Why Do Some People Hate Cilantro? The Secret of the OR6A2 Gene

Key Takeaways

• People who say cilantro tastes "soapy" aren't being fussy — it's their smell-receptor genes.
• The gene OR6A2 makes some people extra-sensitive to the aldehyde compounds in cilantro.
• For these people, cilantro really does smell like soap or metal.
• It's a matter of genetics, not picky eating.

At the dinner table there's always cilantro drama. One side loves it, the other says it "tastes like soap" and picks it out every time. This isn't fussiness — it's pure genetic science. Let's see why.

The "Soapy Taste" Many People Mention

Some people, when they eat cilantro, perceive a soap-like or metallic smell instead of the fresh aroma most people get. They're not imagining it — their brain genuinely "reads" cilantro's scent differently because of genetic variation.

OR6A2: The Key Culprit Gene

Cilantro contains aldehyde compounds, the same kind found in some soaps. A large study of more than 14,000 people of European ancestry found that a genetic variant (SNP rs72921001) near a cluster of smell-receptor genes on chromosome 11 — including OR6A2 — is associated with perceiving cilantro as soapy, and OR6A2 has high binding specificity for the aldehydes that give cilantro its characteristic odor (Eriksson et al., Flavour, 2012). People with certain variants are especially sensitive to these aldehyde smells, so they perceive cilantro's "soapiness" more strongly than others. This connects with the spice-tolerance gene, also about taste perception.

How Common Is It?

The proportion of cilantro-dislikers varies by ethnicity and culture. A survey of over 1,600 people in Canada found that East Asians disliked cilantro the most (21%), followed by Caucasians 17%, those of African descent 14%, South Asians 7%, Hispanics 4%, and Middle Eastern subjects 3% (Mauer & El-Sohemy, Flavour, 2012). However, looking specifically at the "soapy-taste" variant (SNP rs72921001), it is actually more frequent in European populations (Eriksson et al., Flavour, 2012). So these are two different things: the genetic soapy-taste perception versus overall dislike, which also depends on familiarity and food culture.

If You Don't Like It, Can You Fix It?

The good news is some people can train themselves to get used to cilantro, and there's a tip that crushing or finely chopping cilantro reduces the aldehyde smell because it breaks some of the compounds down. But if you still hate it, don't feel guilty — it really is a gene thing.

From the Geneus DNA Team

Next time someone picks cilantro off their plate, don't call them fussy — they might have the OR6A2 gene that genuinely makes cilantro taste like soap. Even small things at the dinner table have genetics hidden behind them. If you want to know your taste-perception genes and more, check out a DNA test.

References

1. Eriksson N, Wu S, Do CB, et al. A genetic variant near olfactory receptor genes influences cilantro preference. Flavour. 2012;1:22. Springer (Flavour)
2. Mauer L, El-Sohemy A. Prevalence of cilantro (Coriandrum sativum) disliking among different ethnocultural groups. Flavour. 2012;1:8. Springer (Flavour)