The Vegetarian Guy

“Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands of miles and all the years you have lived”

Helen Keller

Aromas enchant us, molding images into the cerebral cortex which can be recalled at any moment with a familiar whiff.  With food, an attractive scent can trigger the desire to eat and cause a singular drive to eat something right away. 

The sense of smell is seventy percent of taste.  While taste buds receive input from salty, sweet, bitter and pungent receptors, olfactory input can recognize up to 10,000 different aromas.  This input is immediate and can bypass the normal processing to trigger memory in the cerebral cortex.  Imagine having a barbecue without the intensely sensuous aroma not wafting by.  A world without aroma is a sanitized and bland proposition.  Studies have confirmed that the olfactory sense triggers memories more than the other senses.  Mental imagery with the natural romanticized versions, adds immensely to the ‘theater of dining.’ 

Just as the chemical combination of food ingredients are medicine, food is also integral in aromatherapy.  To exemplify this, think of the scents that floated out of the kitchen as a child, baking cookies or a cake, baking bread, or the almost acrid aroma of food cooking over an open fire.  There is a sound reason for fast food restaurants to exhaust fumes onto the street.  Over the years, it was very common for passersby to eat at Inn Season Café after walking by and smelling the great cooking scents outside our building. 

It has been well documented that specific aromas encourage the body to function in different ways.  There are scents which cleanse nasal passages, a few aid digestion and some inspire passion, while others work with the psyche.  Scent is very much part of the ‘feng shui’ of food and old cultures have this built in to the cuisine.  

Setting a stage with scents

Scent is also very subjective.  What we like has direct correlation to our life experience and conditioning.  For one person the scent of a wonderfully aged cheese is mouth watering, to another it is revolting.  The audience is important when planning a meal.  Sometimes, we need to help educate a palate, so scents are orchestrated to enhance each other, framing the so called offensive aroma with more accessible and universally appealing scents.  When entertaining, it is good to plan an aromatic environment along with the rest of the menu.  Many times the aromas around the food have a profound effect on the flavors inside the preparations.  

Importance of smells in cooking

Without tasting, the scent of food becomes prominent as a tool for perfection.   In Vedic cooking, enjoying the smells of the food for oneself while cooking is the same as tasting it.  The cooking aroma can be enjoyed as part of the process of cooking for others and certainly may be used as a tool for creating culinary wonders. 

Manipulation of aromas during eating

Timing the drifting scents emanating from food and organizing them in a almost symphonic way can be as important as combining spices.  Complimentary aromas play off each other, dancing in the imagination, toying with our memories.  

The after dinner scents

After a fulfilling dinner, scent plays an important role in comfort and good digestion.  Some of the unpleasant things restaurants do which we can avoid in our personal lives are spraying tables with window cleaners to sanitize while customers are nearby; using heavy bleach  solutions to sanitize equipment and counters; have strong smelling food being served with delicate flavors; and allowing smoking nearby, or even at all.  

Fortunately in our own homes, we may create environments without these olfactory pitfalls.  To focus on the positive, candles create warm, cozy scents that are nice when extinguished too.  A flaming dessert or steamy hot fudge sauce can fill the air with deep sensual undertones.  Also removing the food from the table is a must before dessert and after the entire dinner when conversation may be heightened.