The Love-Hate Relationship with Coriander香菜到底是香還是怪？

“Coriander”， also known as cilantro， is a herb beloved by many people worldwide. It is used in various Chinese， Latin， Greek and Spanish dishes. Moreover， coriander is rich in vitamins， minerals and antioxidants and thus provides many health benefits， such as lowering cholesterol and blood sugar levels and having anti-inflammatory properties.

香菜，又稱芫荽，是一種受全球很多人所喜愛的草本植物。它用于各種中式、拉丁、希臘和西班牙的料理中。此外，香菜富含維生素、礦物質(zhì)和抗氧化物質(zhì)，因此有很多有利于健康的作用，如降低膽固醇和血糖值，且具有抗炎特性。

So why do some people hate coriander？ They describe it as having a metallic or soapy taste. The reason for this seems to be related to their genetic make-up. There are certain genes that make it taste unpleasant for some people. In countries or regions where coriander is commonly consumed， like India or Central America， few people possess coriander-hater genes. However， in places like East Asia， some 20 percent of the population find that coriander tastes like soap.

那么為什么有些人討厭香菜呢？他們形容它有一種金屬或肥皂的味道。其原因似乎與他們的基因構(gòu)成有關(guān)。某些基因會使一些人覺得香菜很難吃。在香菜普遍食用的國家或地區(qū)，如印度或中美洲，很少人會有討厭香菜的基因。而在東亞等地，約有20%的人覺得香菜嘗起來像肥皂。

For those who hate this soapy herb， there’s a suitable day for them to join with others and pile on the hate—Feb. 24. This date is celebrated as International I Hate Coriander Day. A Facebook page named I Hate Coriander started in 2013 and soon swelled to 200，000 followers. The page became so popular that merchandise displaying people’s outright dislike for coriander was being sold on the site. Out of this page， the International I Hate Coriander Day was born.

對于那些厭惡這種肥皂味草本植物的人來說，有一個合適的日子──2月24日，可以讓他們與其他人一起大肆抒發(fā)厭惡之情。這一天是“世界討厭香菜日”。2013年，一個取名為“我恨香菜”的臉書主頁誕生了，并很快擴(kuò)大到擁有二十萬名關(guān)注者。該主頁如此受歡迎，以至在此網(wǎng)站上可買到能表達(dá)人們極度討厭香菜的商品。由于這個主頁，“世界討厭香菜日”便應(yīng)運(yùn)而生。

In Japan， people are coriander crazy. The country boasts cafes and restaurants that specialize in dishes with coriander. The herb has found its way into various foods and products， including chips， soups， ramen， salads， cheeses， fried eggs， spring rolls and even candles. While some people would never want to eat coriander and would celebrate its demise， there are an equal number of folks who want to add it to everything they eat.

在日本，人們?yōu)橄悴睡偪?。這個國家以擁有專門制作香菜料理的咖啡廳和餐廳而自豪。這種植物已經(jīng)融入各種食物和產(chǎn)品中，包括薯片、湯、拉面、沙拉、奶酪、煎蛋、春卷，甚至是蠟燭。雖然有些人永遠(yuǎn)也不會想吃香菜并且會慶祝它的消失，但也有同樣多的人想把香菜加進(jìn)他們吃的每一樣?xùn)|西中。

Word Bank

antioxidant n. 抗氧化劑；抗氧化物質(zhì)

consume" v. 吃；喝；飲

merchandise n. 商品；貨品

demise n. 終止；失??；倒閉