Experiencing food

How do you know what you may like if you don't experience it?

A few months ago, I was at Whole Foods. They have a soup and salad bar. I was debating about whether or not I wanted a Tomato Basil soup, so I lifted the lid, fanned the soup towards me, and smelled it. The woman standing next to me made this face like I had killed her mom. She then asked me why I felt the need to put my nose in the soup. I said...so I can smell it. She asked why...and I told her because I wanted to know if it smelled good or not. How else would I know if I wanted it. I think there was a bit more to the conversation, but the bottom-line is, clearly, she does not experience her food.

When I go grocery shopping, I smell my fruit. I smell my cheese. I smell breads. So much of taste is smell, and if you don't experience food with all of your senses, you're just missing out on half the experience.

As a child, I have very fond memories of grocery shopping with my aunt Lee. She taught me to smell my produce and squeeze it for freshness. I can picture her pushing down on one end of a cantaloupe to see if it was ripe. Our shopping trips, just the two of us, are still very special memories to me. Perhaps part of the reason why Lydia will be named after her :-)