The earthy aroma of homemade bread toasting on a wood stove, wafting its way up through the air vent into our bedroom each morning. That is one of my earliest food memories.
“We all have our food memories, some good and some bad. The taste, smell, and texture of food can be extraordinarily evocative, bringing back memories not just of eating food itself but also of place and setting. Food is an effective trigger of deeper memories of feelings and emotions, internal states of the mind and body.” – The Harvard University Press on John S. Allen’s The Omnivorous Mind
Studies prove the sense of smell is the sense most closely bound to memory. The sense of taste, however, has to run a very close second. When combining smell and taste, now that is a recipe for what memories are made of.
Food and all its associations are part of my life every day, yet I seldom post about food and those associations. Today the focus is food.
When I reflect upon warm and positive memories through my past, most of them include food in some way. I bet you could say something similar as well. Memories such as my mom tending and picking her home grown tomatoes and rubbing the leaves of the plants to expel their pungent yet ever-so-appealing scent; certain dishes my mother served or taught me (creamed peas & eggs on toast; salmon patties; macaroni & tomatoes; garden fresh borscht heady with the fragrance of the rich beets and an abundance of fresh dill); Mom’s soft boiled eggs served in an egg cup with a touch of salt and butter; the foods we ate for Christmas Eve (and the glow of the Christmas tree lights in a darkened living room); that first plate of fried oysters in a little diner in downtown Edmonton; my Aunt Mary’s poppyseed ‘long John’ buns that I always looked forward to; and the multitude of good times while sharing meals with friends.
“If you really want to make a friend, go to someone’s house and eat with him… the people who give you their food give you their heart.” — Cesar Chavez
As I reflect upon some of those times, I realize it’s the encounters or involvement with those I was with while preparing or eating the food that has baked up those delicious memories. In essence, that is the reason I tend to seek out every opportunity for ‘breaking bread’ with others. Not only do I delight when receiving an invitation to join friends for a meal, but it’s also why we frequently invite friends for either a brunch, lunch, or dinner at our home. I’ve even joined a “Chop n’ Chat” group where a dozen of us get together each month, in a different person’s home each time, to learn a new skill or recipe and then share it over the camaraderie of food, fun, and laughter.
The function of enjoying the food, delightful as it may be, only lasts a few minutes. The memory linked to that experience over food will likely last a lifetime.
“The table is a meeting place, a gathering ground, the source of sustenance and nourishment, festivity, safety, and satisfaction. A person cooking is a person giving: Even the simplest food is a gift.” — Laurie Colwin
Wishing you all a week of moments to savour, hopefully sharing with friends or family. I’d love to know one of your favourite food memories. I’m waiting …
Looks delicious, all of it.
Beautiful photos. The access to memory through smell is so interesting and curious to me, that the brain should work like that. For me, smells — including food but lots of other things — transport me to places from 30, 40, 50 years ago or more (I’m 58), and given my mother’s love of Birdseye and Minute Rice, most of the places are not my childhood kitchen, but I love your memories of your mother in the garden and serving and teaching you special (ordinary) dishes. Thanks.
Lovely! One of my favourite food memories is the setting afire of the plum pudding on Christmas Eve. It’s a tradition I’ve carried on to my own family.
i agree with your thoughts here and what a fine collection of images. i’ve never seen the shell left on the egg as you photographed it, but it certainly makes the image more interesting.