THIS IS PRIMARILY A VISUAL MAGAZINE. Not that the words aren’t important, but we editors and art directors take pride in how much time we spend planning the photo shoots and imagery that make Better Homes & Gardens such a feast for the eyes. For this issue, however, I wish we could’ve employed scratch-and-sniff technology because many of these stories would smell absolutely amazing—just like our memories of the holidays.
As the days shorten, we spend more time indoors than we ever did during summer. The house may be visually resplendent, the halls decked, and the tree trimmed, but the seasonal ingredient that might be the most powerfully evocative (and ethereal) is scent. Physiologically speaking, the central location for identifying aromas lives in the front of our brains in something called the olfactory bulb. This structure is closely tied to the limbic system, a command center for our emotions and long-term memory. That explains why scent is so closely allied with thought. Sometimes I have a memory (say, someone I haven’t thought about in a while pops into my head) that’s initiated by a fleeting aroma (such as their perfume) before I’m even aware of what the scent is. It’s almost like a visitation.
In my view, creating scent imprints at the holidays is a neglected tradition. Remember as a child the smell wafting into your bedroom of winter baking spices like cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, mace, and ginger as they caramelized in butter and sugar? In this issue, we add another time-honored note to our palates in our celebration of sweet almonds in all their forms (page 120). Scientists say many of us smell in color, meaning we see a particular hue when thinking of a scent. If the fragrance of marzipan or frangipane is golden yellow, then the spiky essence of rosemary (page 40) is dark green. I recall the cozy feeling I got when I caught a whiff of the onions, carrots, and celery my mom was sautéing in butter for her annual cornbread stuffing. It’s no accident that the primary component of taste is smell.
I’ve always been a fan of natural Christmas trees, primarily for the fragrance of pine, fir, and spruce they bring into the house. If I’m traveling and won’t be putting up a tree, I cut some branches from the yard and put them on the mantel or use them as table decor so I can enjoy their outdoorsy perfume for a few weeks. Paperwhites, a holiday classic, may not be everyone’s cup of tea since they can smell piercingly strong, but I love them. Their scent firmly places me in the year-end holidays. Our story on Christmas-blooming amaryllis (page 61) doesn’t mention it, but some hybrids have a light powdery, almost soapy, fragrance. Try a few hybrids and see if you agree.
Making a memory imprint is something I do a lot. If I’m taking a beautiful drive somewhere new and the perfect song comes on, I pause and imagine it as a future memory. If I have an incredible meal, I like to use all my senses to memorize it (instead of just taking an Instagram photo). Like unexpectedly finding a faded snapshot in a book, using scent mindfully can help us preserve memories for ourselves and our loved ones, delivering a deeper level of emotions that bind our shared past with the present.
We hope you have a deliciously scented holiday.
STEPHEN ORR,
Editor in Chief
instagram @steporr
PHOTO: CARSON DOWNING; HAIR STYLIST: IVY BOYD
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