Inside the Olfactory Mind of Oksana Marafioti

Oksana Marafioti's American Gypsy is a memoir of assimilation told from a Romani point of view. Her story is frank, poignant and often humorous, allowing readers more than a glimpse into a culture that is home in many lands, but rarely understood. Romani culture is one of fusion yet there's a constancy that pervades everything when it comes to family and tradition. Whether Marafioti's intention was deliberate or not, she is part of a growing number of Romani who are putting a human face on the word "gypsy", a word distorted by stereotypes, fashion trends and prejudice. Marafioti is no stranger to the world of the senses as you can see from her responses to the Glass Petal Smoke Sensory Questionnaire.

1.  What does your sense of smell mean to you?

If you think of a human being as a Matryoshka doll, levels of "self" confined inside a single outer shell, the sense of smell would be the closest to the center, to the heart. The deepest, most hidden and most unexpected memories are linked to my sense of smell.

2.  What are some of your strongest scent memories?

I remember walking through an old Russian cemetery on a dare. It was overgrown with oaks and pines and flowers of all kinds. I carry this smell with alarming clarity; probably due to the terror I felt. Fresh pine needles combined with overturned earth, and a soft, barely noticeable scent of lavender. Vanilla from the paskha cake my grandmother used to make for Russian Easter also comes to mind. Very sweet and reassuring.

3.  What are some of your favorite smells (things in nature, cooking &/or your environment)?

My kids. Every smell about them makes my heart sing. I know it sounds silly but that’s the best way I can describe it. One of them will run up and give me a bear hug, and I’ll bury my nose in their hair and think, "that just made my heart sing."

In nature, the ocean. The scent of an ocean is as wild as the ocean itself. A whole bunch of ingredients rolled into one gorgeous presentation. Salt, but not as high-pitched as table salt. This is deeper and bigger. Salt mixed with the sun and the sand. Together they create a layered kind of a sensory atmosphere. The top layer is dry and feels baked, maybe because of suntan lotions and what they smell like after a long time out of water. The bottom layers are noisy and wet and fishy, more primal. Every time I take a deep whiff of this combo, I feel emboldened.

4.  Do you have any favorite smells that are considered strange?

Sauerkraut. I love its sharpness and intensity. 
 

5.  Describe one or more of your favorite cooking smells.

Onions fried in butter. Where I come from almost everything is cooked in butter. I grew up with it, and it gives me an instant dose of comfort no matter where I smell it.

 








6.  What smells do you most dislike?

Gasoline. Mom once told me she used to crave the smell of gasoline when she was pregnant with me. I also dislike a mixture of blood and alcohol. Metallic, burning, foreboding.

 7.  What smell did you first dislike, but learned to love?

The smell of lamb cooking. It used to make me feel sick to my stomach when I was a kid. It was very invasive. There’s no way you couldn’t smell lamb for miles. With time, I grew used to it. Because the Greek/Armenian side of my family makes lamb dishes regularly, it was inevitable. Plus, once you taste lamb chops, your nose grows to love the smell.

8.  What mundane smells inspire you?

The smell of a fresh new notebook always makes me want to write!

9.  What scent never fails to take you back in time and why?

The smell of clean linen, but without all the perfumes. I associate it with the smell of sunshine. I never realized that sunshine had a smell until I figured out this connection. In the old country, my mom used to hang the laundry to dry outside, and the sun would etch itself in the fibers. Every time we changed the sheets I’d bury my face in the sunshine convinced that I could actually wrap myself in it.

10.  What scents do you associate with memories of loved ones?

For my mom, the scent of Climat, her favorite French perfume. For dad, the smell of a velvet lined guitar case.

11.  What fragrance(s) remind you of growing up?

Pussywillow trees in bloom. They grew all over Moscow. Once the air was filled with the aroma of the pussywillows you knew that spring had arrived.

12.  What fragrance(s) remind you of the places you visited on vacation?

Grilled meat always reminds me of living in Italy where I’d go to the downstairs Greek restaurant to get my gyro fix almost every night. I also remember the stuffy incensed smell of old Italian churches. Now, every time I come across any smell close to Frankincense, I remember walking around those beautiful buildings during my stay in Italy.  

13.  Describe a piece of sensory literature that is very magical for you.

Perfume by Patrick Suskind. It is a startling realization that we are influenced by our senses even as we go through life under the impression of complete control over them.

