Cilantro

Cilantro is a tasty herb to [blank] people. A pleasing combination of flavors reminiscent of parsley and citrus, the herb is a common ingredient in many cuisines around the world. However, some people [blank] cilantro revolting. Of course, some of this dislike may come down to simple preferences, but for those cilantro-haters for whom the plant tastes like soap, the issue is genetic. These people have a variation in a group of olfactory-receptor genes that [blank] them to strongly perceive the soapy-flavored aldehydes in cilantro leaves. This genetic quirk is usually only found in a small percentage of the population, though it varies geographically. Interestingly, places where cilantro is especially popular, have fewer people [blank] these genes, which might explain how the herb was able to become such a mainstay in those regions. East Asians have the highest incidence of this variation. There is some evidence that cilantrophobes can overcome their aversion with repeated exposure to the herb, especially if [blank] is crushed rather than served whole.