Your favourite cooking smell

[MypinchofItaly]

1. The first coffee of the day (espresso-made with caffettiera) prepared by my husband.
2. Bread just made.
3. Fried chicken.
4. Garlic just dipped in the hot pan with oil.
5. Basil, sage and thyme.

 

[buckytom]

I forgot about a bread bakery. When I first started dating my wife, she lived down the block from a little Italian bakery. I think that's half the reason we (I) fell in love.

 

[Ken Natton]

Smells, as I am not the first to point out, have some deep connection to the psyche. Bacon smells are an excellent case in point. For some reason, the example that springs to my mind is camping – something I haven’t done in many years. But it was so recognisable a phenomenon. Cook bacon yourself and yes, it smells good. But if you were camping, and you got up early morning to go for a wash and walked past someone else’s tent and they were cooking bacon, that’s when the smell drove you crazy. That’s when you would kill for a bacon butty.

Bacon is a good one, but I know a better one Our family has a tradition of making a Hungarian coffee cake on Christmas, and the smell of that baking along with some coffee brewing is heaven. The smell of the tree and fire help as well.

And that’s exactly the point here. The smells are fundamentally pleasant smells, but associated with a particular time and a particular place that is important to you, the power those smells then have over you, if you catch a hint of them in some other context, is overwhelming.


I do have a contrary story actually. Not that a particular smell wasn’t evocative – it was very powerfully evocative – but the memory it evoked was not a good one. My secondary school dining hall. It was pervaded by a very particular smell that at the time, I didn’t know what it was but I knew that I didn’t like it. Whatever it might happen to be that was actually for dinner, and even when it wasn’t dinner time, if you found yourself walking through that hall, that smell hung around permanently. And it was only years later when, in circumstances that I forget exactly, I caught a hint of that smell, instantly recognised it, the wheels turned and suddenly I understood exactly what it was, the smell that had pervaded that school dining hall all those years previously. It was the smell of burned mince. Various dishes based on mince were a regular staple, and they would fill those, what are they, ten twenty litre pots with whatever they were cooking and stir them inadequately, with the result that there was a thick layer of burned stuff at the bottom that flavoured everything you ate and hung around like a guest that has overstayed their welcome. Sorry to bring it down, this thread was supposed to be favourite smells, but it was just my reaction to the subject.

 

[alexander]

It has to be frying onions. But there are so many great cooking smells its hard to choose.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Lasagna!!!

 

[epicuric]

. My secondary school dining hall. It was pervaded by a very particular smell that at the time, I didn’t know what it was but I knew that I didn’t like it. Whatever it might happen to be that was actually for dinner, and even when it wasn’t dinner time, if you found yourself walking through that hall, that smell hung around permanently. And it was only years later when, in circumstances that I forget exactly, I caught a hint of that smell, instantly recognised it, the wheels turned and suddenly I understood exactly what it was, the smell that had pervaded that school dining hall all those years previously. It was the smell of burned mince. Various dishes based on mince were a regular staple, and they would fill those, what are they, ten twenty litre pots with whatever they were cooking and stir them inadequately, with the result that there was a thick layer of burned stuff at the bottom that flavoured everything you ate and hung around like a guest that has overstayed their welcome. Sorry to bring it down, this thread was supposed to be favourite smells, but it was just my reaction to the subject.

I've often wondered what that smell was! It seems the same in every school/hospital etc.

 

[epicuric]

For someone who is quite into food I don't actually like most cooking smells. The smell of a loaf of bread baking in the oven first thing in the morning is about as good as it gets for me, followed by brewing coffee and anything in the oven brasing in wine, stock and herbs. That's about it. I've always hated the smell of onions cooking, and I've even come to dislike the smell of bacon cooking even though I love to eat it. I guess that makes me a bit strange around here ☺

 

[Morning Glory]

I've always hated the smell of onions cooking, and I've even come to dislike the smell of bacon cooking even though I love to eat it. I guess that makes me a bit strange around here ☺

Yes, that makes you a bit strange.