Notes:

You can listen to a great interview with Oksana Marafioti talking about her book, American Gypsy, on NPR.

The Gypsy Chronicles, a wonderful website, is filled with timely, relevant news about Romani life and culture. Glass Petal Smoke recommends that you bookmark it for future viewing.

UK Chef Tom Ewer celebrates his Romani heritage on The Gypsy Chef and is currently working on unearthing the culinary roots of his heritage.

Great Russian Gifts sells beautiful nesting dolls online. The photo of the set in this article is called Camilla. Rights revert back to Great Russian Gifts.

"Forest Cemetery" is a landscape painting by Ivan Shishkin that accompanies the second question in this article. Shishkin also has a planet named after him.

Image of Sauerkraut from Steffan's Dinners. 

Image of onions in butter by Saffron and Salt. Rights revert back to the owner.

Image of lamb lentil stew by Five Rings via Creative Commons.

Image of Rhodia "Webbie" notebook from Exaclair.

Image of clothes line by Michael Gäbler via Creative Commons.

Image of blooming pussywillow by OutdoorPDK via Creative Commons.

Photo of botafumerio in the Cathedral of Santiago by Michael Krier.

The Perfume of Braised Leeks

The spectrum of color in summer fruits and vegetables is as rich as the multitude of flavors they provide. So what does one do when the season changes, just shy of the multihued foliage that portends the stark landscape of winter? Forage the farmer's market for the last of summer leeks!

Leeks are harvested in summer and winter with a noticeable difference in strength of flavor from one season to the next. Summer leeks are less alliaceous than their winter brethren, and slightly smaller in size. On sight, a leek looks like a giant scallion which is a reflection of the flavor profile of this vegetable. A freshly cut leek is redolent of scallion and sweet onion, but braising releases a delectable fragrance that registers "soup" in the brain. The perfume of leeks lingers long after a dish has been cooked, infusing the kitchen and nearby environs with the comforting aroma of sustenance. If you live in an apartment building your neighbors will know you are cooking if there are leeks in the pot; their aroma is a savory siren song to even the most sublimated of appetites.

One of the joys of preparing leeks is the way the vegetable looks when it is cut crosswise. The concentric circles that form the stalk have a fractal quality that cause one to ponder the perfection of nature. Braising leeks in a pot over the stove is one of the best ways to cook this vegetable. Faye Levy's recipe for "Turkish Braised Leeks with Carrots," in Feast from the Mideast is divine. Preparation takes more effort than cooking as leeks have a tendency to collect dirt in their fronds. Careful rinsing easily remedies the matter and is worth the effort. Glass Petal Smoke has modified the recipe to taste, which you are free to do as we all cook from intuition, memory and our own sense of flavor.

Turkish Braised Leeks with Carrots
Recipe by Faye Levy
(Modified by Michelle Krell Kydd)

Ingredients

• 3 large leeks (rinsed, cut crosswise, then into halves)
• 4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium Spanish onion, chopped
• 4 medium carrots, chopped
• 1/3 cup miniature white kalijeera rice  (white baby Basmati rice is also good)
• 1 1/3 cup chopped San Marzano tomatoes from a can (Roma tomatoes are fine)
• 1 14.5oz Chicken Broth
• 1 1/2 cups of water
• 2 tbsp. dark agave nectar (or 1 tsp. raw sugar)
• 2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• fresh black pepper to taste

Directions:

• Clean and prep leeks, onions and carrots.
• Heat olive oil in a stew pan over medium-low heat.
• Add onion and cook until translucent, (five minutes with the lid on, stirring often).
• Add leeks and carrots. Cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add rice, tomatoes, chicken broth, water and agave nectar. Bring to a boil.
• Cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes or until vegetables and rice are tender (check every 8 minutes to make sure that everything is moist, adding a bit of water if needed). 
• When the dish is finished cooking turn off heat and add lemon juice.
• Serve garnished with chopped parsley and a bit of fresh black pepper to taste.

Notes:

This recipe was tweaked using more carrots, "San Marzano" tomatoes, aromatic rice, agave nectar and chicken broth. The alterations add richness and flavor to the dish. The original recipe can be found on pages 248 and 249 of Faye Levy's Feast from the Mideast. 

Feast from the Mideast by Faye Levy is no longer in print. Glass Petal Smoke recommends getting your hands on a used copy. Biblio.com is a terrific search engine for used books and is highly recommended as it supports independent booksellers.

