I've seen that. 

 

Off to google.

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SparklyUnicorn

SparklyUnicorn

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No, I don't mean celery root. I really mean celery stalks, just a different variety. It's dark green and small and dense instead of light green and large and watery. Next time I go to the farmer's market, say, Friday (because that's bialy day), I'll pick up a bunch and take a picture alongside a picture of supermarket celery.

 

Of course, what I really want to try is red celery, but I have yet to obtain any.

 

On the subject of celery, check it out - celery vases! Back in great-great-granny's day, celery was an aspirational sort of food. You made a big presentation of it.

 

Ok now I'm really curious. ..can you find a picture of it on-line?

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Tanaqui

Tanaqui

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I don't know what particular variety it is, so I don't know exactly what search terms to use. It looks as different from the celery you're used to as a red rome apple looks from a gala apple, so, you know, not an enormous difference.

 

The only heirloom variety of celery pics I can find online are of this red celery. It actually looks rather like that, but dark green rather than dark red. Maybe seedsavers has pics, hold on.

 

Edit: They don't appear to have my variety. It's not a self-blanching variety, I know that much, but neither does it seem to be a leaf celery. *shrugs*

 

Edit again: This variety of red celery is a lot less, well, red. This might be it. You can click on the image to enlarge. I still want to take a comparison pic with that and the supermarket variety together.

 

Only at TWTM forums would someone argue with me about what I like and don't like. ;)

 

I wasn't arguing with you about what you do and do not like. I was pointing out that your rejoinder (doesn't matter how fresh it is) was based on a false premise (there is only one variety of celery in the world, and Tanaqui meant that freshness or how it's grown affects taste). I did not mean anything of the sort. I meant that different varieties of celery taste different from each other. Why wouldn't they? Different varieties of apple taste different from each other. Different varieties of basil taste different from each other.

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ILiveInFlipFlops

ILiveInFlipFlops

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The big, watery variety they sell in supermarkets isn't that good, but if you are lucky you can sometimes get a much darker, denser variety in farmer's markets that tastes more like anise crossed with fennel. Mmm.

 

Just no crossed with bigger no. I nearly accidentally reported this post instead of quoting it. I still may  :glare:

 

None of us are celery fans here. Oldest DD will tolerate it, but she's the weird one. The only food I like it in is soup, and then that's only when it's cooked down completely soft and nearly tasteless. Even our gerbils won't eat it, and that's saying a lot! :lol:

 

I think it tends to be one of those "love it or hate it" foods, like cilantro or radishes. I have never liked it, though I've tried a few times. Even the smell puts me off. 

 

I wonder what a celery poll would look like, hmmm...

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Tanaqui

Tanaqui

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Again I say, the variety I'm talking about doesn't taste anything like the celery you are used to. If you have never tried it, then you do not know whether you like it or not. That's much like me claiming I don't like Gros Michel bananas. How can I assert that? I've never had Gros Michel, only Cavendish!

 

I dislike Red Rome apples. Does this mean I don't like apples? No, because I love Granny Smiths.

 

I dislike spearmint. Does this mean I don't like mint? No, because I love peppermint.

 

I dislike this one particularly mushy type of heirloom tomato that is much beloved by my CSA, but I adore green zebras.

 

I dislike iceberg lettuce. I love red leaf lettuce.

 

I dislike delicata squash. I love butternut squash and pumpkin.

 

I dislike curly parsley. I can eat flat parsley. (But I have an oral allergy reaction to it if raw, so I avoid it.)

 

I dislike white beets. I love bullseye beets.

 

I utterly loathe Concord grapes. I like green table grapes.

 

In those examples, you surely have enough experience to see how one variety tastes very different from another. I mean, Concord grapes? Blech, if I didn't know they were grapes I wouldn't think they were the same species as green grapes!

 

You dislike the variety of celery you have tried. Given how hard it can be to find other varieties, it seems unlikely to me that you have tried more than one variety. So how can you claim you don't like something you have never tried?

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Lady Florida.

Lady Florida.

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Of course, what I really want to try is red celery, but I have yet to obtain any.

 

 

 

I never heard of red celery so I looked it up. I was surprised to find it was cultivated (created?) by the Duda family. That prominent family is well known around here for destroying fragile wetlands. 

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Garga

Garga

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Oh, you poor, poor souls whose taste buds have betrayed you! Cilantro tastes like soap? That's soooo sad! Cilantro, when your tongue isn't being a poopy-pants, tastes just wondrous. I adore cilantro. I'm so sorry for you guys. It's like saying that (non-slave made) chocolate tastes like soap. Just a tragedy.

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umsami

umsami

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I hate cilantro.  Sadly, I live in Florida and cilantro is every where.

