Sense of smell

Forums: Cooking, Milk, Smell, Senses
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I'm a bit odd, as many here will agree, but right now I'm talking of my lack of sense of smell. I also have screwy vision, and poor hearing. I'm pretty used to all this.

My father couldn't smell either. So, huh, hereditary.
I've had my nose checked out at a university lab of a researcher in this subject, and failed to do their test correctly. One had to choose what the aroma was coming from the various vials, and in something like 95% of the cases I couldn't smell anything. The test was set up so that you would choose, I suppose thinking that subliminal smelling might show up. Pah! Occasionally I could smell something but not be able to identify it, and once in a great while I could. Frustrating test. Since I had to Choose One, I picked the first choice... all those 95% of the times. Which I explained to them. No doubt they threw away the results.

Once in a while in daily life I can smell. Cheese, sometimes. Walking into an italian deli... occasionally I get a whiff when peeling an orange..
but I'm more famous to myself for having the class walk out when hydrogen sulfide was exposed, and I didn't get it. Or, me being the lab person selected to work with 2 mercapto ethanol (in a hood).

I seem to smell the onions I am cutting, but that is not precisely smelling as such (that I read).

I spent decades as a garden designer but I don't smell roses (but I can read about fragrance). I was on a job with my father filming in a - urgh - slaughter house and stockyard, smelled nothing.

So it goes, I still like roses.

So all my life I haven't been able to tell when food or liquids smell bad. I've asked others. That's not so easy now in my slower more isolated life, so I have some questions.

These re regular grocery store products -

How long does your milk last? speaking generally
How long does your half and half last?
How long does your cream last?

I always err on the side of caution and so far so good, but that can get expensive.
How about buttermilk?

I don't smell burning and I don't smell gas, which has some additive so people can smell it escaping. These are obvious dangers and why I'm weirdly careful.

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@ossobuco,

Osso, that must be very frustrating with three of your senses diminished.

With respect to milk - look for lumps Smile

Or that skim cover on the surface. A sort of colour where you can see things are separating or changing. That's how I tell.

How is your sense of taste? I read that the senses of smell and taste are strongly related. Do you enjoy food?

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@Mame,

Hi, Mame. It is, but also I'm long term used to it all.

True, I look for lumps for sure. Sometimes there's a lack of fluidity, before lumps, and that's a clue. At worst, I taste it.

I've long railed about the assumption that one who can't smell can't taste. You know me, I'm food mad. Do I enjoy food? I was a foodie before that word happened, annoying word as that is. On the other hand, I may not have a total lack of ability to smell, although not smelling hydrogen sulfide is pretty bad. Let's say it is markedly diminished.

I will admit that I tend to like punch with herbs and spices. I like anchovies, you don't... I like chiles others eschew.

I often don't mind, appreciate, bitter, while many friends totally avoid that.
But see, I think they're the weird ones..

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So that's a myth then, that with no sense of smell comes no taste? I'm mighty glad to hear that for your sake! And yeah, we're all a little weird - to others, if not to ourselves Smile

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@Mame,

Well, it's hard to disspell a myth as one person. Maybe with my teensy teensy teensy sense of smell I somehow get giant wafts of taste with whatever remaining smell pellet.

Maybe I should donate my body to the smellaroo scientists.

Meantime, I do enjoy tasting, I take it, like most people, as must be obvious by my long time posts.

I'll add, I'm probably bad at identifying herbs.

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Man, that has to be tough. Then again, I'm allergic to fish and nuts, so I hardly ever eat dessert. I don't miss what I can't have, I guess.
Nothing else to add other than, regarding milk products, I would go by the due date, although it's not always accurate, plus or minus the date.

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@Ceili,

Ceili wrote:

Then again, I'm allergic to fish and nuts, so I hardly ever eat dessert.

How many fish desserts have you ever had? LOL I've never had one, much less seen a recipe for one Smile

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Ok, that was poorly worded, but no I've never had a fish dessert either, but I'm sure there's a chef somewhere who's working on a weird molecular dish somewhere. Wink

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@Ceili,

I suspect the dates on bottles aren't much of a clue - but that is the basis for this question

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@Ceili,

Don't get me going on the molecular food foo...

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@ossobuco,

Dates on many products have less than zero value once they've been opened.

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Milk without lactose doesn't hardly ever go bad. I used to get it for that reason. It tastes ok, but without lactose, I don't know if it's officially milk. I once accidentally left a container out overnight in the summer. Took a sniff. It was fine. Go figure.

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@Roberta,

I didn't know that about lactose free milk.

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@ossobuco,

I just saw this thread. I am sorry you have this problem. Until I read this I don't think I've ever really thought how important a sense of smell is. I don't think I've even heard of anyone not being able to smell. Are you going to have anymore tests done to see if they can figure out why this is?

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@Arella Mae,

No - I presume it's hereditary. I don't think there's much research on the subject; the researcher I did go to years ago was unusual. I was seen by him after reading a large article about him in the news.

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@Ceili,

Ceili wrote:

Man, that has to be tough. Then again, I'm allergic to fish and nuts, so I hardly ever eat dessert. I don't miss what I can't have, I guess.
Nothing else to add other than, regarding milk products, I would go by the due date, although it's not always accurate, plus or minus the date.

allergic to nuts??? What are youuuu doing hereeee???

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@Fido,

Distance is a good barrier.

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I suspect a lot of us with our odd differences have been quiet for... urgh, centuries.

I'm not interested in bashing ... just wondering.

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@ossobuco,

Well, at least you can taste. Something has happened to my ability to taste, and I suppose that's a side-effect of some medication I'm taking of late. It's been decided, by those doctors in charge, that my headaches and other little annoyances are called migraines. So, that's easier to take than other diagnosis
that scared the shat out of me. I guess there are many kinds of migraine headache and mine is caused by the weather.

It's not actually that I can't taste, but that there is this constant awful taste, sorta like a chemical taste, or metalic. Dreadful. Can't say which is worse, eating all the time, or not eating because food doesn't taste right. Except ice cream, jello, that still tastes great.

But, with these little tiny magic pills my headaches never occur. And, that's amazing. I sleep like a baby, also. Wonder what's in them, probably arsenic or rat poison. Ha ha ha, that's funny but some medications contain those in very small doses.

About the milk, I wouldn't keep it more than a week, maybe a few days, or get two smaller bottles instead of the qt. size. Buttermilk, the same. I like lactose's creaminess. I'll think about you, Osso, when I can't taste and you can't smell.

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@Pemerson,

Hi, Pem.

Egads. I'm well used to my problems, like old shoes, but not yours.

Be well.

1 Reply

Sense of smell

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