Fresh Air and Flavor

[oregonyeti]

I don't know if any of you have experienced this, but to me it's a dramatic sensation.

When I'm in a "stuffy" place, and I open a door to the outside, the indoor air mixing with the fresh outside air makes food smells become much more alive. Suddenly my senses have become much more acute. It's as if my eyes were closed and I didn't even realize it (but in this case it's my nose).

Have any of you experienced the same? Maybe this is old news to some of you. I wonder if this is one reason camp food tastes so good to me.

 

[cheftoddmohr]

I've experienced the same thing. While working in the kitchen, my senses are saturated with the direct smell of all things cooking.

When I leave the kitchen and go outside, the smells from the exhaust hood seem actually more powerful than standing in front of the oven.

Since we "taste" things with our noses as well, I see the fresh air as a bit of a palat cleanser. It's like eating crackers between tastes of white and red wines. It re-sets your senses to zero.

I agree, it's one of the reasons that outdoor cooking has such an appealing aroma.

 

[french fries]

Also after cooking for hours you may not smell much anymore. But go outside for a bit, and come back into your kitchen, and all of a sudden you'll smell whatever it is you're cooking!

Or you know when you're cooking and not really smelling much anymore but someone walks in and says "Hmmmm smells good!!". That's because they just walked in.