“When I travel, I often try to mark the trip with a certain ingredient or smell. Usually it’s more than one, as I’m incredibly inspired when I travel. By setting these tastes and smells in my head, I can travel to these places once again…”
In an interview with VSCO’s Journal, Not Without Salt blogger Ashley Rodriguez goes on to cite Moroccan preserved lemons, Italy’s sweet and grassy olive oil, and “chocolate sprinkles over buttered raisin bread” from the Netherlands as flavors that stayed with her after she was home again, like sensory souvenirs.
Elsewhere, I’ve read that research has shown that our sense of smell is the best at bringing back memories, so this is a brilliant strategy.
While I’ve done this a bit, unintentionally (with sangria, for example), her perspective inspires me to make it a conscious practice.
What tastes and smells transport you back to another place? Have you ever tried to capture them or re-create them when you returned home?
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It’s microblog Monday! Read more tasty little morsels over at Stirrup Queens.