 

[Rocklobster]

To this day, onions frying remind me of the Agricultural fair (with a midway) I would go to in my home town..it is still going on annually....they had a few food stands that would sell assorted things, burgers, sausages, etc..there was always a huge mound of fried onions sitting along the back of the flat grill that they would scoop on whatever you wanted..the smell would waft through the grounds as you approached the front gates. In my case, the back gate behind the parking lot because we were little buggers and would hop the fence and sneak in without paying the entrance fee.

 

[Yorky]

The Agricultural shows that I've been to here are 90% food stands. But that's Thailand I guess.

 

[Rocklobster]

The Agricultural shows that I've been to here are 90% food stands. But that's Thailand I guess.

Here, we have many barns of livestock that all of the local farmers bring in for judging, horse shows and different competitions, horse drawing competition, petting zoo, small animal barns for people to walk through, equipment vendors displays, horse rides for the kiddies, etc...it was never something I partook in as I grew up in town, but as I got older it became more interesting and I find myself venturing to that end of the fairgrounds more often to check things out than I used to. It also doesn't hurt that the grounds begin a block away from my house..

The largest draw is the midway and there are many different buildings with local vendors, assorted food vendors that sell just about everything like fudge, baking, etc...

 

[GadgetGuy]

I've often wondered what that smell was! It seems the same in every school/hospital etc.

I also remember those smells at school! To me, it always smelled like soup. Hah!!

 

[buckytom]

Here, we have many barns of livestock that all of the local farmers bring in for judging, horse shows and different competitions, horse drawing competition, petting zoo, small animal barns for people to walk through, equipment vendors displays, horse rides for the kiddies, etc...it was never something I partook in as I grew up in town, but as I got older it became more interesting and I find myself venturing to that end of the fairgrounds more often to check things out than I used to. It also doesn't hurt that the grounds begin a block away from my house..

The largest draw is the midway and there are many different buildings with local vendors, assorted food vendors that sell just about everything like fudge, baking, etc...

I'm happy to have moved far enough away from the city so that we have an actual agricultural county fair as you've described. The fairs close to NYC are full of unwinnable games run by dirty carny's, overpriced food stands, and death trap rides.


Now, I get to enjoy the piglet races, and horse, cow, and even llama shows, sheep shearing competitions, and so on.

The food is still overpriced, but it's much better.

Still, in true, weird NJ fashion, I got to ride an elephant and a camel last year, pet a wolf, and almost bought a digeridoo.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Spaghetti and meat sauce, Chicken Parm, Veal Parm.

 

[Elawin]

Smells, as I am not the first to point out, have some deep connection to the psyche. Bacon smells are an excellent case in point. For some reason, the example that springs to my mind is camping – something I haven’t done in many years. But it was so recognisable a phenomenon. Cook bacon yourself and yes, it smells good. But if you were camping, and you got up early morning to go for a wash and walked past someone else’s tent and they were cooking bacon, that’s when the smell drove you crazy. That’s when you would kill for a bacon butty.



And that’s exactly the point here. The smells are fundamentally pleasant smells, but associated with a particular time and a particular place that is important to you, the power those smells then have over you, if you catch a hint of them in some other context, is overwhelming.


I do have a contrary story actually. Not that a particular smell wasn’t evocative – it was very powerfully evocative – but the memory it evoked was not a good one. My secondary school dining hall. It was pervaded by a very particular smell that at the time, I didn’t know what it was but I knew that I didn’t like it. Whatever it might happen to be that was actually for dinner, and even when it wasn’t dinner time, if you found yourself walking through that hall, that smell hung around permanently. And it was only years later when, in circumstances that I forget exactly, I caught a hint of that smell, instantly recognised it, the wheels turned and suddenly I understood exactly what it was, the smell that had pervaded that school dining hall all those years previously. It was the smell of burned mince. Various dishes based on mince were a regular staple, and they would fill those, what are they, ten twenty litre pots with whatever they were cooking and stir them inadequately, with the result that there was a thick layer of burned stuff at the bottom that flavoured everything you ate and hung around like a guest that has overstayed their welcome. Sorry to bring it down, this thread was supposed to be favourite smells, but it was just my reaction to the subject.

I can't stand the smell of mince, whether it be raw, cooking or burnt. It always smells a bit off to me. Once it's cooked properly though, that is a different matter