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I despise cilantro in large quantities. In tiny, tiny bits it goes well with certain foods. My GF loves it. It tastes really foul to me - kinda like a skunky green vegetable flavor.
But...last year I grew some cilantro indoors over the winter, and suddenly I "got" the whole soapy thing. It was weird. I'm not sure if it was a different variety, or the fact that it was growing indoors in a pot, or what, but I could taste IT. The soap. Not enough to put me off using it, but I could see that it would be off-putting to some people. I'll plant more outdoors in hot, sunny weather this summer and see what comes up.
You guys with your "tastes like soap" thing! LOL! I'm guessing you got your mouths washed out with soap a lot as kids ?? How else would you know what soap tastes like?
Actually, I must confess ... ... the soap the nuns used at my school was wretched stuff. Laundry soap, the old-fashioned kind. There's no way cilantro tastes like that!
I think "fresh" describes it best for me, like eggalegga said. Very fresh. Love it!
There's actually supposed to be a gene in your DNA that determines whether cilantro will taste soapy or wonderful. I read that somewhere.
And I'm familiar with the taste of nun-delivered soap as well. The nasty green soap from the wall dispenser. 5th grade. I told Howie Moore to shut up. Shut up was a no-no at the mission school.
I don't think it tastes anything like soap, but I dislike it so much, I think if I had the choice, I'd take the soap. I don't mind so much if it is cooked in, but if it is's sprinkled on top or mixed in after, it ruins a good dish. Costa Rica is terrible about cilantro. I don't like Costa Rica, for that very reason. It goes on everything. It's so automatic, that if you ask them to leave it off, they forget and put it on anyway. Like on fried eggs.
I love it! I have read, though, about the percentage of people to whom it tastes soapy. I can't imagine. I don't really like salsa without it.
I totally agree. I don't know that I'd ever want to eat cilantro by itself..but the smell of it makes me salivate and pico de gallo is just chopped tomatos and onions without it.
I had tacos for supper tonight, at the local Taqueria. Just a couple of small heated, but not fried corn tortillas, with a spoonful of cubed spiced steak, chopped onion and cilantro. No sauce, no lettuce, or sour cream, or guacamole, etc. etc. Very simple, but it wouldn't taste right without the cilantro.
I am one of the few unfortunate people to whom cilantro tastes like soap. I was just wondering what it tastes like to everyone else. I still cook with it but don't use very much mainly putting it in pasta salads and such for color.
Never had it. Imagine it tastes like parsley.
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How else would you know what soap tastes like? 
... the soap the nuns used at my school was wretched stuff. Laundry soap, the old-fashioned kind. There's no way cilantro tastes like that! 
