Substitute for Cilantro

[Melinda42]

I don't like the taste of cilantro. What can I substitute for the cilantro in recipes?

[yorkshirepud]

I know they say cilantro is an aquired taste, and in the beginning, I hated it. Now, I absolutely love it. I would recommend you try again, but failing that, Thai Basil might be a good sub if its for a Asian, spicy type dish.

[Terrytx]

I agree with YP, it's an acquired taste, Try cutting down on the amount and build up to it. If that is impossible, try parsley in Mexican dishes. There is really no sub for cilantro that I know of.

[lhall]

I normally cut the amount of cilantro in a recipe by half. I've also found that if you knife isn't very sharp and you bruise the cilantro as you cut it the flavor is much stronger. I either cut it with my kitchen shears or use a very sharp knife.

Although, you could be one of the 10% of the population who has a bad physical reaction to cilantro.

Leigh

[penguin]

I know it's not the same, but I sometimes sub regular ol' basil for cilantro in recipes. It often works quite well, but of course this depends on the recipe.

DH hates cilantro, and won't tolerate it even in miniscule amounts. He can always detect it and thinks it tastes like soap .

[Curleytop]

PARSLEY!

[Guest]

My daughter absolutely hates cilantro and she has lead the way for DH to stop liking it. She will scrutinize recipes and cross it out of the ingredient list. I, on the other hand, love it. I just leave it out and find the dishes to be just fine. If it can be used as a garnish, I sprinkle some of my plate. It is amazing how many recipes call for cilantro. It seems to be the herb of the moment.

[beejayw1]

Originally posted by Melinda42
I don't like the taste of cilantro. What can I substitute for the cilantro in recipes?

It's not an acquired taste; it's a genetic thing. To some people, myself included, it tastes really vile, like soap. So it can be a problem. Interestingly, if cilantro is cooked into a recipe, I don't mind it, but I can't use the fresh stuff.

Sarah Moulton talked about cilantro (that's where I learned about it being genetic and not an issue of needing to 'acquire the taste'. She recommends that you substitute basil. I think flat-leafed parsley would substitute well, too.

[KLynn]

Another cilantro hater here! It really does take like soap to me. (Not that I really know what soap tastes like!).

I usually just leave it out. There are usually other strong flavors involved in recipes calling for cilantro (because they are typically Mexican or Asian), and I have never had a problem just omitting the cilantro and letting the other flavors shine through.

[Ohioan]

Oddly enough, I like the taste of cilantro once it's cooked into a dish, but I can't stand the smell of it raw, so I never have it in the house. Instead, I use flat-leaf parsley most of the time, sometimes supplemented with green onion tops.

Cheers,
Phoebe