Favourite food smells

[Deleted]

Inspired by the "olfactory recall" thread, I thought it would be interesting to see what aromas attract us the most, since it really varies around the world.

Unfortunately, my mind is mostly "western oriented" so I probably missed a lot of smells from other cultures, but I certainly hope that people will say what I missed and maybe even propose a different poll. The Proboards system allows a maximum of 35 answers, so don't think I ran out of ideas. I wanted to put "tarragon" for example, because I love it, but I felt it would be too marginal on such a limited list.

Okay, I know it is kind of stingy to only allow 6 replies, but I think that we really need to reflect seriously about our true favourites. I will eat just about anything with gusto, so I could have clicked just about everything on the list if it were permitted (after all, these are the items that came to MY mind). And as I write this, other items are flooding my mind but is too late (North African spices, cloves, anise... so many things). So please forgive me, but let's start a discussion about this stuff.

[fumobici]

My favorite culinary smell is I think the aroma just after tossing minced garlic and ginger into a hot wok. Grilled meat over charcoal or wood is probably next.

[hwinpp]

I chose cinnamon, vanilla, chocolate, grilling odours, cherry and olive.

[auntieannie]

I voted.
Vanilla and cinnamon, although lovely smells per se, have been ruined for me by shops overusing their well known appeal to artificially perfume their premises. It makes me suspicious, these days, to smell vanilla or cinnamon.

I did choose curry and exotic spices, and wondered if they should be considered similar?

Although olives are one of my favourite food items, I didn't choose it as we're talking aroma and they don't have that much of an aroma. For example, I can't see myself walking somewhere and think "oh, it does smell gorgeously of olives".

silly me wanted to vote for "other" ... then I got stuck trying to define what I wanted to add!

Had to vote coffee as it got me last week.

[Deleted]

So far it looks like we're a bunch of carnivores with our "grilling smells"! It is probably genetic, harking back to our caveman days.

[Don Cuevas]

Bacon and coffee, especially at the same time.

[Deleted]

I voted for curry,citrus, and other, although, when it asked for "please say what",I didn't see a space to put my answer. The' other' is foods cooking in wine,red wine in particular.

[lagatta]

Definitely garlic and grilling smells. I also love the faint marine smell of FRESH fish and seafood (my inner cat talking).

Coffee definitely, though bad coffee smells are as ghastly as the smell of leftover wine. I added "exotic spices" thinking of the spices, herbs and aromatics of Maghrebi cuisine, though it is rather a catch-all, non?

I agree with auntieannie about the cinnamon and vanilla. Moreover cinnamon is a terrible cliché in some North American baking. Not as much as in things that are really from Québec, but in any pan-Canadian chain baking, such as Loblaws or Sobeys. Sort of mandatory in apple pie or sweet buns.

I was also thinking of the bouquet of good wine, but more in terms of drinking than cooking. Thus wasn't sure it was a "food" but of course the same could be said for coffee.

[joanne28]

I picked onions, garlic, coffee, bacon and baking smells.

I was thinking specifically of sauteed onions and garlic - that's such a luscious smell.

[Deleted]

The more one thinks about certain aromas, the more one drools.

I confess, though, that I have noticed that the drool factor sometimes occurs when someone else is doing the cooking -- if you do it yourself, you often become immune.

[imec]

One of my favorite smells in the world is that of an English Chippy (Fish and Chip shop) - that is, when the damn things are open, of course...

[cristina]

garlic, grilling, coffee, bacon and baking smells for me (especially baking bread). My "other" choice was the smell of carrots, celery and onion sauteéing in butter...what my mother always refers to as the "holy trinity."

[bixaorellana]

Grilling, curry, coffee, baking, citrus, & other.

There were other things I would have ticked if there had been more than six options. For "other", a major one is the smell of dried chiles being toasted, which provokes a Pavlovian response.

[cheerypeabrain]

curry, coffee, bacon, strawberries, herbs and exotic spices......

I'M HUNGRY ;D

[bpollet]

coffee, cinnamon, vanilla, grilled stuff, caramel

[mickthecactus]

Curry, bread baking, cardamom, coffee being roasted, roast beef on Sunday.