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The Charm of Spices
Pepper, ginger, cloves and cinnamon: spices today are common and familiar and are used in the preparation of food and herbal teas or, in the form of essential oils, to scent the air of our homes. Concentrations of aromas and essences, spices have always fascinated humanity for their perfume, for their ability to preserve food, and for the prestige and wealth of those who once traded them. Since ancient times, spices have been used in sacred ceremonies, in the preparation and storage of food, and as medicines. There are reports of their use as early as the Neolithic period (8000-5000 BC)....
Why do we struggle to smell some scents? Are they more subtle?
The intensity of AROMAS. When we smell something, the first thing that we consciously notice is the different intensity with which the individual scents manifest themselves. When using TasterPlace aroma samples you will find that some are more intense and immediate, while others require more concentration and repeated sniffing to detect and discern the scent. The ease with which we perceive an odor is due to several factors, some depending on the smell itself and others not. A first factor is the concentration of odoriferous molecules in the air, meaning the greater the number of molecules that affect our receptors, the more intense the perception will...
Varietal Aromas of Wine
The bouquet of a wine is one of the most fascinating and complex things to describe. But what satisfaction when we can recognize a wine or a varietal blindly! Especially if we are novice tasters and we don't have hundreds (or thousands) of tasting evenings behind us. In reality, recognizing a wine or a varietal during a blind tasting is not at all easy even for the most expert tasters since the bouquet is the result of many variables (e.g. grape variety, terrior, winemaking, aging, etc.). However, some varietals come to our aid because they present recognizable characteristic aromas in a wine which distinguish...
Don't Fall into the Forgetting Curve!
Are you afraid of falling into the Forgetting Curve? Does this term make you anxious? The "forgetting curve" is a term coined by the German psychologist Ebbinghaus in 1885 to indicate the speed with which you forget memorized information. Ebbinghaus conducted numerous experiments with regard to memorizing information without meaning, and showed how the loss of memory is very rapid in the period immediately after memorization and then slows down: we forget 50% of the information we learn after a day, 75% after two days (therefore the 25% more) and over 90% after a week. He also observed that to counteract...
Transform your Kitchen into an Olfactory Gym!
Our sense of smell has been very important to the survival of our human race, but is no longer keenly developed and utilized in our lives today. Our sense of smell can unveil to us a world so vast, unknown and unexplored, that with only a few small work-outs, that can even seem like a game, we can transform our kitchen into an adventure park, and children can also participate! Are you ready to try this easy olfactory work-out? You must start with the intention not to cheat. ;) The olfactory tasting must be done blindly. What does that mean? Let's look at it this...