Do your taste buds hate cilantro? There may be a scientific explanation for one's disliking of this herb. It may have resulted from his or her genetic makeup.

Cilantro Hate Group on Social Media

Many people are expressing their hate for cilantro, and they are expressing this dislike in social media and sharing it with hundreds of thousands like-minded individuals in a Facebook group.  

Some people love the taste of cilantro, while some hate its soap-like taste. One major factor that causes this significant divide is the genetic makeup of some individuals who can detect a specific chemical. 

Customer's Taste Preferences are affected by Genetics

Tim Hanni, an expert on wine, has a lot to comment about this matter. He had been in the hospitality, consulting, and cooking industry for more than three decades. He had teamed up with university researchers to study taste and senses. 

According to Hanni, genetic factors affect the intensity and how a person experience things, says an article.

For those people who do not like the taste of cilantro for its similarity of taste to soap or its bitter and metallic taste, the OR26A is to blame. The OR26A is a genetic single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) that gives the cilantro this taste.

Neuroplasticity and neurological factors explain how people process learning, information, and observation. Also, this is how individuals acquire and dispose of different tastes.

For some, especially for men, they don't have the SNP to experience alcohol warming. For some, wines taste sweet. These people have less sensitivity to bitter tastes. 

The Supertasters

Doctor Linda Bartoshuk, a Bushnell Professor of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Florida, was one of the persons who coined the term 'supertasters.' She was one of Hanni's colleagues and mentors. 

Doctor Linda was able to work at Yale and study the genetic marker responsible for a person's inability to detect compounds. These compounds are thiourea, PTC (phenylthiocarbamide), and PROP (propylthiouracil).

According to her research team, the results of the study states that if an individual has one or two of the SNPs, then it can be linked to general sensitivities. However, it is highly specific to this compound group. 

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Taste Sensitivities

People experience different things due to their differences in intolerance and sensitivity. One of the seen cause of these differences is the genetic variation of people, says Hanni. 

According to Hanni, people in the hospitality industry should know that if they see a customer adding salt to their food without tasting it first, it is a sign that that individual has a lot of active taste buds. 

Salt can suppress bitterness. If an individual lacks the genes, that person does not experience bitterness at a similar level. People should have an understanding that people are adding salt to their food to remove the bitterness. The reason for this act is that these people only enjoy the taste of the food when they get past the bitter taste of the food. 

Considering Genetic Variation as a Chef

By considering genetic variations, Hanni stopped putting too much salt on his dishes. He stopped adjusting the salt based on his taste preference. According to him, adding a bit of acid on the food allows adjusting its taste. Some chefs spray their dishes with a mixture of water and lemon to attain the best results, he added.