Today is World hate cilantro Day. Did you celebrate the festival?

This article comes from the official account of Wechat: SF Chinese (ID:kexuejiaodian), author: SF

By Liu Jiayu / tr. by Phil Newell)

In the face of all kinds of delicious food, some people always feel that there is not enough taste without coriander, while another group of people are full of "Don't put parsley".

01 cilantro, also known as coriander, has a long history and originates in the Euro-Mediterranean region. "Zhang Qian made it possible to grow in the Western regions." The taste of coriander is regarded by many people as a special fresh plant flavor, but some people think it has the smell of soap or bedbugs. Parsley is often used as a seasoning in cooking and as an ingredient. It can not only increase the nutritional value and flavor of food, but also has the effect of antioxidant and reducing blood lipids.

However, there are also some people who are not interested in or even hate coriander. They may think that the taste of coriander is too pungent and has a disgusting taste that makes them feel uncomfortable. February 24 is "World hate cilantro Day", a holiday to show support for those who don't like parsley.

02 in fact, human taste preference is related to genes. monitoring studies on identical twins and genetic data surveys have shown that some genes do affect the reward mechanisms of taste, smell and even the brain. If you think parsley tastes like soap, you may have inherited a mutant gene called OR6AS, which encodes odor receptors.

This gene mutation will make you particularly sensitive to the smell of aldehydes, while parsley is not only rich in nutrients, but also contains volatile substances such as mannitol, n-sunflower aldehyde, nonanal and linalool. Similarly, soap also contains aldehydes. Therefore, some people will think that cilantro tastes like soap.

Genes also determine whether you can taste the bitter compound phenylthiourea (found in cabbage). The gene TAS2R38, which encodes type 2 taste receptors, has mutated in about 30 per cent of Europeans, so they cannot smell cabbage.

Even the role of the brain's reward mechanism in eating bacon has to do with genes. If you are addicted to bacon, then you may have a CNTN5 mutation.

But food preferences don't just come from genes. Babies in the womb "breathe" amniotic fluid, so newborns prefer the taste and smell of compounds that mothers eat in large amounts during pregnancy.

If your aversion to a certain food is not determined by genes, then taste can be changed. Usually, in a calm and relaxed state, try a small amount of food you don't like over and over again, and you will slowly learn to appreciate it.

It can also be helpful to try different cooking methods. For example, if you hate boiled parsley, try using parsley only as a seasoning or hot pot dip. You may find that you just don't like "boiled" cooking.

Knowing the nutritional value of food can also change food preferences, because knowing the health benefits of each food increases your willingness to try. Parsley contains vitamin C, carotene, vitamin B1, B2 and so on, but also rich in minerals, such as calcium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium and so on.

In general, changing your attitude towards food and trying other types of food over and over again can help to change your taste preferences and adjust your diet.

References:

Https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/gene-taste-preference/

Https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/why-does-coriander-taste-like-soap-to-some-people/