毋庸置疑，香菜受到了两种最为极端的对待：喜欢它的人会把成堆的香菜放到沙拉和汤里，而讨厌它的人却觉得香菜闻着像肥皂，尝始像是在嚼臭虫。
large chunk of the US population—including the likes of culinary goddess Julia Child—have claimed that it tastes offensive. Kinda like soap, in fact. It spreads further than these shores, too: a recent survey suggested that 21 percent of east Asians, 17 percent of Europeans, and 14 percent of people of African descent all claim to be repulsed by the stuff。
包括著名厨师朱莉娅·查尔德在内的许多美国人都不喜爱香菜散发出的肥皂一样的味道。但实际上并非只有美国人这样认为，最近一项调查显示，21%的东亚人、17%的欧洲人和14%的非洲人都说他们讨厌这种蔬菜。
what separates the cilantro lovers from the haters? Is it hard-wired in our genes, as Harold McGee suggested a few years ago in the New York Times? Its probably not so simple。
但为什么有人对香菜爱得要死，有人却避之不及呢？是像食物专家哈洛德·麦基几年前在《纽约时报》上撰文说的那样，我们体内的基因已然对香菜的喜好吗？也许答案并没有那么简单。
at 23andMe in California asked about 25,000 people whether they like cilantro or think it smells soapy. When they searched the peoples DNA for regions that correlate with a distaste for the herb, a single spot jumped out. And, it sits right next to a cluster of odor-detecting genes, including one that is known to specifically recognize the soapy aromas in cilantros bouquet。
位于加州的个人基因信息网站23andMe曾调查过人，问他们是否认为香菜闻着像肥皂。当网站的基因学家研究DNA，看是否有专门控制排斥香菜的基因位点时，他们找到了一个点，而且这个位点就在嗅觉检验基因簇的旁边，将香菜的味道归入肥皂味的基因也位于这个基因簇中。
strongest variant lies within a cluster of olfactory-receptor genes—part of the genome which influences our sense of smell. Buried within that cluster is a gene called OR6A2, which encodes a receptor that makes people sensitive to the aldehyde chemicals contributing to cilantros characteristic flavor。
在这簇嗅觉受体基因中，有一称作OR6A2的最强变体，它负责编码一种受体基因，能使人们对香菜特殊气味的醛类物质异常敏感。
But, "it didn make a huge a difference in cilantro preference from person to person," Nicholas Eriksson, the lead author on the study says. In fact, their results suggest that a hatred for cilantro has only a small underlying genetic component. He and his team just published their findings on the 。
不过该研究的主要作者尼古拉斯·埃里克森告诉记者：“个人对香菜的喜好和这个基因的关联并不大。”实际上，这个研究表明，基因结成只是某些人反感香菜的一小部分原因。埃里克森和他团队的这一研究已经发表在网站上。
scientists pinpointed three more genes that influence our perception of cilantro: Two of the genes are involved with tasting bitter foods and one gene detects pungent compounds, like those in wasabi。
通过研究，这些科学家又指出三个影响我们对香菜接受度的基因。其中有两个和品尝苦味有关，第三个和探测类似芥末的刺激性气味有关。
Overall, Eriksson says these studies demonstrate that DNA does shape our opinion of cilantro, but probably not enough that we can overcome it. "It isn like your height, that you e stuck with. People can change it," he says。
总之，埃里克森认为，虽然DNA的确会影响人们对香菜的好恶，但却还在可控范围内。他说：“这并不像你的身高一样，一旦定型就不可改变。我们还是可以改变对香菜的看法的。”
Nature reports, McGee offers a strategy for building up an appreciation for the herb: Try a cilantro pesto. Crushing the leaves, he says, releases enzymes that convert the soapy, stinky compounds into more mild aromas。
根查尔德依然坚定地站在反对香菜的阵营里，她说她更愿意把香菜挑出来扔到地上。
