The Fresh Herb That Julia Child Loathed

Cilantro, as we all know, is a polarizing herb. To some, it tastes like soap, while to others, it tastes somewhat citrusy, clean, and refreshing. It seems like if you're in the anti-cilantro camp, you're strongly in that position, and for one famous TV food trailblazer, it was a flavor she absolutely hated. Yep, Julia Child, who died in 2004, absolutely loathed cilantro.

Child was documented saying so once on the record in an interview with Larry King on CNN that aired in 2002. She told the talk show host that to her, cilantro "has a kind of a taste that I don't like," and mentioned that her aversion to it was quite severe. She said it had a "dead taste," and if she saw it in a dish, she'd pick it out and throw it on the floor. I really can't think of an aversion to something I have that goes quite to those lengths, but even famous food people have their hard limits sometimes.

It turns out that people's avid hate for cilantro isn't necessarily because they're picky, though that's entirely possible, too. Cilantro contains aldehydes, which is what lends it that soap-like flavor. But there's a small population of people that perceive the flavor of cilantro so strongly to the point of aversion, and this is due to a variation in a group of their olfactory receptor genes. A 2012 study published in the journal, Flavour, dove deep into the subject, finding that at least in some European populations, a cluster of olfactory receptor genes, possibly OR6A2, might be what causes some people to smell that soapiness so strongly.

Julia Child wasn't the only food personality to hate cilantro. Ina Garten, the "Barefoot Contessa" herself, is known for hating cilantro with a passion, too. "I just won't go near it," Garten declared in an interview with Time. I guess both of the famous chefs must not be a fan of traditional tacos dressed with chopped onions and a ton of cilantro. Don't worry, I'll take their portions.

There was one other green ingredient Julia Child hated, though it technically doesn't classify as an herb. Child hated the taste of arugula too, lumping it into that category of food she'd pick out "and throw it on the floor" alongside cilantro. That pile of green on the floor's starting to get bigger.

Arugula, also known as rocket in some places, is a cruciferous vegetable related to kale, broccoli, and cabbage. I'm sure lots of you have had it, but there's something about its bitter pepperiness, which a lot of people love, that Child must really have found repulsive. Arugula's fascinating in that it can serve as the main ingredient for a fresh raw salad, but it can also be wilted, cooked, or used as a finishing ingredient to add some freshness to something heavier. I like adding arugula to frozen pizza, along with some shaved Parmesan and lemon juice, for example.

I guess we all have our quirks in terms of what we dislike eating. For some people, it's arugula, for others, it's cilantro, though that particular detail might be etched into a select few's genes. Julia Child apparently hated both, which is why you'll never locate it in any of her legacy's recipes.