You heard it here (or on the SciShow) — it's OFFICIALLY A REAL THING! Your cilantro aversion isn't just your imagination, and here's some science to prove it.
If you're part of the 4 to 14% of people who have this problem, cilantro usually turns meals from this:
To this:
It turns out it's not you, it's your genes. In a study of 30,000 people, researchers found that people who hated cilantro had similar smell receptor genes. They shared the gene OR6A2.
These aldehydes give certain foods their smell. One of the aldehydes that causes cilantro's smell is a "by-product OF SOAP." BUT, upon further investigation, this isn't the only gene responsible for your hatred.
These other genes are related to bitterness and smell receptors.
So here's the bad news: There isn't a set-in-stone culprit in this situation, but science is getting closer!
