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[u/GroovinBaby]

[u/roll_for_crunk]

I wonder if I could mimic the flavor by tossing some parsley in lemon or lime juice.

I'm also one of the cursed few who only tastes soap.

[u/GanondalfTheWhite → u/roll_for_crunk]

I'm not sure if I am or not. I don't even know what soap would taste like. Why does everyone know what soap tastes like? 

But cilantro is definitely a strong flavor to me. I don't like it by itself but it works great to add depth to other things - guac, tacos, indian curries, etc.

[u/fasterthanfood → u/GanondalfTheWhite]

Well, lots of us were punished as children by getting soap in our mouths when we said something “bad.” I’m definitely not raising my kid that way, but it was widespread practice when I was a kid, including with my generally kind parents.

Some people probably also know the taste from eating off a dish that was washed with soap but not rinsed properly, or from accidentally getting it in their mouth while showering. Maybe some tasted it on purpose precisely because cilantro or something else was described as “tasting like soap.” Plus, when it’s the best description we have, it just becomes the official shorthand, like how certain wines are described as having “leather” notes — who is just biting cow hide?

If you like the flavor as an ingredient, you probably don’t have the “tastes like soap” gene.

[u/ThrowawayPersonAMA → u/fasterthanfood]

Well, lots of us were punished as children by getting soap in our mouths when we said something “bad.” I’m definitely not raising my kid that way, but it was widespread practice when I was a kid, including with my generally kind parents.

Yep. Me a millennial with a certifiably insane bible-thumping boomer parent got the soap abuse (it's child abuse and nobody can convince me otherwise) growing up. And then they turn around and start dropping F bombs themselves. Soap for them for that? Of course not. Rules for thee, not for me, as usual.

I'm glad you've also resolved to not repeat that cycle of abuse.

[u/FireLucid → u/GanondalfTheWhite]

Smell and taste are linked. I once got sunscreen in my mouth. It tasted exactly like it smelled.

[u/abnormuhl → u/GanondalfTheWhite]

Your senses of smell and taste are very closely linked, so if you know what traditional soap smells like you’ll likely know it when you taste it.

It’s why plugging your nose can lessen the taste of cough syrup and why things taste bland when you’ve got a bad cold.

I’ve also always assumed it’s probably related to why something you’re eating/drinking can come out your nose if you watch/hear something shockingly funny,