Not sucky, just kinda dumb

[Slave to the Phone]

I respectfully disagree with you, Cia. Cilantro tastes like soap.

I also hate the bitter/metallic after taste of artificial sweeteners.

Personally, I don't have food allergies. I am horrible allergic to bee stings. (I am hyper alert to the chance of a bee sting because they cause such things as throat closing almost too fast for me to get my epi pen out of my pocket. This is a usually a very easy and routine task that I do daily without thinking. I think my motor skills are also compromised by the sudden introduction of the allergen.)

So, I am of course, hyper-aware of what I am doing with my hands and feet at all times. Unless they are Africanized, bees don't want to sting because that means they will die. As long as I avoid wearing flowery scents and watch where I am putting my hands and feet and wear protective clothing when needed, all is good.

I would think that anyone else with an allergy would be as cautious as I am. Sadly for folks with food allergies, its not as easy as avoiding bee stings.

[Nunavut Pants]

I've never heard of cilantro tasting like fish. Soap, yes--and I can see how a small change in the flavor would be reminiscent of soap--but never fish. Of course, I like cilantro myself.

I don't get a metallic taste out of any of the artificial sweeteners, but I do get a bitter aftertaste from one of them. (I think aspartame, but not sure.) Others like sucralose and stevia have a super sickly sweet aftertaste that I detect in the back of my mouth.

I tend to avoid all "diet" drinks.

[Bardmaiden]

Aspartame is just vile.

Not sure about sucralose; I'm not sure I've ever tasted it.

Aspartame I'm fine with sucralose I'm not sure about and stevia is disgusting and gives my partner headaches.

[MoonCat]

Stevia isn't really "artificial" per se - it comes from a plant. It's also much sweeter than regular sugar, so I would suggest using less stevia than you would regular sugar and see if it tastes better to you. Assuming you want to try it again ever.

Personally, I hate aspartame. I use Splenda sometimes, which is sucralose. A lot of times I just skip the sweetener altogether. That way I don't have to worry about weird flavors and aftertastes.

[An Haddock]

Of course Rice-a-Roni has gluten. It's a combination of pasta (made with wheat) and rice.
.

Don't yell at me because I never bothered to pay attention to the gluten content of Rice a Roni.

[Bumbershoot]

I tried stevia and I couldn't taste it at all, even when I used far more than was recommended. Since we are trying to avoid Type II Diabetes, we avoid sugar, but we also stay away from Splenda and Nutrasweet. I use saccharine all the time.

As far as hidden ingredients go, I have a problem with onions. I don't go into anaphylactic shock, but they upset my stomach. I also just hate them. I only use dehydrated onions for cooking. Going to restaurants is dangerous, because onions are in just about everything, and are almost never listed on the menu.
If you are allergic, you really need to be aware and proactive.

[mhkohne]

Of course Rice-a-Roni has gluten. It's a combination of pasta (made with wheat) and rice.

I had absolutely no idea that it included pasta. Having never eaten it, I had always assumed it was completely rice based.