Food

Aroma Therapy
By Janet Peterson

Aromatherapy is an industry by itself, with scented candles, essential oils, and perfumed soaps and lotions marketed to provide beautiful, soothing fragrances. There’s something about a pleasant aroma that relaxes and calms the recipients, affecting the mind, body, and spirit.

There’s another kind of aroma therapy that soothes and comforts, and it’s made right in the laboratory of the kitchen: home-cooked food. Not only does the smell of chili simmering on the stove, cinnamon rolls baking or turkey roasting in the oven, steak barbecuing on the grill appeal to one’s olfactory sense –these aromatic stimulants can be eaten, providing nourishment and satisfaction besides.

Here’s a sampling of comments about the original kind of aroma therapy.

There’s no doubt that a house filled with the scent of baking is warm and inviting. A whiff of cinnamon or vanilla is definitely alluring. So, when life is getting too hectic, take a break and bake something for you and your family. Not only does the delicious aroma soothe the senses, but some find the act of baking itself can be very relaxing. Performing the methodical tasks of measuring, stirring, kneading, and mixing takes your mind off your daily stresses and leaves you free to focus on the task at hand (“Aroma Therapy,” Food and Family, Fall 2003, 48).

A smell can suddenly evoke a long-forgotten moment. The flavors of childhood foods seem to leave an indelible mark, and adults often return to them, without always knowing why. These “comfort foods” become a source of pleasure and reassurance (Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation, New York: Harper Collins, 2001, 123).

Bread is a great comfort food. To me, the smell of freshly baked bread is better than the most expensive perfume. When I was a Realtor and had open houses for sale, I would often defrost a loaf of commercial frozen bread and bake it in the house I was showing because it made the house feel like home (Rita M. Harris, Comfort Foods, Roseville, CA: Prima Publishing, 1996, 35).

Because our ancestors came from different places and settled in different parts of the country, every family’s food memories are unique.  This shows one family’s perspective:

Some of my happiest memories as a child involve holidays spent with family and wonderful foods.

Although my parents, Katherine and Tobias Ress, met in New Jersey, they were both German immigrants. Some of their siblings also came to America and settled nearby … so our Christmas gatherings were large, with all the aunts, uncles and cousins. What feasts we had!

I’ll never forget the wonderful aroma of my mother’s Roast Christmas Goose, stuffed with apple, orange and lemon .

I inherited my love of cooking from my mom and aunts and still prepare many of Mom’s recipes, mostly in winter, since German foods are rich and hearty. Family favorites include goulash, sauerbraten and Wiener schnitzel. At Christmas, Mom’s roast goose is often on the menu (Rosemarie Forcum, “My Mom’s Best Meal, 2005 Taste of Home Annual Recipes, Greendale, WI:             Reiman Publications, 2004, 201).

Here’s another family memory – this one LDS:

Vickie Muir Stewart, the eldest grandchild [of LaVern Watts Parmley, fifth general Primary president], remembers going to her grandparents’ home nearly every Sunday for dinner. “Grandma always had the same menu, and we loved it. To this day, when I smell leg of lamb, I think of her unfailingly. Her icebox rolls were really, really good,” said Vickie. “I always felt that there was a safety net under my family because of my grandparents” (Janet Peterson and LaRene Gaunt, “LaVern Watts Parmley,” in The Children’s Friends: Primary Presidents and Their Lives of Service, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1996, 87).

Here are some more observations on the smells that make us happy:

There is nothing that smells better than the aroma of a well-used kitchen – hot rolls as they come from the oven, a pot roast cooking slowly, or a pot of chili or quick stew. 
Marjorie Tall

I have fond memories of our Monday evening meals. My father would pick me up from ballet. Then we would stop to pick up my grandmother. She always brought two hot loaves of homemade bread. I got to hold them on the drive from her house to ours. It smelled so good!
Kaylene Redd

I love to make fresh baked bread, sometimes adding in herbs, sometimes fruits or dried fruits. There’s nothing like the aroma of bread or cookies or muffins baking in the oven! I love to go to markets where I can experience a whole array of different fresh fish and seafood. I don’t always know even what they are, but I still love to see such a variety of God’s given fare! I love to simply grill fresh, lean meats and poultry, almost always with a touch of olive oil and garlic and fresh herbs. I love to have a variety of beautiful, scented herbs growing in a bed or a box, where I can quickly transform a dish with these sweet, pungent aromatic plants.
Sharon Martin

The smell of bread baking, like the sound of lightly flowing water, is indescribable in its evocation of innocence and delight (M. F. K. Fisher, quoted in Kate Rowinksi, ed., The Quotable Cook, New York: The Lyons Press, 2000, 93).

I have always thought of the kitchen as a gathering place. A kitchen worthy of its name speaks togetherness, warmth, sharing, and often clutter. The smell of peaches being bottled in the fall, chili sauce simmering on the stove, the sweet aroma of cinnamon rolls, vanilla added to a cake, or meat loaf conjure such nostalgic memories! Elaine L. Jack, quoted in Janet Peterson, Remedies for the “I Don’t Cook” Syndrome (Salt Lake     City: Deseret Book Co., 2001), 90.

We looked forward eagerly to baking days, when we could come home from school to the tempting aroma of fresh bread and cinnamon rolls, dough spread thin, filled generously with raisins, cinnamon, and brown sugar. No one has ever made them better than my mother.Edward L. Kimball, “In Camilla’s Kitchen,” Saints Well Seasoned, ed. Linda Hoffman Kimball (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1998), 10.

I could tell Mom was making chili sauce from a block away. Walking home from school on an autumn afternoon, I could literally follow my nose home. Nutmeg, curry, clove, garlic, ginger, cinnamon were piquant enticement. Tonight we’d be having pot roast – with Mom’s fresh chili sauce on it!
Janet Parberry

For me the smell of bread baking will always evoke memories of warmth, of nourishment, and of family (Emily Puro, “A Legacy of Loaves,” Better Homes and Gardens, Oct. 2004, 288).

While our home was being remodeled this summer and my less-than-ideal “kitchen” was in the garage, the laundry room, and the patio for barbecuing, we had many interesting cooking experiences. One afternoon my daughter-in-law Anna brought her bread machine over and baked a loaf of bread in our garage. When I walked out into that rather unattractive and unusual setting, I was greeted by the wonderful aroma of her bread and felt a whole lot better about living in our temporary chaos.

Think of your favorite kitchen aromas and how you feel when they are wafting from the kitchen and throughout your home. Recall some of the food fragrances of your childhood and picture in your mind the kitchen in your home where you grew up. Do certain smells instantly evoke good memories?

Don’t wait to put your home on the market to bake a loaf of bread – or rolls, cookies, cake, pot roast, soup, stew, or spaghetti. Use this kind of aroma therapy for the current occupants – your family – and let them savor the comforting smells you create just for them.