The influence of culture and traditions on the perception of smells

[Solua Botanica]

While cutting my Christmas tree, I had a wonder moment about the way I perceive the iconic smell of the Balsam Fir.
I felt as though this smell was so close to me since early childhood memories.
You see in my culture, we have the tradition of going out in the forest as a family and choose it, then cut it, then sleigh it back home.
After a light pruning and cleaning from mom, the tree was allowed inside in glorious fashion, sometimes covered in snow.
Then the family would gather and affix their own favorite decorations, light it up and gaze at its beauty together in joy.

So I wondered, why do I find it so sweet and comforting, why do I smell spices and vanilla in the sap ?
Maybe it's the eggnog and special cakes and cookies that interfere between my memory and olfactory cells ?
They are closely located in the brain BTW.

It made me think about how our past experiences can really influence our perception of a smell.
Maybe others will chime in on your personal cultural sense of smell.
Until then, I keep thinking about all kinds of silly questions...
Does someone from Asia enjoy the smell of Galangal more than I do ?
Does a Latino enjoy a strong cilantro top and heart note ?
Do scandinavians enjoy the smell of fermented fish ?
And I could come up with hundreds of things like that...
Things I'm not accustomed to that can strike my olfacotry sense in a different way than someone from somewhere else ?
Hope to hear others experiences on that.

 

[xii]

Peculiar selection of examples.

 

[Alex F.]

Do scandinavians enjoy the smell of fermented fish ?

Nobody enjoys the smell of surströmming. It's terrible. And it keeps haunting you for a long time with each little burp. It's just another excuse to drink plenty of akvavit.

PS: Cilantro on the other hand has a wonderful smell. The two galangals I know - Alpinia galanga and Kaempferia galanga - smell very good, too. I particularly enjoy dried Kaempferia. A wonderful aroma.

 

[jfrater]

While cutting my Christmas tree, I had a wonder moment about the way I perceive the iconic smell of the Balsam Fir.
I felt as though this smell was so close to me since early childhood memories.
You see in my culture, we have the tradition of going out in the forest as a family and choose it, then cut it, then sleigh it back home.
After a light pruning and cleaning from mom, the tree was allowed inside in glorious fashion, sometimes covered in snow.
Then the family would gather and affix their own favorite decorations, light it up and gaze at its beauty together in joy.

So I wondered, why do I find it so sweet and comforting, why do I smell spices and vanilla in the sap ?
Maybe it's the eggnog and special cakes and cookies that interfere between my memory and olfactory cells ?
They are closely located in the brain BTW.

It made me think about how our past experiences can really influence our perception of a smell.
Maybe others will chime in on your personal cultural sense of smell.
Until then, I keep thinking about all kinds of silly questions...
Does someone from Asia enjoy the smell of Galangal more than I do ?
Does a Latino enjoy a strong cilantro top and heart note ?
Do scandinavians enjoy the smell of fermented fish ?
And I could come up with hundreds of things like that...
Things I'm not accustomed to that can strike my olfacotry sense in a different way than someone from somewhere else ?
Hope to hear others experiences on that.

I think that what you are saying is completely true in terms of man in general - the smell of running water and cut grass probably appeals to most of us as it has a many thousand year history of being the smell of human survival. But for the rest I suspect it is entirely individual. I love fruit cake because I grew up with it but many of my friends utterly hate it.

 

[Alex F.]

I agree with the general point, too. Memories (and traditions) play an important part in how we percieve and make sense of the world. They're interwoven automatically in new impressions.
(Fruit cake was an acquired taste for me, by the way. I didn't like it as a child, but now I love it. It has to be made mostly of fruits like pears, apricots, dates, figs and raisins. No succade or orangeat (unless I made it myself). A slice of that with butter and a cup of coffee for breakfast and I'm a happy man.)

 

[Solua Botanica]

I know my silly cultural questions are weird, it was just related to three 'scent events' I had recently.
I tried using galangal root in a new recipe, and it was really overdosed, my guest left the dish in the plate and just kept mentioning that weird smell in the kitchen. I wondered what Asians guests would have said...
I put a tiny bit too much of cilantro EO in a trial, that's all I could perceive with top and heart notes.
I wondered if my Central American friend would like it as perfume....
I has a scandinavian friend come visit from Sweden and as a gift he brought me a little jar of fermented fish and fermented cod liver oil....
That was a very repulsive smell in my kitchen....He was laughing so hard...

 

[Alex F.]

I has a scandinavian friend come visit from Sweden and as a gift he brought me a little jar of fermented fish and fermented cod liver oil....
That was a very repulsive smell in my kitchen....He was laughing so hard...

