A Fragrance Called Dirt

I was digging potatoes from my garden the other evening, one of my favorite things to grow. With hands dug deep, the smell of the rich, hot soil, a smell I love, reminded me of a fragrance accord that a perfumer from the Flavor and Fragrance company I work for made years ago called — “dirt”.

Would you ever eat at a restaurant that didn’t smell good?

Scent is certainly important, and especially for those in the food business. Have you ever smelled a soup when it’s hot?  Have you ever smelled a soup when it’s cold? They are completely different experiences, yet the same soup.  It’s the ingredients that come alive at different temperatures that make it so delicious.

And then of course, smells makes us hungry (that brownie fresh from the oven you really didn’t need to eat), happy, and often times nostalgic. Think about your top 3 favorite scents. Can you name them? Mine may just be:

- Fresh cut grass: associated with my dad coming home early from work
- Simmering bean soup: associated with my Mom at the stove
- The beach: associated with family vacations

Givaudan Corporation

As we look forward to this week’s radio show (Sundays at 3PM on 55KRC), we’ve been talking about the importance of scent as it relates to the total culinary experience. This week we have the distinct pleasure of talking with two people from Givaudan Corporation: one of their fabulous chefs, and he who communicates with the rest of the world about the delicious sensory creations. Givaudan’s tag line: “Engaging the Senses” combined with our food-focused radio show has us salivating in advance.

As a preview to the discussion, here are some words from one of this week’s guests, Jeff Peppet:

Engaging the Senses

I was digging potatoes from my garden the other evening, one of my favorite things to grow. With hands dug deep, the smell of the rich, hot soil, a smell I love, reminded me of a fragrance accord that a perfumer from the Flavor and Fragrance company I work for made years ago called—“dirt”. It was an incredible accord that smelled exactly like rich, garden dirt, yet the sample of liquid I had was in a small, clear, one ounce glass bottle.

It is a common practice in our business to naturally replicate the aromas and flavors of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and sometimes, even experiences (think: the aroma of a rainforest or the scent of the green on the 7th hole of the Pebble Beach golf course). Aromas and flavors often leave us with indelible memories; a fleeting whiff or taste of something we may have experienced many years ago can immediately take us right back to that exact time, location and experience.

In the world of perfumery these sensory experiences play an important role as a perfume may contain hints of an aroma that triggers such memories for the masses.

In the world of flavors, it is often more literal, and the flavor of things like a ripe red strawberry or cotton candy help provide the memory.

As I pulled up potato after potato I had a funny realization – it was the experience of the summer garden, the warm soil, the potatoes and the smells around me that reminded me of the fragrance accord in a bottle – clearly a reverse of how the process usually works. It made me realize how incredible our senses are, and how amazing it is that they can be so closely connected to our memories.

And with that, I decided that even more of my lawn needs to go so I can make room to grow more potatoes.

Be sure to listen in on Sunday. We have already had the opportunity to know (and love) our guests. We are certain you will too.