Today is International I Hate Coriander Day
For approximately ten percent of humanity, it tastes like soap, and today is their day: February 24 is International I Hate Coriander Day. A little recognition, connecting with fellow sufferers and joining forces to represent their interests, because being a coriander hater is not easy at all.
FavorFlav’s Tamya Boumann is a coriander hater, and she makes no secret of it. ‘Coriander tastes like a plate from the dishwasher that hasn’t been rinsed properly, combined with an aroma of doll’s hair,’ she writes. Thai food is out of the question for Tamya, a Mexican dish is tricky and, really, eating at any restaurant is a minefield. ‘When I ask what’s in it, what I really mean is: does it contain coriander?’
Disgusting green leaves
It all has to do with a gene, namely the OR6A2 gene. Coriander haters carry two copies of this gene and are therefore extra sensitive to the chemical compound aldehyde, which is found in both coriander and soap. While other people carefree enjoy a fresh Thai seafood salad, coriander haters sit with their chopsticks meticulously picking disgusting green leaves out from between the red onion, while they would actually prefer to stick a fork into a power socket.
Coriander, pepper and salt
This suffering must stop, according to the nearly 300,000 followers of the Facebook group I Hate Coriander (and our Tamya). Their proposal: treat coriander as an allergen and indicate on the menu which dishes contain coriander. Just an extra little symbol, alongside the symbols for dishes containing gluten, meat or dairy, so coriander haters know what they’re getting into.
And perhaps a little restraint, because: ‘It used to be possible to avoid it on the menu, but nowadays it’s used as if it were salt and pepper. It doesn’t need to be on everything, ladies and gentlemen.’
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