Inside the Olfactory Mind of Sommelier Jaime Smith

Tasting wine is a multisensory experience, but for sommelier Jaime Smith the equation of "smell + taste = flavor" is colored by synesthesia. People who have synesthesia experience one sense with the added layer of another sense. Smith's synesthesia includes the perception of smell with color.

"Natural smells for me are seen as a soft color whereas chemical smells are more of a jagged or sharp or very bright color; similar to either easy lighting or stadium lights. I smell everything all the time. I can concentrate and nose in on a single smell in a room; I can differentiate people by their soap or chemical stamp, and then their color pattern. (Great trick in the dark by the way.) The more smells that they mask themselves in, the brighter they are. If they don’t use anything, soap, hairspray, etcetera then their natural smell is an even cleaner and distinct smell/color and I sometimes think that this is how blind people identify us."

Smith's knowledge and passion for wine has earned him respect in the wine world. He exudes a charming, honest vigor that is strong on opinion and tempered with humility (he earned the title of "Best Sommelier in America" two years in a row, but never mentioned it until the end of this interview). His resume includes several prestigious gigs, including five years as Head Sommelier/Wine Buyer at Aureole Restaurant at Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino (when it received the Wine Spectator's exclusive Grand Award).

"Wine is liquid art and I have been a docent my entire life. At Aureole I had collected the world’s greatest library of wine to catalog the world’s liquid offerings...I have been all over this beautiful bubble to see wine regions, meet the people and eat their food, and I've been lucky. How do you build a sensory vocabulary? Simple. TASTE!!! And do it with others, this isn’t something you do alone; you need to be a novitiate under a mentor. You always need a guide and after that, you share the road; you are never on the path by yourself."

After reviewing Smith's responses (especially question 12) one wonders if there is a wine Sherpa lurking under the hood.

1. What does your sense of smell mean to you?
It is my lifeline to the external world, my most visceral and animalistic sense.

2. What are some of your strongest scent memories?
Blooming magnolias by my bedroom window, age 4.
Grandmother's Guerlain perfume. 

Fried chicken.

3. What are some of your favorite smells (things in nature, cooking and/or your environment)?
Any floral smell.
Riesling.
Warm skin.
Pizza.

4. Do you have any favorite smells that are considered strange?
Body odor.

5. Describe one or more of your favorite cooking smells.
Burnt things in a pan.
Bread.
Pastries, cookies and pies.
Tomato sauce.

6. What smells do you most dislike?
I don’t like the smell of cleaning agents, super high peaky alcohols or sickening sweet fake smells. I don't have an ability to deal with bullshit scents pushed on women from cheap smell factories like The Body Shop, though I do love Lush!
 
 













7. What smell did you first dislike, but learned to love?
I can’t think of any.

8. What mundane smells inspire you?
Fresh breezes.
The sun.
Clean skin.
 

9. What scent never fails to take you back in time and why?
Chanel no 5. My mother always wore it.
Jasmine trees that grew near my childhood house.
Cut grass. Reminds me of being a kid.

10. What scents do you associate with memories of loved ones?
Mostly cheap perfumes and houses filled with the smells of cooking.
Cold seaweed water (Lake Ontario).

11. What fragrance(s) remind you of growing up?
Anything from the natural world.
I grew up on a farm and the four seasons all have their own charm.  

12. What fragrance(s) remind you of the places you visited on vacation?
Patchouli for the Caribbean.
Ambergris for North Africa.
Wine for everywhere.




 











13. Describe a piece of sensory literature that is very magical for you.
The Count of Monte Cristo is ridiculous; I have visited all of the places and the book trips me up.

Notes:
Wednesday is Indigo Blue: Discovering the Brain of Synesthesia is a terrific book on synesthesia written by Dr. Richard E. Cytowic and David M. Eagleman. According to Cytowic and Eagleman, “synesthesia” means “joined sensation, such that a voice or music, for example, is not only heard but also seen, tasted, or felt as a physical touch.”

Ron Winnegrad of International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF) will present "Synesthesia in Perfumery" on November 10th, 2012 at 1pm, at the Museum of Arts and Design. 

Poet Arthur Rimabaud described his synesthesia in the poem "Voyelles". Many famous artists, writers and musicians had synesthesia. You can see the list here.

