If cilantro tastes like soap to you, you’re not alone. And in a genetic survey of close to 30,000 people, published by Cornell University, researchers figured out why cilantro tastes bad to some of us.
It turns out about four to 14% of people have gene OR6A2, which means they have “the receptor that picks up the scent of aldehyde chemicals” – like the one that’s a byproduct of soap making.
Other people who don’t have this particular gene still find cilantro offensive, there are three other receptors “related to the smell and taste of cilantro.” So you can blame your family either way.
Source: New York Daily News