Weekend Quiz: Name up to 10 of your favorite culinary scents

last year

I had a mild case of Covid last Summer. :( All smell went away for a few days, but it came back gradually from "Yea! I can smell something!" to "I can smell the chicken cooking from the hall" to recentily noticing that I can smell the little basil plant by the sink from five paces, and the 6' spice pullout is back to whapping me in the face when I open it. Such a relief! I love the scents of foods. I even like the smell of olives, though I dislike the flavor.

So what are your top ten (-ish) favorite food scents?

Featured Answer

carolb_w_fl_coastal_9/10

last year

Fresh sweet marjoram is one of my faves. I had a potted marjoram plant for many years that developed a woody 'trunk' like a bonsai tree, but it was lost to hurricane Helene 😕

There's a lot - here are just a few:

Citrus peels - especially lime and tangerine

Jasmine - as in Jasmine tea, also bergamot - as in Earl Grey tea

Spearmint

Tarragon

Sauteed onions & garlic

Cumin

Roasting chicken

I also lost my sense of smell to COVID back in January, and I feel like I still haven't regained it fully; tho I can smell plenty of things, others still seem to elude me - like floral scents.

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Comments (14)

Lars
last year
last modified: last year
I guess bacon would be #1, followed by Meyer lemon, garlic, basil, onion, chili, Roquerfort cheese, dill. There are some spice combinations I like also, especially Berbere, but in general, I do not like overwhelming fragrances of spices. My favorite spice is probably cardamom, but I don't use it that much.
plllog thanked Lars
chloebud
last year
last modified: last year
LOL, plllog, definitely both smell and taste of olives for me.…Castelvetranos!👍🏻

I love lemon (seriously, LOVE!🍋), basil, dill, cilantro, feta, just about anything on the grill, pies/cakes/cookies in the oven, soups, braises, bacon, freshly ground coffee (though I don’t drink it). I know I’m leaving out a lot. Oh, you can sometimes catch me opening a jar of Montreal Steak Seasoning just to smell it.
plllog thanked chloebud
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lat62
last year
Lemon in any application

Baking apples with cinnamon - cloves etc

Roast chicken

Roast turkey

Roast duck

That's only 5 so I reserve the right to come back :)
plllog thanked lat62
john3582
last year
Bread, cinnamon rolls, brownies, lemon, orange, mint, roast chicken, vanilla
plllog thanked john3582
plllog
Original Author
last year
Hm… The roses haven't assualted me this year, but the temperatures and humidity haven't been ideal, and I haven't had so many trips past them. I'll have to have a sniff. I hope time will bring them back, Carol.

My favorites, in no particular order:

Lemons right off the tree

Fenugreek

Saffron

Basil

Tarragon

Roasting/grilling beef

Apples cooking down, like for applesauce or cider

Red wine reduction

Toast
lisaam
last year
I used to love walking through my work kitchen and smelling the recipes in process. Basil, cilantro, citrus, browniesm sautéing onions when wine is added, a cake made with almond paste. The scents are more noticeable when it’s not your own project, but a fragrant ’event’ you encounter.
plllog thanked lisaam
Olychick
last year
Baking bread

Cilantro

Vanilla

Roasting chicken

Garlic, fresh or cooking

Freshly ground coffee

Chocolate baking = brownies, cake, cookies

Fresh raspberries

Basil

Roasting turkey
plllog thanked Olychick
chloebud
last year
I asked DH and his response was ”The kitchen on Thanksgiving Day.” Gotta agree!
plllog thanked chloebud
lat62
last year
caramelizing onions, garlic, carrots, celery etc.

toasting seeds, nuts and/or peppers (like cumin, coriander, dried anchos, almonds, sesame, pepitas, etc)

I'll copycat toast, esp cheesetoast (although I don't eat it much anymore, miss it)

second on the coffee

sizzling steak or burgers in a frying pan

That's my 10 now, hope I didn't cheat by combining things - thanks for the fun idea!
plllog thanked lat62
jrb451
last year
Bacon, garlic and onions being sautéed singly or in any combination.

Freshly ground coffee beans and brewed coffee.

Vanilla in milk being heated for frozen custard.

Bread baking.

Freshly crushed herbs - basil, oregano, rosemary
plllog thanked jrb451
carolb_w_fl_coastal_9/10
last year
Fenugreek smells like maple - another yummy scent. I've even made maple flavoring by soaking the seeds in vodka.

And I forgot to add the scent of baking yeasted breads 🙂

Yesterday, I made a roasted chicken with curry powder - that makes the whole place smell delicious!
plllog thanked carolb_w_fl_coastal_9/10
plllog
Original Author
last year
That's so interesting! Fenugreek doesn't smell at all like maple to me. We're probably sensing different compounds as dominant, I guess.
nancyjane_gardener
last year
All of the above! But I think in the garden, basil.

Weekend Quiz: Name up to 10 of your favorite culinary scents

carolb_w_fl_coastal_9/10

Comments (14)

Lars

chloebud

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nancyjane_gardener

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