[CH] Re: Cilantro, soap, etc.
George Nelson (70431.3065@compuserve.com)
Mon, 23 Nov 1998 22:27:14 -0500
The comparison of the taste of cilantro with soap has been mentioned on
this list as well as by my colleagues at work. To me, the flavor and aroma
are similar to lemon or lime-peel-oil, are quite pleasant and they blend
well with tomatoes, chiles and lime juice in a salsa fresca. My wife feels
there is an upper limit and complains of lightheadedness when it is on the
chopping board ready to go into the salsa with the roasted, peeled chiles.
I sometimes describe the flavor as "rancid lemony" or "lemons on the
compost."
A major cilantro constituent is d-linalool ("coriandrol" or
d-3,7-dimethyl-1,6-octadien-3-ol). Eight-carbon alcohols have a soapy-type
aroma and their reduced solubility might give a slick, oily mouth-feel.
The unsaturation ("-octadien-") could certainly enhance this. The
branching (-"3,7-dimethyl-") helps make it "lemony."
The link to the smell of industrial soap is that linalool is used as an
ingredient in perfumes and to give pleasant aromas to products, including
soaps, after shaves, etc.
Perhaps Gary Allen can share a bit more about Cilantro, Rau Ram and their
essential oils!
George Nelson
70431.3065@compuserve.com