"odor" news and stories

Just yesterday, a NYC maple syrup mystery was solved. For several months now, there has been a mysterious smell over Manhattan that's been identified as maple syrup-like. Scientists in New Jersey and New York examined chemical registries, air samples, weather reports and 311 call logs. So what is the cause of this stink? Mayor Bloomberg states - New Jersey.

Frutarom factory in North Bergen is responsible for what the New York Times calls an "aromatic mystery". Mayor Bloombery assured reporters yesterday that the smell is harmless. The factory produces this smell on nights when it processes fenugreek seeds. To see what these seeds look like, check out AOL's coverage on the story. So, what's the deal with these seeds?

Fenugreek seeds are often used as a spice in Indian cuisine, in particular curry. Interestingly, in the U.S., fenugreek is often used as a flavor in industrial less expensive maple syrups. In the Middle East, it's used in many sweets. And, in Egypt, it's made into a tea and sold at coffee shops. For me, what began as an intriguing story over a syrup mystery has spurred an interest in discovering this aromatic spice and herb.

Be it fish, garlic, or cabbage, dinner is delicious - until it's all gone, but its scent remains in the air, permeating the furniture and generally grossing you out.

Aside from sticking a fan in the window and setting it to 'exhaust,' Apartment Therapy has some great suggestions on how to get rid of those lingering odors:

• Leave a dish of vinegar on the counter overnight, or leave it out while you're cooking (careful of boiling it, though, because then you'll replace the fish smell with vinegar, and that's not really any better)
  
• Simmer a mixture of half-vinegar, half-water on the stove
• Simmer a mixture of lemon and orange rinds on the stove for about half an hour. Throw some cloves in, too, if you have them
• Before you cook fish, core and slice an apple into thin layers. Then submerge the apples and fry them in oil until they turn brown. Then, go ahead and cook your fish.

There are two reasons why brussel sprouts are not the most universally popular of foods. The first is that they are easily over cooked and, like the larger cabbages that they are related to, can develop a mushy texture and an unpleasant smell. The second reason that they aren't that popular also has to do with smell, but this one is one that they cause, not one that the sprouts give off themselves. Fortunately, both problems are easily remedied by proper preparation.

"Overcooking causes chemicals in the sprouts to react and emit sulphur," in turn imparting a biter taste and smell to the sprouts. To properly enjoy sprouts, start with fresh, crisp ones that have tightly curled leaves. They should require only 6-8 minutes of steaming or boiling before they are crisp-tender. Taking care not to overcook them, try braised brussel sprouts or oven roasted brussel sprouts, which will hopefully change the way you think about (and smell) brussel sprouts.

If you still don't like the cabbagy flavor of the sprout once it has been properly cooked, you can always try Shredded Parmesan Brussels Sprouts or Bacon and Cheese Brussels Sprouts.

For more Brussels sprouts recipes visit KitchenDaily.com.

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I don't know how many of you folks out there have noticed that it isn't just the perfume makers who are using those scented ads in magazines. Pepsi did the same when it released its Black Cherry / Vanilla flavored Diet Pepsi Jazz. Scratch and sniff ads have been around for awhile but for dog food? Pedigree tried them at supermarkets and pet stores. Have you walked into a bakery and smelled that warm and comforting aroma of just baked bread? My local bakery has an electronic dispenser that sprays an artificial baking scent into the store every few minutes. Mars has been scenting its M&M World retail stores with a chocolate smell to make the experience more enveloping. Verizon recently did the same in its stores with the release of LG Chocolate phones. Do you remember smellavision from old TV cartoons? Well it's here. ScentAndrea has an 8,000 scent dispensing, flat panel screen monitor available in stores like Kroger's and Wal-mart to help make sales.

Scent is the most powerful of the human senses, and the most primitive. This is something I first learned when I was studying psychology in college. The right scent can trigger deep and long forgotten emotions and bring up feelings of every type. Marketers have known about this for a long time, which is why scent is starting to play a bigger role in many products advertising budgets. The best part about it from the sales perspective is that smell can help nudge you in a certain emotional direction without the person even noticing it. Sort of like a nasal version of Vulcan mind control. To boldly go, where no one has smelled before. Keep your eye's out... Uh, nose, for a lot more scent marketed advertising to come.

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Without naming any names, some cultures have a tradition of overcooking vegetables almost to the point of mush. If you had a grandmother or a great grandmother who liked to prepare vegetables in this way, you are probably familiar with one of the least pleasant smells that the kitchen has to offer: overcooked cabbage. When overcooked, cabbage tends to emit a faint (or strong, depending on how much cabbage is being cooked) smell of sulfur. To cope, the usual strategy is to turn on a fan or open the windows, but this week I heard about a different technique. Apparently, if you add a whole, unshelled walnut or a celery stalk to the cooking water, there will be no smell.

I don't cook enough cabbage to test this - and certainly try to avoid overcooking it, in any case - but does this actually work, or is it just an old wives' tale?