Are we the only ones who pause outside of a Subway because the baking bread smells so good? They're no fools; they know that a delicious scent can pull you in. Same goes for our kitchens. Certain foods—both sweet and savory—give of those comforting, familiar aromas that make us pause, breathe deeply, and sigh. Here are 10 we love.
TOP ROW:
• 1. A sweet, too-buttery treat. Something about a butter-laden pastry seems to smell even more enticing to us than your average banana bread or chocolate chip cookie. These Kugelhopf Breakfast Rolls would get us out of bed at any hour.
• 2. These work, too.
• 3. Bread. Is there anything more simple and soulful for making your house smell delicious? Here's a great, step-by-step tutorial as well as a guide to No-Knead Bread.
• 4. Something braised. Several hours of long, low-heat cooking makes the aroma permeate every corner of your house. Our favorite is a pork shoulder with onions and carrots.
• 5. Mulled wine. Great to have warming on a stovetop during a party.
BOTTOM ROW:
• 6. Caramelized onions. They start out oniony, then turn sweet as they cook—a perfect smell to come home to, in our opinion, and you can use them in so many ways. Try these Florida Butter Beans with Caramelized Onions and Bacon.
• 7. Ginger. Similar to onion and garlic... throw in some ginger and the fragrance takes on a whole new dimension. We also love the smell of fresh, raw ginger grated on the countertop.
• 8. And speaking of ginger... Gingerbread has the sweet, spicy, warm scent that makes us think of winter.
• 9. Sausage. One of our favorite savory smells, whether it's frying in a pan or added to pasta.
• 10. Popcorn!
Your turn: What are your favorite smells in the kitchen?
Related: Readers' Favorite Sounds in the Kitchen
(Images: See linked posts for full image credits.)
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I fried up some sausage last night to go with a skillet full of apples, red onions, and green cabbage - and boy did it smell good! The lingering waftings made me crave salty snacks at 10 at night. Lol.
I also love: applesauce, zested citrus fruits, pumpkin pie, and roasting chicken. Mmmm...
Agreed.
And to 2nd vintagejenta's thoughts, I love how zesting a slew of lemons makes the kitchen smell like a lemon Jolly Rancher (but better).
You forgot the Official Food of the Internet: Bacon! I'm partial to the smell of freshly-brewed coffee in the morning.
seriously? i run away from subway because i think that smell is so disgusting! that said, all of my neighbors appreciate the smells of my baking wafting through the apartment building!
I can't STAND the smell of Subway places either! Ugh you'd think baking bread would smell good but something goes wrong in the translation in and around subway. At home though, a nice loaf of No-Knead steaming away smells like autumn-winter-cozy-goodness
Ha! I made sausage with caramelized onions and spanish saffron rice last night! BOOYAH!
I never go in Subway restaurants because I can't stand the way they smell.
One of my favorite cooking scents comes from making toffee for Chocolate Toffee Matzo Candy.
@ the kosher foodies and @mimee25, I totally agree that Subway smells odd!
I need to make some of my own bread or mull some wine to make my house smell better. I made French onion soup over the weekend and while it was delicious, the whole house has a distinct onion odor.
Bakery chains use artificial aromas diffused in the air to suggest you're actually smelling fresh bread, even if they are not selling any that's freshly made. Maybe that's what Subway is using, too.
furthering the general dislike of the subway smell...
I have piles of cinnamon sticks in my pantry, so this weekend I've been simmering a few in a small pot of water on the stove. My kitchen has a nice cinnamon smell to it and it meshes nicely with all the holiday candy I've been making!
I am a savory kind of gal, and there are two scents that I wish I could bottle (though I'm sure everyone I encountered would think I was a freak if I wore these as perfume)- onions and garlic cooking, and bacon. Nosegasms.
Baking baklava makes the house smell delightful! Honey and toasted nuts, can't go wrong!
Baking. The smell of fresh baked goods (almost irregardless of what) always makes the house smell great. It also seems to draw everyone into the kitchen when you open the stove.
Can I just be boring and say freshly percolated coffee?
Subway does in fact use artificial aroma machines just outside their doors, at least according to Fast Food Nation. I find the odor atrocious, but I do get the concept... Right now cooking some chicken soup.. the smell itself is soul-hugging and soothing.
1. Frying garlic/onions.
2. Fresh coffee.
3. Baking pumpkin pie.
4. Brushing past the rosemary bush on my kitchen table.
5. Steamed milk.
6. Zested citrus.
7. Roasting turkey.
limecake..me too. best warm smell for me!
