What do our houses smell like? It is said that each one has its own particular smell, but what is true is that this smell varies depending on the corner and the time of day and year. At noon, perhaps it smells like sofrito, the Spanish aroma that perfumes entire buildings with such power that it filters down to the street. At night in winter, some homes have a smoky note from the combustion of wood. Before, apples and quinces and other edible foods also perfumed drawers and cupboards, because throughout history, plants, fruits and other parts of vegetables have been used both for cooking and for perfuming. Different common ingredients have had this double objective, to which, in the case of dried bay leaves, which dozed between sheets and blankets, was added anti-moth insecticide.
Traditionally, the aromatic category includes both plants and vegetable substances that are used equally in cooking, perfumery and medicine. This is how Élisabeth de Feydau describes it in the Dictionnaire amoureux du parfum (Plon, 2021), which recalls that the aromatic pharmacopoeia grew both based on mythology and reality, so much so that since the end of the 7th century BC they have had a triple function: as a condiment, as an object for religious worship and, also, erotic by its ability to appeal to the senses. “The essential oils of these edible ingredients, such as pepper, sage, rosemary, basil or coriander, are also useful for the perfumer,” says De Feydau.
“I still remember that special smell of the drawers and closets where my grandmother kept her clothes. She had a quince tree of a specific variety that produced quinces that she kept for months so that her clothes smelled good,” says cook Maria Solivellas, from the Ca Na Toneta restaurant (Caimari, Palma de Mallorca). Likewise, Solivellas refers to fennel, an herb widely used and consumed in Majorcan cuisine. “It is a charismatic herb for its flavor and also for its smell, both fresh and when stewed, and that is when it has the ability to perfume the entire house.” And in the same way as quinces, different varieties of apples, small in size and with dark flesh, which were preserved intact for months, perfumed chests, chests of drawers and other furniture where clothes were stored.
Memories like those of Solivellas, explains Federico Kukso in Odorama. cultural history of smell (Taurus, 2021), are part of what is known today as 'nosetalgia' or olfactory nostalgia. “Smells contain collective information about the times in which we live,” explains the writer, who dedicates an extensive chapter to their loss and references the work of the researcher at the City University of London, Cecilia Bembibre, who wants to convince to the UNESCO jury for certain historical smells to enter the lists of intangible cultural expressions: “Smells play an important role in our daily lives: they affect us emotionally, psychologically and physically, and influence the way we relate to others.” the history”.
In fact, and although currently the image of a lemon with cloves reminds us of butcher shops and chicken shops, where this aromatic gadget serves to give a clean aroma to the window, as well as to scare away possible insects, the tradition of making this type of balls of smell, technically called pomanders or scented ointments, dates back to the 16th century. As Robert Muchembled explains in The civilization of odeurs (Les Belles Lettres, 2021), the pomanders They were worn tied to the waist or wrist and were made with resins and spices, and also with edible elements, and were used by people of all social classes. ”The fashion of pomanders It is not limited only to the wealthiest and richest. It is possible to make it yourself by sticking some cloves into an orange or a lemon,” says the author.
Collado also points out other very aromatic edible products, although less common in our country, such as bergamot and Calabrian citron, which only with their presence manage to perfume a room. However, he offers a simple recipe with ingredients that we all have on hand: cloves and a lemon or an orange. “If we stick cloves into a lemon or orange and let it air dry, we will obtain a wonderful natural air freshener.”
Although we remember it in butcher shops and chicken shops, where this aromatic gadget serves to give a clean aroma to the window, as well as to scare away possible insects, the truth is that the tradition of making this type of scent balls, technically called pomanders or scented ointments, dates back to the 16th century. As Robert Muchembled explains in The civilization of odeurs (Les Belles Lettres, 2021), the pomanders They were worn tied to the waist or on the wrist and were made with resins and spices, and also with edible elements such as oranges and cloves. “The fashion of pomanders It is not limited only to the wealthiest and richest. It is possible to make it yourself by sticking some cloves into an orange or a lemon (…) or even into a ball of clay mixed with scents.”
On the other hand, flowers have been one of those ingredients that we first contemplated as an aromatic object, although this was not always the case. Without being clear which of its uses was the first, the truth is that the custom of eating aromatic flowers is widespread throughout the world, as Constance L. Kirker and Mary Newman have been able to verify in Edible Flowers (Reaktion Books, 2016), the most complete volume dedicated to edible flowers. A good example of this are geraniums, which today we perceive as an ornamental plant whose flowers are very fragrant in their Spanish variety (Geranium endressii) and, however, were once part of multiple recipes for jellies, cakes, desserts and teas. in Victorian England, a time in which the passion for flowers was such that a language was even built around them, which they called 'floriography'.
Of course, roses (most of the Rosa genus can be eaten) have been the protagonists of such famous recipes as the rose wine that was made in Ancient Persia 2,000 years ago or the essence of roses used to season the wine in Ancient Greece and Rome, medieval marzipan or, more recently, the quail in rose sauce from the novel Like water for Chocolate (1989), by Laura Esquivel or the iconic Ispahan macaron by Ladurée.
The same thing happened with lavender, to which Queen Elizabeth I was addicted: she wanted all her rooms scented with lavender and, in addition, she asked to be served a lavender preserve with each and every one of the meat dishes she ate daily. . “Starting in the 16th century, lavender began to be widely used in the same way as rosemary, especially the English variety (Lavandula angustifolia), which has less camphor and resin and is therefore preferred in cooking. “Used as an herb for savory cooking, it goes well with different meats, especially lamb,” explain Kirker and Newman, who point out that it was commonly used in French Provence, where lambs grazed lavender when possible, in a mixture of herbs that It also contained rosemary, marjoram, thyme and basil to create a mixture for grilled meat, and from 1970 onwards it began to be marketed as Provençal herbs.
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