 

I like celery, but my kids hate it.  One of my favorite soups as a kid was cream of celery.  I don't even know if people make that anymore.  I can take or leave peanut-butter stuffed celery, though.

 

Never heard the celery=cinnamon thing.

 

 

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Tanaqui

Tanaqui

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Oh, you poor, poor souls whose taste buds have betrayed you! Cilantro tastes like soap? That's soooo sad! Cilantro, when your tongue isn't being a poopy-pants, tastes just wondrous. I adore cilantro. I'm so sorry for you guys. It's like saying that (non-slave made) chocolate tastes like soap. Just a tragedy.

 

Welp, more for the rest of us. I can eat cilantro straight.

 

 

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rjand6more

rjand6more

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I adore Cilantro.  A couple of my kids say it tastes like soap, though.

 

I HATE celery.  That is so harsh, I know.  There has never been another food I've ever had that I have disliked more.  And I am a very adventurous eater.  It's the taste and texture.  I GAG.  So nasty.  

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pinkmint

pinkmint

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Haven't read all the replies, so don't know if anyone mentioned this, but Julia Child herself was repulsed by cilantro. Good woman  ;) . Yes, to me it tastes like soap, dirty feet, armpit, those types of things. I was surprised to learn that some people have taste buds that register cilantro that way and some don't. I am curious forthose who genuinely enjoy cilantro, how would you describe it's taste? Honestly, cilantro tastes so nasty to me, I have to wonder if people are lying when they say they like it. 

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Stacia

Stacia

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 I am curious forthose who genuinely enjoy cilantro, how would you describe it's taste? Honestly, cilantro tastes so nasty to me, I have to wonder if people are lying when they say they like it. 

 

I don't know what to compare it to taste-wise, but it tastes very refreshing, imo. I love it. (And, no, it does not taste remotely like soap, dirty feet, etc... to me. I wouldn't eat it if it did.)

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nd293

nd293

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Dh used to say that cilantro tasted like dirty dishwater (because he's in the habit of tasting dirty dishwater, one has to ask?).

 

But then I started using it more for different recipes and he started to like it. It's now one of the items we buy almost every week.

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Lakeside

Lakeside

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I don't know what particular variety it is, so I don't know exactly what search terms to use. It looks as different from the celery you're used to as a red rome apple looks from a gala apple, so, you know, not an enormous difference.

 

The only heirloom variety of celery pics I can find online are of this red celery. It actually looks rather like that, but dark green rather than dark red. Maybe seedsavers has pics, hold on.

 

Edit: They don't appear to have my variety. It's not a self-blanching variety, I know that much, but neither does it seem to be a leaf celery. *shrugs*

 

Edit again: This variety of red celery is a lot less, well, red. This might be it. You can click on the image to enlarge. I still want to take a comparison pic with that and the supermarket variety together.

 

 

I wasn't arguing with you about what you do and do not like. I was pointing out that your rejoinder (doesn't matter how fresh it is) was based on a false premise (there is only one variety of celery in the world, and Tanaqui meant that freshness or how it's grown affects taste). I did not mean anything of the sort. I meant that different varieties of celery taste different from each other. Why wouldn't they? Different varieties of apple taste different from each other. Different varieties of basil taste different from each other.

I'm pretty sure I've had that second variety of red celery. We used to get it from our old CSA.  It definitely had a stronger flavor than any celery that I've gotten from the grocery store.  But I like celery! ;)

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Tanaqui

Tanaqui

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Honestly, cilantro tastes so nasty to me, I have to wonder if people are lying when they say they like it.

 

I'm not lying when I say I put it in my dinner most days. I wouldn't do that if I didn't like it!

 

It tastes very fresh and bright, like... well, like cilantro. But pleasant :)

 

I wonder if people with the cilantro soap gene have the same reaction to culantro, a related plant that, unlike celery, parsley, fennel, cumin, parsnips, and carrots (all part of the same family), happens to taste much like cilantro.

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ILiveInFlipFlops

ILiveInFlipFlops

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Guess what we have gotten from our CSA almost every single week? Yep. Cilantro.  :glare:

 

Guess what seeds itself all over your yard if you don't pull it as soon as it dies? Yep. Cilantro. I actually don't mind--I love the idea of nutritious food sneaking around and growing itself all over our property  :D I wish more of it would do that! Well, except the tomatoes. I got sick of pulling those little SOBs all summer long. More are seeding themselves out there as we speak, and it's practically November!

