It Came From the Chat: Some Scent-sational Stories
In yesterday's chat, I asked readers to share their stories of smells that reminded them of places they'd visited, and the stories rolled in. Here are three I didn't get a chance to post:
Gee Street: My favorite scent-place association: Stayed in Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii last April. It ain't called the rainy side for nothing because it did rain on and off for the whole three days we were there. We stayed at this adorable little B&B with breathtaking waterfalls outside the windows on either side of our room. We threw open the windows upon our arrival and the scent of rain on lush rainforest vegetation will always stay with me. And the sounds of the exotic birds and insects singing.
Washington, D.C.: I have a really disgusting scent association with a really incredible place -- Whenever the dirty laundry in my closet reaches epic proportions (rarely), I'm reminded of the apartment I shared with a friend in Florence who rarely washed her clothes and thus smell-ified the room. Pretty gross? Yes, but the memories of my time there still put a smile on my face.
Smells: The scent of oranges always reminds me of a winter visit to Spain. They dropped of the trees like acorns and the air was filled with their aroma when they broke open from hitting a car or the street. (I would hate to be a car owner in Seville. Sticky cars.) The smell of hookah always brings me back to travel in the Middle East -- trips to Lebanon, Egyt, Syria, etc.
Anyone have other scent-associations to share?
By Christina Talcott |
November 11, 2008; 8:09 AM ET
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Christina Talcott
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Posted by: PLozar | November 12, 2008 4:52 PM
How do they get the National Parks to all have the same smell?
I don't leave DC often, but when I do - if it is to a forested National Park, and they all have this great pine tree smell. Then the lodge has a woody smell of its own. I just can't find that smell in DC or NY.
Smell this:
http://www.tripcart.com/usa-regions/Northwest-Washington-The-Cascades,Nature-Wildlife.aspx
Posted by: elliot123 | November 17, 2008 7:08 AM
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Re the smell of chiles roasting in Santa Fe, the season is usually August-September. People bring up big burlap sacks of green chile from Hatch (the chile-growing center of Southern NM) and set up their gizmos at the roadside or in parking lots. These consist of cylindrical "cages" made out of wire screening, with gas jets pointed at them. When they load the cage with chiles and turn on the gizmo, the cage rotates, the jets emit flame, the skins on the chiles blacken and get crispy, and seeds pop out all over the place. The smell is intoxicating, but standing downwind is not advised for chile newbies.
Word of advice: if you plan to freeze the roasted chile, remove the seeds (which get hotter with age), but DON'T remove the skins until you're ready to use them, or you'll have a mushy mess when you thaw them. (The skin usually washes off easily, even after freezing.)
And yes, in NM the peppers are called "chile." "Chili" is that beefy stuff that Texans are fond of.