Jaime Smith recommends the following books for those who want to learn more about wine; The Oxford Companion to Wine by Jancis Robinson,  Wine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine Varieties Including Their Origin and Flavours, by Jancis Robinson, Julia Harding and Jose Vouillamoz new book which will be released in October 2012, and Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia by Tom Stevenson.

The wooden nose featured in question seven is actually an eyeglass rest made of sheesham wood (Indian rosewood). 

Floating Gold: A Natural (and Unnatural) History of Ambergris by Christopher Kemp is a must-read for anyone interested in ambergris and how it became a storied substance (its use in perfumery is legendary). You can read an excerpt from the book here.
  
You can download The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas for free on Project Gutenberg.

All rights reserved on photos marked with title and Michelle Krell Kydd.

The image of a multicolored bust by Igor Zimmerman. Rights retained by author.

The image of seaweed is from the University of Karachi. Rights retained by author.

Photos without attribution are licensed via Creative Commons. 

Smell & Tell: Olfactory Writing Workshops

The neon sign at Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches in Ann Arbor, Michigan invites quizzical stares and laughter, but it gets to the point. Nothing seduces appetite like the aroma of food. It doesn't matter if you aren't hungry. The monkey mind will hone in on the smell of food until it finds the source. That is why appetite is one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

Though she realized her fragrant calling in Berkeley, California, perfumer Mandy Aftel attended the University of Michigan and has roots in Ann Arbor. The city has the flavor of Europe, the intellectual horsepower of an Ivy League community and an honest Midwestern spirit that is reflected in hyperactive volunteering and a boundless local food movement as intense as California's (the state of Michigan is the second most agriculturally diverse state in the country). A pattern was forming in my mind as I connected the dots. The idea of olfactory writing workshops began to gestate. It was obvious that Ann Arbor was hip to smell.

Having read the olfactory signs I decided to conduct two "Smell and Tell Olfactory Workshops". One was designed for students at 826Michigan. The other was created for adults who frequent events at the Ann Arbor District Library. Selling the concept of smell is not an easy task, but when you are in a curious college community the barriers are nearly non-existent because those who choose to live here are, for the most part, on a lifelong learning path. When librarian Erin Helmrich* related anosmia stories in our first conversation I knew Ann Arbor wasn't your average college town. Loss of the sense of smell is an invisible disability that is rarely acknowledged.

Both "Smell and Tell" workshops involved smelling a variety of raw materials and writing about the sensations that the aromas evoked. Attendees utilized "smell mapping" as a way to access words that described their experience (a technique I developed to help people translate feelings and memories evoked by the sense of smell into words and phrases). What transpired was unique for each individual as the sense of smell is autobiographical and therefore not subject to judgement regarding what is right or wrong.

Angeline smelled orange, lemon, vanilla, cinnamon, peppermint, and lavender on perfume blotters before selecting an aroma for the writing exercise at the 826Michigan Smell and Tell. What she had to say about lemon is a lesson in olfactory objectivity, something adults have a hard embracing as the years shape likes, dislikes and memories associated with personal preferences. Angeline's favorite smells are lavender, candy and flowers. Her least favorite smells are lemons, paint and wet dog. Interestingly enough, Angeline chose to write about her least favorite fragrance which makes this ten-year-old girl a terrific fragrance evaluator!

The Smell and Tell at the Ann Arbor District Library drew an interesting crowd that included University of Michigan medical researchers, students, artisans, food lovers and some of Glass Petal Smoke's followers on Twitter. From the dais I could see that Sharon was entranced by the raw materials smelled in class, especially Tahitian Vanilla and Rice Paddy Herb (the later was especially true for every member of the workshop as it is a dynamic, multifaceted and synesthesia-invoking scent).

Sharon's eyes were closed for a long time as she smelled a fragrant blotter and she appeared to have been catapulted between a waking state and a dream state. When she opened her eyes her lips parted in a smile. This illustrated story is what she created at the Ann Arbor District Library Smell and Tell. It includes the memory of a chemist who worked as a type of evaluator for a flavor and fragrance company in New Jersey (right click on the picture and save it to read all of the details).

