Sunday, 1 February 2015

Beautiful Smells

Today has been very cold with a biting wind and frequent sleet and rainstorms, definitely a day for keeping warm inside. Marion busied herself with some cooking while I did some chores. Later in the day we caught up with yesterday’s two episodes of The Spiral, very very good find it up on IPlayer if you have not caught up with it yet.

During a break in the television I went to the kitchen, there a sensory heaven awaited me, the rich smokey smell of pea and ham soup cooking. It was a smell redolent of winter days, of the comfort of hot nourishing food, and the promise of a great culinary experience. It made the wind and the rain disappear to be replaced by a warm comfort blanket. I have to calm down a little, as the soup is not ready until tomorrow.

It did get me thinking though how smells are nostalgic, they are scene setters, and they give context to memories. Food is a very obvious example, but there are many others. The smell of a newly washed baby is one of innocence, of hope and beauty. It is also very personal as it is the smell of ones children, and grandchildren. It is a smell that evokes love.

When we bury our noses in a glass of wine, the sensory pleasure that we are experiencing does not only tell us about the composition of that wine, but it evokes the terroir of its origin. This is particularly the case of a wine originating from somewhere that we know. So when I open a bottle of Gigondas, I can picture the perfect little Provencal village of its origin. I can almost feel the hot sun on my back, and can taste the lives that are accompanying my drink.

But smells can also serve another purpose, just as opening my wine bottle evoked happy memories, so the bottle I opened before Christmas smelt very different, warning me that it was certainly not drinkable. Lets return to our baby, a very different smell indicates that a nappy needs changing. Opening the fridge to a foul smell is a better warning of an expired sell by date than reading the label of the packaging.


So smells are a rich part of our memories, but also act as a warning to take action. Still I am looking forward to that pea and ham soup!!!!

2 comments:

  1. Nigel, you have to admit that it was down here in the great metropolis where you learnt the nose in the fridge trick! I'm so pleased that we've won you over to our way of thinking. It's a tiny part of life with the Ridouts that has travelled back up north with you.

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  2. What is smelt in the fridge stays in the fridge - My nose is closed.

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