The Herb Michael Symon Puts On His Burgers Has Twitter Unsure

When it comes to cooking, most people blindly trust the habits of celebrity chefs, who are experts at the craft. Restaurateur and "Iron Chef" winner Michael Symon is one such chef who people regularly turn to for guidance on food-related matters. He's not afraid to turn on convention, either, as he advises people to go against the "old wive's tale" and salt red meat the night before cooking because it actually makes the cut more "tender" and "flavorful," according to Food Network. He's also a big fan of salting while cooking, particularly pasta water.

One of Symon's most recent statements, however, has to do with cilantro, which many people have strong opinions of their own about. Although many people love the fresh herb and put it on lots of things, others actually possess a gene that "detects the aldehyde part of cilantro as a soapy smell and taste," (per Cleveland Clinic). Others even describe it as tasting and smelling like "dead bugs." Who knew that genetics could make such a strange impact?

Nothing illustrates the cilantro controversy more than a recent Twitter post with Symon, where he inspired some very colorful conversations.

The cilantro controversy all began when a "fan" of Symon's tagged the chef in a tweet, saying that he'd recently watched his outside grilling show and was disappointed, to say the least. "I'm sorry I'm tired of cilantro, I hate it and you put it on a burger, never will respect a bbq person who puts cilantro on a burger," he wrote.

Symon was not impressed by what he termed a "silly statement." The chef even offered the user a suggestion, replying "Just don't put it on yours if you don't like it...problem solved." He also added that chorizo (the meat the burger was made from) and cilantro "go together great."

Although Symon's likely confident in his use of cilantro, what with all his years of training and recipe development, it was still nice that many fans lined up to support him in the comments. One person said, "Saying you lose respect for someone over an ingredient is bananas" and another jokingly added, "So rude of u to use cilantro bc this guy doesn't like it." Another suggested that the original poster use parsley in place of cilantro, adding, "Using herbs is not a war crime, I promise." Now we all feel just a little bit safer knowing that our cilantro-related freedoms are protected.