How to Describe Aroma and Flavor: “Brown Spice” or “Dirty Socks”?
What does black pepper smell like? Pungent, sharp, aromatic and, well, peppery. But how does that differ from white or green pepper? In A Natural History of the Senses, essayist Diane Ackerman describes smell as “the mute sense.” “Lacking a vocabulary,” she writes, “we are left tongue-tied, groping for words in a sea of inarticulate pleasure and exaltation.” Human beings can smell 10,000 different scents, but most of us would be hard pressed to describe any one of them without comparing it to something else, or even to itself. What does “earthy” smell like? That’s easy. Clay, or wet dirt, or perhaps leaf mold. But how would you describe the heavy scent of tuberoses in the humid night air on the island of Bali? Or the fragrance of cinnamon and cloves simmering in apple cider on a frosty morning? Our reference point in almost every case is either the scent itself—cinnamon or tuberose—or an analogous fragrance—clay or wet soil. In the world of spices, smell is paramount. It is aroma that
