The Smell of Nostalgia
You’ve probably had an experience where a wave of nostalgia or emotion washed over you as you took a bite of your grandma’s cooking or smelled the air outside after some rainy weather. This isn’t surprising considering that smell and memory are closely linked. That bite you took out of your grandma’s best dish? That whiff of wet earth you took after it rained? Both of these probably trigger some fond childhood memories of sitting down with your family to have a meal at your grandma’s house or cozying up in bed under a blanket and listening to the patter of raindrops against your window.
Recently, I glanced over to the world literature books sitting on my shelf and recalled a particularly memorable selection my classmates and I had once read. It was from “À la recherche du temps perdu,” or Remembrance of Things Past, by Marcel Proust. In it, Proust details his experience with this wave of nostalgia after enjoying some cake and tea:
“…at the very instant when the mouthful of tea mixed with cake crumbs touched my palate, I quivered, attentive to the extraordinary thing that was happening inside me...An exquisite pleasure had invaded my senses...Whence could it have come to me, this all-powerful joy?”
"Madeleines" by French Tart is licensed with CC BY-ND 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/
Our brains’ anatomy is the reason behind this phenomenon. In short, the olfactory bulb in front of our brain deals with smells and rapidly sends them through the hippocampus and amygdala within the limbic system, which handles the processing of memory and emotion. And the same goes for taste, since flavor is essentially smell. Smell molecules in food make their way up your nasal passages as you chew and into the olfactory bulb and limbic system for processing. This explains why a certain smell or taste can instantly trigger a vivid memory or intense emotion.
Whenever I eat a sandwich with a side of potato chips, I’m whisked back to the days when I’d spend hours swimming with my siblings in the backyard, racing each other over and over again to each side of the pool, stopping to munch on sandwiches with a side of potato chips, and then laying out in the sun on our towels after wearing ourselves out. Whenever I smell salt water, I remember our excursions to Crystal Cove, making the trek down to the beaches, jumping over the waves, and carving sandcastles and motes into the sand before they were melted away by the ocean. Even the lumber smell of a Home Depot brings me back to the countless times I’d accompany my dad there and catch a ride on the big orange carts while he shopped around for supplies.
For me, these tastes and scents trigger that same “all-powerful joy” that Proust experiences and questions the source of. But like most of us, he comes to realize the memories that are attached to these scents:
“And suddenly the memory revealed itself. The taste was that of the little piece of madeleine which on Sunday mornings at Combray...when I went to say good morning to her in her bedroom, my aunt Léonie used to give me, dipping it first in her own cup of tea or tisane.”
So, are there any tastes or smells that give you this all-powerful joy?
Wow, this was a very informative post. I didn't realize that our sense of smell was directly linked to our memory, but it makes sense. One of the smells that brings me joy is my mother's cooking. I can smell her food even when she is not actually making it.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post! I did not know the exact brain functions that contribute into these connections of food and memories. Very insightful. -Krysten Carpenter
ReplyDeleteI am left speechless, great imagery and examples. Very informative I was unaware that the nervous system played a major role in triggering memories.
ReplyDeleteI would have to say a fresh cut grass field takes me back to Friday night football. I can feel the pre kick off jitters such great memories to have .
Thank you for sharing. Very interesting topic. I was completely unaware that memories and certain scents could even be associated with each other. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this information Julia! I believe all the Disney Fanatics can agree that the ride Pirates of the Caribbean has a particular smell. When I get a whiff of that particular smell, I reminiscence all of my Disneyland adventures that I dearly miss. I cannot wait until I get to go back to Disneyland. When I eat handmade flour tortillas at a restaurant it triggers some childhood memories. I remember waking up on Saturday mornings and my Grandma would make my cousins and I ‘papas con chorizo’ with handmade flour tortillas. Eating handmade flour tortillas gives me the feeling of comfort and love.
ReplyDeleteI love that feeling. A smell that makes me experience this is the smell of pancakes, it takes me back to my childhood and how obsessed I used to be with pancakes. Even though I don't smoke, the smell takes me back to the rainy days when I was 17. This is so interesting, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the craziest feelings in the world. It usually happens to me when my mom cooks something she hasnt made in years! Awesome work!
ReplyDeleteHi,this topic was very interesting to read about and I think you put it together well! In which I learned new information on different ways that our brain functions.
ReplyDeleteSmells is one of those sense that allows me to be transported back to a memory or place that I have been. It also makes me stop and think "I know this smell. Why is it so familiar?"
ReplyDeleteDefinitely can relate to those smells! I visit only my mom twice a year since she lives in another country. Whenever I go back and step into the house, the first thing that comes into my mind is the cooking smell coming from the kitchen. It gets me excited and it is really a sense of reminding all the good days.
ReplyDeleteYou really shined some light on the powerful beauty of our anatomy, on how sensitive our senses react or trigger feeling and memories.
ReplyDelete