Hate Subway, love the smell of vanilla, or Thai food. Mmm.
My favorite smells in our home:
- fresh bread baking
- apple pie
- cinnamon rolls
- anything that involved zesting an orange or lemon
chocolate! bake this cookie recipe and the house will smell like chocolate... especially if you use a high quality chocolate like vahlrona.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Korova-Cookies-355952
i won't ever go into subway, i send my poor husband if needed. that smell is the worst and makes your hair smell too. yuck.
Cinnamon buns = heaven.
The smell of popcorn = gag.
I would have to say, my favorite smells are banana bread baking, baking sweet potatoes for my bourbon sweet potato recipe, popcorn, and hot buttered rums, since I make my own hot buttered rum mix. And we usually put in bourbon in lieu of rum. I love winter!!
cinnamon sticks in a old pot with water on low heat smells the whole house up U can add cloves and a bay leaf it lasts for hours!Or U can use popouri pot .also U can use vanilla extract,orange or lemon extracts just a few drops and the variety of smells makes u think uve been baking all day.
Pamela M, try using almond extract next time in your stovetop potpourri. I usually use orange peels although this week I only had clementines and their peels added a great scent too.
I may be strange, but a love to smell, celery, onion and bell pepper cooking together. Which usually leads me to my next favorite smell, a simmering pot of Gumbo.
I love the aroma of a wine/tomato/onion pasta sauce that I make. It simmers for an hour before adding some black olives, garlic and capers, and then the whole concoction smells heavenly!
But I also love the smell of freshly ground coffee and the smell of popped popcorn!
Chocolate. Chip. Cookies.
Done and done.
My house is on the market.
To 'help' with the sale I put the usual cinnamon and vanilla with water into a simmering pan then shoved it in the oven when lookers came with their realtor.
The realtor was a large woman who got totally obsessed with trying to find the fresh baked good, it's all she could talk about and actually went sniffing around. Next time, the real deal or nothing. Oh yeah, and save one for her.
coffee, bacon frying, warm brownies, and onions fried in beef fat.
Browned butter, yum! My all time favorite though, is candying lemons - lemon slices simmering in Karo or sugar syrup. Incredible!
We roast coffee at home and that may be those incredible smell
I was hoping this post would not involve cooking.
Roast Chicken and Chili - not just any 'o chili...but the chili I grew up with. It's ofactory comfort food to me.
- Fresh coffee
- Baked apples
- Chai with cinnamon, ginger, black tea and milk.
- Citrus fruits
- Roast beef
- Challah bread (bread you bake at home should smell really good, not artificial like in some places.)
- Cheese cake
- Fresh basil
- Garlic fried in olive oil
- Jam (strawberries, citrus, apricot..)
I had to laugh at the Subway comments. I used to work there in college, and I never saw an "aroma machine." They do bake their own bread, which I think smells gross: a bit like bread, but mostly like chemicals or preservatives. It comes from their corproate headquarters in smallish frozen lumps that stay in the freezer for days or weeks.
I think almond extract and vanilla smell awesome. We usually keep old quartered apples and cloves simmering on the stove top, which usually gets us a lot of compliments. Also: peppermint or cinnamon essential oil in a diffuser if I'm in the mood.
I want those sugary bun things! MmnMmm
cilantro, with or without lime. Seriously, I would wear essence of cilantro as a perfume if I could. Do you hear me Demeter???
This morning I attempted to make the Kugelhopf Breakfast Rolls but failed. I could not get the dough to come together in a ball after 10 plus min using the dough hook. Everything seemed fine until then. HELP
I keep a cinnamon stick in my teakettle or make tea with apple cider which smells wonderful.
Ditto on:
Fresh coffee
sauted onions
cookies
basil
cilantro
bread
Now I'm hungry...
Hear, hear, doris day!!! Fresh chopped cilantro is like catnip to me - it just shouts freshness. Fresh-brewed coffee, bacon, the cooking smells of my homemade meatloaf, monkeybread, sauteeing garlic, onions, and mushrooms, anything involving cinnamon, cloves, allspice, vanilla, or pumpkin-pie spice, and baking bread (almost any type will do) all make the house lovely. While making gingerbread, sugar, and peanut-butter cookies this holiday, I heard visitors enter my kitchen verbalizing distinct oos and ahs. Loved it!!
@ Doris, I thought I was the only one that wanted a cilantro perfume! I love it, You should try cooking chicken or beef in a cilantro salsa, your house will smell wonderful for hours and the meal is pretty great also!