Aromas/scents and memories
 

This is a bit of a continuation from a thread on the Recipies forum. It has been proven that our sense of smell can evoke the most memories. I am wondering if any of you have a specific scent or aroma that you always associate with a certain event. I know I do. Growing up, Saturdays were housework--including washing and waxing the floors--and Mom's home made bread/buns. The two scents together--floor wax and yeasty baking--can take me right back to my Mom's kitchen, stealing a still-hot bun from the cooling rack and racing to my room before Mom could tell me that I was ruining my appetite for supper!

What scent or aroma brings back the strongest memory for you?

We lived with my maternal grandparents. My Nanny would do spring and fall deep cleaning, washing walls and floors with Pine-Sol. My grandfather, Pa, would wear Canoe or Old Spice. My grandmother would wear jean Nate then later Giorgio. My mom would wear Shalimar then later Clinique Happy. Those scents bring back a flood of happy memories. Miss them all dearly.

From the time I was 4 to 14, my dad's second job was running a print shop out of our basement. He would start after dinner, and work until midnight. The big printing machines used tons of thick black ink, that had a very unique smell. We would go to sleep every night with the smell of ink, and the rhythmic sound of the machines running. Every once in a while a magazine or paper will remind my of those sounds and smells. When we moved, he sold his most of his equipment and upgraded to a sleek new quiet machine. It took us quite a long time to fall asleep to the sound of silence!!

Old Spice brings back memories of my now, deceased husband.

Scents are my most proliferative memory engine. My most annoying one is the smell of newspaper.

My dad had an almost 1000 customer paper route. After assembling those newspapers and advertisements all Saturday and waking up at 2am to put together the rest of the paper, I would ride with my with my dad to help deliver all those beasts. The constant stop and start always made me sick. So the smell of newspaper instantly makes me nauseous.

Yay internet!!!

When I was little my parents used to take me to a local park. The park had a lake and on Sundays you could hire little motor boats and chug round the lake.
The smell of the fumes from a 2-stroke engine takes me straight back to my childhood.

The smell of coffee brewing. My Dad always had coffee before he headed off to work at 5am. Never did care for the taste, but I love the smell.

Ham hock and green beans.

the combo smell of bologna and oranges. first grade coat room where we kept our packed lunches. now necessarily wonderful, but a powerful smell memory

My father loved the smell of burning leaves. Whenever I smell them, I think of Dad. Also when my mother made Sauerbraten, the scent would go through the entire house. Every time I make it, I go back to my home. (in my mind)

Thanksgiving turkey, Sunday dinners roasting in the oven. Pine Sol when mom cleaned, coffee and oatmeal every morning. Fresh baled hay being loaded into the barn.

pea silage, barn, sauerkraut fermenting, wet dog, -

i also remember strawberries ripening in the sun, old fashioned roses, bread baking-

dh used to use aqua velva- hmmmmmm!!

PineSol cleaner. yuck. for decades that smell make me ill.

When we bought our current home (125 year old farmhouse in serious need of repair) I walked in the door and it immediately reminded me of my Grandma's house, and felt like "home" from the start.

When we remodeled the entry way, we found a lot of mold and rot in that area. No wonder it reminded me of Grandma's house. We'd go in the back door and you could either walk down the steps into the basement or up a few steps and through the door to the house. So the smell that was always first to hit you walking into Granny's house was musty old basement. The rest of her house usually smelled like what ever she was baking at the time.

My DM always had Honeysuckle vines and the smell always takes me back to my childhood.

I should say i like the smell of hot chicken noodle soup. always have, always will. nice.

* Shredded red cabbage with a bit of sugar, water & vinegar simmering long on the stove (Grandma’s House - yummy)

* Home permanent solution (awful smell but had to endure it when Mom gave us permanents)

* Popcorn at our hometown movie theatre

* Climbing into bed with sheets & pajamas dried on the clothesline (Mom hung them out even in winter & brought them in frozen to finish drying)

The smell of turkey cooking. It always reminds me of the times I lived with grandma, and all the holidays we spent at her house. That and her chocolate cookies. Mmmmmmmm!

When I was growing up I awoke each week to the aroma of Mom making her sauce. There is nothing quite like it to me. She lived in her kitchen cooking and baking up a storm but her sauce still scores highest with me. She still makes it too!