The smell/taste of _______ brings me back to _______ (good or bad!)

[Miri1]

OK, I'll start. The smell of caramel corn takes me back to being a little child and going to our neighborhood Fedco. Even now, though that store has since become a Target, I can still smell that popcorn even though it's been gone for years.

Also, the smell of tomato soup brings me right back 2nd grade in my elementary school's cafeteria. It's not a good memory, but I love homemade tomato soup :)

Your turn!

[hungryabbey]

The smell of cinnamony apple crisp reminds me of my grandma. She used to make the BEST apple crisp, and although I have tried and tried to duplicate, I will never get it right. I miss it so much.

[redfish62]

I have a thing for the smell of greasy cheese pizza, the kind that is sold by the slice, because back when I was in my teens that was pretty much the only pizza that was available ... brings back memories.

It's hard to find these days.

[Miri1]

Another one is the smell of fresh baked bread. It reminds me of my childhood in Venice, CA. We lived near the Pioneer Bakery (the old one on Rose Ave that's no longer around) and every day, when my mom drove me to school, we passed the bakery. The smell was intoxicating and to this day, 20 years later, I can still smell it when I visit the old neighborhood.

[juliewong]

Though not food - as a child I was always ill and always on cough syrup which had that nasty artificial cherry taste and smell. Ever since if I smell artificial cherry - could be candy, flavouring whatever makes me go ..ewwwweee.

Smell of movie theatre popcorn will take me back to the days I went to the show once a year with my grandmother at Easter and even today I will drool and consume the entire bag.

[goodhealthgourmet]

similarly, anything with artificial orange flavoring reminds me of St. Joseph's baby aspirin. blech.

[FoodFuser]

To this Day
a whiff of the delight and the scent
of butter and eggs doth ignite me.

The butter, gently candled,
The eggs, fried or scrambled

I'm a victim of a waft of butyric olfactory
aromas that collude and collide in my nose.

[vil]

Here is one that comes to mind.

I grew up in the British colony of Hong Kong, and I have an aunt who used to work at a department with the Military. I vaguely remember being brought to the building here and there when I was very small, and apart from the peaceful setting with lots of tables and chairs, all I can remember is, the whole place smelled heavily of.. cheddar cheese! At that time, cheddar (or any real cheese) was barely heard of or used there by most people, so I only remembered the smell as milky, strong and mysterious. It was only much later that I had the privilege of learning what it was, because the school I attended introduced us to it in cooking class.

There was never any food or the kitchen in sight, and I never asked about it, so it remains a mystery where the smell came from. But I would be transported back to that mysterious setting whenever I come across the smell of cheddar cheese mixed with wooden furniture.

[mrbigshotno.1]

The smell of tangerines and grapefruit remind me of a good childhood in southern Arizona, also the smell/taste of tamales prepared with lard.
Although not food, the smell of baby powder puts me into convultions.

[jhopp217]

I hope you're talking about baby powder in a good way. I love that smell

[goodhealthgourmet]

convulsions aren't usually a good thing...and i'm with mrbigshot. i can't stand the smell of baby powder.

[vil]

Me too! I loved it so much I used to even play with it. I think the manufacturers were successful associating that with the innocence and comforting memories of childhood, because at least for me, it brings me back to those places.

And to put some focus back to food, I used to make dough out of it, and "bake" the cookies and figurines in the secret compartment in my sit-on toy car.

[jhopp217]

Pepperidge Farm Milano or Chessmen cookies always remind me of my grandparents. They always had them in the house.

[goodhealthgourmet]

very, very bad: back in my early 20's i had emergency surgery to remove impacted, infected wisdom teeth...the dressing they packed my sockets with contained clove oil (it's an antiseptic),and that stuff is STRONG. that was nearly 2 decades ago, and to this day anything that smells or tastes too strongly of clove still makes me gag.