Nose Dive: A Field Guide to the World's Smells feat. Harold McGee

Did you know that all humans go through a period, during late infancy or early childhood, when their sense of smell judgement is almost completely blank? That's the reason babies put anything and everything in their mouths. It turns out disgust and displeasure for particular tastes and odors are learned. 

Renowned food and cooking scientist and James Beard award-winning author Harold McGee takes us on a sensory journey in this episode. We learn about the importance of smells, what McGee calls a ‘smell renaissance’, and more on the particles we breathe in —the molecules that trigger our perceptions of certain scents, such as flowers, food, and even tin cans. 

Listen in as Greg and Harold give us an insider's view of McGee's latest book, Nose Dive: A Field Guide To The World's Smells.

Episode Quotes:

How does knowledge of food science affect our dining experience?

It just seems to me that it adds a dimension. It adds a layer of appreciation. When I eat something, even knowing the compounds, it's not the compounds that I first encounter. It's my experience. It's the taste and the smell and so on. And if it's interesting enough, I've always wanted them to understand more about it. Why does this thing have this wonderful flavor? Why did the grouse have that effect on me? And so learning about what underlies that experience, it seems to me, if you're drawn to the experience in the first place, it just adds a dimension of appreciation that you wouldn't have otherwise.

How are different disciplines such as history and humanities intersecting with food science?

So, it started in the late 1970s, around that same time that I had discovered food science as an academic discipline. But, I still have trouble understanding why it is that something so fundamental to human existence wasn't a respectable academic subject. I know many people who proposed thesis projects on food, history, sociology, and philosophy and were told by their advisors, 'No, you can't do that.’ Now, it's very different. Now, there are food studies programs all over the place and all kinds of exciting work being done. I think there just had to be this kind of shift in attitude in the academy that then helped make the study of food not only fun and fascinating, but respectable.

Why do humans camouflage smells that are reminiscent of their animal nature? 

We're living in more crowded conditions than we did way, way back. And so, we're in contact with each other more intimately, more often. And we're— generally speaking —shut up indoors. You know, we don't spend that much of our lives outdoors where the air is fresh. So, we have to create this illusion of freshness indoors, which has led to the dominance of citrusy, piney kinds of smells, becoming the sort of smell clichés for “nice” indoors. And we are reluctant to impose our personal smells on other people. Or to have other people's personal smells imposed on us because there's no escaping them if they're there. So, I think that's a big part of it.circumstances in which we live have changed over the centuries. And that has led to this kind of deodorization of our daily lives.

Why do humans have such sensitive noses?

I think the general point would be that smell is a chemical sense. It tells us what molecules are in our neighborhood. And, that's been important to life from the very beginnings of life. The first single cells needed to know what direction they needed to float in, or propel themselves in, to get food or to avoid toxins. So, it's just absolutely fundamental to life. And, in mammals, we now have a sense that has been developed, for us, in particular, with our noses up off the ground. A sense that has developed to answer the needs of our particular biological and ecological situation.

Time Code Guide:

00:01:09 The Author’s Background

00:04:36 How the discipline of Food Science evolved in the last 30 years

00:20:38 Can our smell map be enhanced through cultivation and exposure?

00:23:16 Can people in business be trained in using their smell, the same way that body builders are trained?

00:24:07 How smell training help people who lost their sense of smell because of Covid

00:28:12 How our body decides what kind of smells we will like or repulse

00:30:19 Understanding rotten cheese smell

00:32:12 Why is there a trend for fermented and funky smelling food globally?

00:33:30 Integrating smell in the fake meat manufacturing process

00:34:25 How our diet affects the way we smell and our biological make-up

00:37:23 Animal signals and smell

00:42:48 Bio-alchemy and fermentation

00:46:57 The Renaissance of smell in all aspects of life

Show Links:

Guest Profile

• Profile from his official website
• Harold McGee on Twitter

His Work

• Articles and Journals
• Nose Dive: A Field Guide to the World's Smells
• Keys to Good Cooking: A Guide to Making the Best of Foods and Recipes
• On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen

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