The Herb Julia Child Hated So Much That She Would Throw It On The Floor

It's easy to presume that the best chefs and critics will eat any food out there. You know, the Anthony Bourdains and Guy Fieris of the world. However, even the most renowned cooks have their dislikes, and for Julia Child, it was a popular everyday herb: cilantro.

The "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" author, known for her no-nonsense attitude, revealed once in an interview with Larry King that she hated the stuff. "It has a kind of a taste that I don't like," she told the television host. Apparently, Child would eat any other food if it was properly cooked, but she felt cilantro had a "dead taste." She even went as far to say that if she were served a dish with cilantro on it at a restaurant, she would "pick it out" and "throw it on the floor."

The only other ingredient that irked her the same way was arugula. So, don't be surprised if you don't find any cilantro pesto or citrusy arugula salad recipes in any of Child's many cookbooks.

Cilantro is a very versatile herb. It's used to top tacos, raise the flavor profile of store-bought salsa, and finish a variety of dishes from curries to stir-fries. It's a beloved flavor for many, but it's also one of the most controversial herbs out there. The reason being that, like Julia Child, many Americans hate the taste of cilantro. And the reason could be genetic.

You might have already heard people say that when they eat cilantro, it tastes like soap, which is not exactly a pairing you want with your meal. Scientists believe this comes down to a gene that makes certain people hypersensitive to the smell of aldehydes, an organic material in cilantro. The same aldehydes are present in soap, which makes those with the OR6A2 gene think that's what they're eating.

We're not quite sure if the OR6A2 gene was the reason for Julia Child's hatred of cilantro, or if she ever really threw it on the floor, but we do know that she did not care for it (Ina Garten isn't a fan either, by the way). If you have a similar aversion, there's some evidence to suggest that crushing up the leaves can help, while others claim their soapy senses went away with time. You could just throw it on the floor, but it might be a little less drastic to simply pick it off the plate.