That's why you best eat surströmming outside. Correction, that's why you best don't eat it at all. 😁

 

[Solua Botanica]

That's why you best eat surströmming outside. Correction, that's why you best don't eat it at all.

Wise advice....from someone that knows it.... I guess it was a prank/gift from my friend.
I tried it, it sure tastes funky, but it's healthy and it built generations of strong, resilient scandinavians !

 

[marcelo123]

yes culture influences how we perceive smells, but some smells are universally liked according to research main ones include vanillin, linalool, ethyl butyrate, phenethyl alcohol, etc... theres a paper out there but im too lazy to look for it xD

 

[jfrater]

I agree with the general point, too. Memories (and traditions) play an important part in how we percieve and make sense of the world. They're interwoven automatically in new impressions.
(Fruit cake was an acquired taste for me, by the way. I didn't like it as a child, but now I love it. It has to be made mostly of fruits like pears, apricots, dates, figs and raisins. No succade or orangeat (unless I made it myself). A slice of that with butter and a cup of coffee for breakfast and I'm a happy man.)

Even your post delightfully illustrates our cultural uniqueness! I had to look up succade and orangeat. I hate both also.

Here's a tip for you which I think may have come to my from my Scottish ancestors of recent memory: take the old fruit cake and fry it in butter (like French toast). A sprinkle of whiskey or brandy upon completion while hot (or flame it in the pan if you like) and add a dollop of cream (clotted or whipped) to serve.

 

[jfrater]

I know my silly cultural questions are weird

It's all colour in the wonderfully rich tapestry of the life we all share together in this small group of individuals pursuing a common love. Don't stop

 

[David Ruskin]

Here's a tip for you which I think may have come to my from my Scottish ancestors of recent memory: take the old fruit cake and fry it in butter (like French toast). A sprinkle of whiskey or brandy upon completion while hot (or flame it in the pan if you like) and add a dollop of cream (clotted or whipped) to serve.

I used to do that with day old Christmas Pudding.

 

[David Ruskin]

I think how we perceive different smells is cultural to a large extent, which is why such terms as "fresh" or "clean" become meaningless, as they mean such different things in different cultures. Our odour memories are entirely personal, and can be very powerful; viz Proust's Madeleine and Lime Flower tea.

 

[Casper_grassy]

This post makes me realize how shitty city life is.

 

[David Ruskin]

Wherever we live there will be sensory stimuli; as many interesting smells in the city as in the country (maybe more!).

 

[Solua Botanica]

This post makes me realize how shitty city life is.

Wherever we live there will be sensory stimuli; as many interesting smells in the city as in the country (maybe more!).

I live in the remote wilderness, and while there are beautiful smells in nature, I really enjoy my trips to the city for the variety of smells I can encounter there... I stick my nose in everything. There is such a diversity of ingredients in the international markets, I feel like I'm traveling...
The smell of bakeries, coffee roasting, thrift stores, asphalt at the start of rain, ....so many interesting things I don't experience in my everyday life.
It feels special to me and it is always good inspiration....

Also, there are so many people wearing perfume... Yes a lot of similar and boring fragrances, but once in a while, I'll smell something great and I follow people discretly trying to pick up the ingredients they are wearing. I don't feel like a stalker, I feel like Sherlock...
Sure some smells are offensive, I would not equate the smell of backalley piss to hyraceum, but they have a slight something in common.

 

[jfrater]

I don't feel like a stalker, I feel like Sherlock...

I hope we don't hear about you in the news cycle next week! haha!

 

[Quay Limey]

...

 

[the_good_life]

We've had a couple of good threads on this issue. And I can still recommend a classic introductory reader from 1994:

Aroma: The Cultural History of Smell

Smell is a social phenomenon, given particular meanings and values by different cultures. Odours form the building blocks of cosmologies, class hierarchies, and political odours. They can enforce social structures or transgress them, unite people or divide them, empower or disempower. The...

www.routledge.com

"Smell is a social phenomenon, given particular meanings and values by different cultures. Odours form the building blocks of cosmologies, class hierarchies, and political orders. They can enforce social structures or transgress them, unite people or divide them, empower or disempower. The authors argue that the sociology of smell is repressed in the modern West, and its social history ignored. This book breaks the "olfactory silence" of modernity. It offers the first comprehensive exploration of the cultural role of odours in Western history - from antiquity to the present. It also covers a wide variey of non-Western societies. Its topics range from the medieval concept of the "odour of sanctity", to the aromatherapies of South America, and from olfactory stereotypes of gender and ethnicity in the modern West to the role of smell in postmodernity. Its subject matter will fascinate anyone who likes to nose around in the inner workings of culture."