Smells of our past

The homemade strawberry jam I made

What triggers memories of your childhood? 

Often it is smells that I associate with my past.  The smell of cut or mowed grass reminds me of my dad mowing the lawn on a Saturday afternoon when I was young. I always think of my mum when I smell beetroot cook as that was something she did in summer.  Sweetcorn is a wonderful reminder of sitting together as a family munching through a pile of freshly picked sweetcorn covered in butter - fighting to see who will get the last cob. Pavlov covered in strawberries and passion fruit has a wonderful aroma, pea and ham soup in the slower cooker in winter . . .  I could go one forever. 

My mum was a great cook and almost everything we ate, she cooked, so the smell of food often brings back memories of my childhood. Nothing more so than the smell of jam bubbling away in the pot. I cooked jam last Friday - a mixed berry jam and it reminded me of all the jars of jam that both my mum and dad use to make and how it made the house smell so delicious.  


I feel sad for the many children of today who are not been brought up with the aromas of home cooked food. They don't know what jam smells like simmering in the pot, or the smell of bread baking, muffins cooking, freshly made biscuits (cookies) or a roast in the oven. These are smells that reminded us later in life of our childhoods.  

Like my mother, I believe in home-cooked food and as a result my children have these wonderful smells tucked away in their memories and as a result they too love to create wonderful smells in their kitchens and I pray that they pass this onto their children. 

Take-way food and pasta sauce from a jar just doesn't have the same smells as something that has been slow cooking for hours.  They are great once every so often, but nothing replaces a home-cooked meal.


Comments

  1. I completely agree - there are smells that make me think of my childhood too (not all of them good smells, sadly - eg. hospital smells)... I hope my children will remember lovely smells coming from my kitchen - I certainly started baking and cooking from scratch young enough for them to have no memory of canned spaghetti and 2 minute noodles, I think! :)

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    1. Yes, of course not are nice either :( but knowing how important smells are, its good to build up these memories in our children.

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  2. We all cook, I think if you eat you should cook and the smells of stews and roast dinners in winter are hard to beat, I also like the smell of rain and gum trees smell great after rain in summer but childhood memories are triggered by the smell of baking cakes my mum always cooked cakes and biscuits on Saturday afternoon for the week, nothing beats that smell.
    Merle..........

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    1. I also love the smell of a summers evening (the cooling air and gully winds) and the smell of gum trees in summer but the smell of fire is not one I like at all.

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  3. I don't know about smells in my childhood...not many. I grew up with the jars and boxes. But there are tastes and patterns (dishes/plaids) that send me back. I was visiting a little cafe that had a bunch of old dishes and the pattern in them reminded me of my childhood and my mom. I almost cried.

    Joluise, I just want to dip a spoon into that jam! Good job.

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    1. If you lived closer and I would invite you over for scones, jam and cream:)) with a lovely cup of tea.

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  4. hmmm that jam looks great! yes, certain cooking smells definitely take me back to my childhood too:) happy new year Jo!

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    1. Happy New Year - lovely to hear from you and I hope you and your family had a lovely Christmas period.

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