Two more Smell and Tell Workshops are scheduled for the fall of 2012. "Sacred Scents and Aphrodisiacs" will take place at the Ann Arbor District Library on Tuesday, October 30th at 6:30pm. Children at 826MIchigan will experience the thrill of retronasal olfaction when the flavor of bubblegum is dissected in class. The date for this workshop is pending, but Glass Petal Smoke will let you in on a secret; a famous flavorist at Givaudan designed the aromas for this 826Michigan Smell and Tell (she was featured on CBS and in The New Yorker).

Notes:
Glass Petal Smoke is working with Erin Helmrich and the podcasting team at The Ann Arbor District Library to produce programs on the subject of taste and smell. Information will be posted on Glass Petal Smoke and the blog's Twitter page once the schedule is in place.

Kudos to Givaudan who supplied perfumer Yann Vasnier's Le Flacon (a perfume inspired by Baudelaire) and have always supported my educational initiatives. I never asked permission to print the formula for the fragrance in 2008 because it was a radical move to go open source with it; so my gratitude is immense as it won a FiFi nomination and Givaudan embraced it with open arms. Kate Greene, you are truly a gem!

Special thanks go out to Dream Air (Christophe Laudamiel and Christoph Hornetz) and their supplier Firmenich for providing the scents for the Ann Arbor District Library Smell and Tell. Msr. Laudamiel always answers my perfume history/chemistry questions in beautiful detail and I am most thankful for our professional friendship.

Additional thanks to Laurie Harrsen of the McCormick Corporation who supplied the flavor extracts used at the 826Michigan Smell and Tell. Your flavors led to the students requesting a more "food-oriented" class which I plan on delivering in the fall. Rhodia pencils were supplied by Karen Doherty of Exaclair and turned the experience of writing into a multisensory adventure. Copies of The Name of this Book is Secret, by Pseudonymous Bosch were generous donated by Lisa Moraleda at Little Brown Books for Young Readers, for which the children were most grateful.

Olfactory curriculum helps children connect their feelings to their thoughts, and teaches them to trust the invisible and seek out story in smell. When a child learns how to make something tangible out of an abstract sense like smell they become "makers" of things. Makers of things learn to develop intuition and are less likely to be passive in life and learning. This is the diamond in olfactory curriculum and was the catalyst for the creation of the Smell and Tell workshop for 8-10 year olds that premiered at 826Michigan in Ann Arbor on June 6, 2012. It is also something that resonated with Maria Montessori‘s approach to sensorial education.

826Michigan is one of eight satellite tutoring centers connected to 826National. The centers are designed to help children develop expository writing skills. 826National was founded by award-winning author Dave Eggers and educator Nínive Calegari (they started the first chapter,  826Valencia in San Francisco). Each outpost offers free tutoring which is camouflaged by a storefront with a particular theme. The storefront takes the stigma out of receiving tutoring and generates revenue that goes back into overhead expenses. Glass Petal Smoke recommends visiting the various online storefronts for holiday shopping as proceeds are directed to a terrific cause.

Laura Rose Vlahovich was born without a sense of smell, a condition known as congenital anosmia. She is a talented artist and designed the graphic of the aromas used in the children's Smell and Tell at 826Michigan. Check out Thrift Score, Ms. Vlahovich's Esty shop, for cleverly curated vintage housewares and home decor.

Mandy Aftel single-handedly catapulted the artisan perfumery trend with her book, Essence and Alchemy: A Natural History of Perfume. Aftel is currently working on her second book. Some of her food-grade essential oils (in the pantries of many famous chefs) are available at William Sonoma. The full line of "Chef's Essences" is available at the Aftelier Perfumes website. Mixologists are not strangers to these delightful ingredients, as evidenced in a recent New York Times article.

Rice Paddy Herb is available at Enfleurage. It is a "bucket list" aroma that should be experienced more than once in a lifetime. It evaporates in a brilliant flash of freshness that is sunny, verdant, ozonic and earthy; like standing on a dew-dappled grassy mountain under a blue sky on a perfect summer day. Rice Paddy Herb possesses an addictive cuminesque element minus the funk that reminds cumin haters of body odor. It smells fresh in both senses of the word which is, perhaps, its subconscious power.

Jimmy John's apparel offerings include men's boxer shorts with their "Free Smells" tagline. Smellculturists may infer/gift as they wish. [This product is no longer offered.]

The "Olfactory" graphic was designed by Jennifer Orkin Lewis and is used with permission. Rights revert back to the artist.

Photos of student work and associated images used with permission. Rights revert back to the image holders.