 

But I digress. I used to really dislike cilantro. It never tasted soapy to me, just very...intrusive. It didn't blend well with other flavors because it was so dominant, and I found it hard to enjoy food that had cilantro in it. However, now that I grow it, I've found that I actually like it in things when it's picked fairly young. The older the plant gets and the hotter the weather gets, the stronger that hyper-fragrant/soapy flavor is. I made the mistake of using lots of it in a dish in early July, when it was nearing its peak strength and before it died back. Hoooo-boy, that was a mistake. So now I know to only make meals with cilantro in them in May and June!

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Lakeside

Lakeside

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Guess what seeds itself all over your yard if you don't pull it as soon as it dies? Yep. Cilantro. I actually don't mind--I love the idea of nutritious food sneaking around and growing itself all over our property  :D I wish more of it would do that! Well, except the tomatoes. I got sick of pulling those little SOBs all summer long. More are seeding themselves out there as we speak, and it's practically November!

 

But I digress. I used to really dislike cilantro. It never tasted soapy to me, just very...intrusive. It didn't blend well with other flavors because it was so dominant, and I found it hard to enjoy food that had cilantro in it. However, now that I grow it, I've found that I actually like it in things when it's picked fairly young. The older the plant gets and the hotter the weather gets, the stronger that hyper-fragrant/soapy flavor is. I made the mistake of using lots of it in a dish in early July, when it was nearing its peak strength and before it died back. Hoooo-boy, that was a mistake. So now I know to only make meals with cilantro in them in May and June!

Good to know about the seeding.  Not that I have any plans to grow cilantro. Ever! 

 

That's interesting.  I kind of had the opposite experience.  I used to like it.  Then I used too much of it in a recipe and didn't care for it any longer.  I could tolerate it in small amounts (very finely chopped) or if it was completely blended into the food. For the past few years (since moving to an area inundated with stink bugs) I just can't stand it.  

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ILiveInFlipFlops

ILiveInFlipFlops

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Good to know about the seeding.  Not that I have any plans to grow cilantro. Ever! 

 

That's interesting.  I kind of had the opposite experience.  I used to like it.  Then I used too much of it in a recipe and didn't care for it any longer.  I could tolerate it in small amounts (very finely chopped) or if it was completely blended into the food. For the past few years (since moving to an area inundated with stink bugs) I just can't stand it.  

 

I will say that one of the main benefits of letting the cilantro go to seed is that it attracts birds to the garden all winter long. Fortunately, I'm a very lazy gardener, so I get to enjoy that aspect every winter :lol: 

 

Interesting! I wonder what the stink bug connection is? Or maybe that's just a coincidence? We do have a lot here as well. I just relocated my first one today, in fact. Tis the season  :001_rolleyes:

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TianXiaXueXiao

TianXiaXueXiao

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I love cilantro and celery (any variety). Cilantro tastes like heaven. Bright and green and goes in almost every cuisine. I use it nearly daily and I can't imagine tacos, curry, or fried rice without it. Cilantro tastes fresh and is cooling the same way cumin is warming. Hard to describe but thank goodness everyone in my family likes it.

 

I have no idea how celery and cinnamon could have anything in common flavor wise. That's like saying coffee tastes like tea.

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lailasmum

lailasmum

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I love coriander (leaf and seed), it's clean and bright, kind of citrusy and a bit addictive. I did get a bit of the coriander hate when I was pregnant though, we had some growing in our garden at the time too and could smell it everywhere and it totally disgusted me. 

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J-rap

J-rap

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I love cilantro.  It's one of my very favorite herbs, and I'd put it in almost anything cold -- sandwiches,  salads, etc.  I love it mixed in with egg salad or tuna salad.  Or I like to sprinkle it on top of something warm like black beans and rice, or chicken...  Mmm, my mouth waters just thinking of it!  I don't actually mix it into hot foods as much because then it seems to lose its flavor so it seems pointless.  To me cilantro tastes fresh with just a little zip, a little like what peppermint might do for you, except peppermint would be for sweet things and cilantro would be for non-sweet.  That's the best I can describe it.  I pile it on when I use it.

 

Celery to me is so-so.  I do enjoy it cooked in something but slightly crisp...  like in soup.  But I've never liked it fresh/plain.  It's stringy and after chewing it awhile, I almost want to spit it out.  Oh, I do like it in smoothies mixed with other fruits and greens.  It tends to give the smoothie a crisper flavor.

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Lady Florida.

Lady Florida.

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I like celery but don't love it. Occasionally if it's very crisp and watery I find it refreshing in a watermelon kind of way. Mostly to me it's an addition to salads and soups. It does add flavor and can be overpowering if you use too much. I don't think it tastes like cinnamon. I don't have the cilantro-soap gene, but it's not my favorite. As with celery, I like it but don't love it. Also like celery, a little goes a long way.

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