Cooking without a sense of smell - Possible? (Help request) - General

Hi guys, figured I'd ask here since you got spotlighted and I've seen a number of delicious threads. Basically, I don't have a sense of smell, and I can't cook. I'm working on the latter, since I'll need to cook when I get a place of my own, but I'm just not sure how to proceed by myself. Has anyone had friends/relatives/acquaintances cook without a sense of smell? How'd it go? Is it possible? Are there specific recipes that would help? Or maybe I should stick to cooking things that don't rely upon smelling the product? I don't particularly know how to proceed, so if anyone has any experience for such a situation, it would be greatly appreciated.

This is pretty tricky. I'd think in theory since you don't have a sense of smell your sense of taste might be stronger. However now I've realized how smell would greatly affect someone. All I can say is taste various foods that you might think would be good and I guess take it from there. I know that It's possible because all you really need for cooking is taste, I'm sorry this didn't help much at all but it's all I can offer. Best of luck to you.

[QUOTE=Tall Russian;38129582]This is pretty tricky. I'd think in theory since you don't have a sense of smell your sense of taste might be stronger. However now I've realized how smell would greatly affect someone. All I can say is taste various foods that you might think would be good and I guess take it from there. I know that It's possible because all you really need for cooking is taste, I'm sorry this didn't help much at all but it's all I can offer. Best of luck to you.[/QUOTE] I do have a sense of taste. This is one of those things people tend to ask when they find out. I mean, I've had 19 some odd years to figure out what I do and don't like to eat. I'm a rather picky eater. The question I have is: How do I properly prepare food? I can't really smell and tell if something's burning, I've only got sight, sound, and taste for that. There's a few foods my family has cooked which I can identify with as being acceptable or good, but I can't cook 2 or 3 things for the rest of my life. [editline]21st October 2012[/editline] EDIT: Sorry if the first bit sounds a bit belligerent. Just trying to clear away any confusions.

Depending on what you like, I say that you can always try to look for recipes and then practice them. Something as basic as a vegetable stir-fry. If you dont have a problem with carrots, onions, bellpeppers or any other vegetable, you can just cut them and toss them in a pan with some seasoning. Or you might try some recipes that everybody else likes. I really don't see a huge problem with not having a sense of smell. Yeah, maybe when youre trying out something new or whatever, thats useful. But I, for example, have been doing stir frys for quite a while, because they're healthy, easy and quick to do. Most of the times I dont even pay attention to the smell or taste before finishing and I know its good. If youre cooking a steak, for example, you cant smell the difference between a rare, medium or well done steak. To determine that you usually take time, texture and how soft it is into account. If youre worried that it'll burn or something, just stay close to what youre cooking.

[QUOTE=D3TBS;38129966]Depending on what you like, I say that you can always try to look for recipes and then practice them. Something as basic as a vegetable stir-fry. If you dont have a problem with carrots, onions, bellpeppers or any other vegetable, you can just cut them and toss them in a pan with some seasoning. Or you might try some recipes that everybody else likes. I really don't see a huge problem with not having a sense of smell. Yeah, maybe when youre trying out something new or whatever, thats useful. But I, for example, have been doing stir frys for quite a while, because they're healthy, easy and quick to do. Most of the times I dont even pay attention to the smell or taste before finishing and I know its good. If youre cooking a steak, for example, you cant smell the difference between a rare, medium or well done steak. To determine that you usually take time, texture and how soft it is into account. If youre worried that it'll burn or something, just stay close to what youre cooking.[/QUOTE] Unfortunately I don't like most vegetables. I can't stand any of them raw. I can do carrots in a stew, where their taste is masked. I'm not sure what else is simple that I can do through. Meat is an interesting thing. Despite everyone's claimed love, I've never really attached to it until recently. I've discovered that I appreciate it seared or otherwise as close to rare as I can get it. I'm not sure how much of it I'll be cooking when I get my place, although I am definitely eager to experiment on that front.

I'd have thought your sense of taste would be more overly sensitive or stronger due to relying on it more than your sense of smell. Kind of like those who are blind, but have stronger hearing, etc. You probably could, but I'd reckon you'd need someone by your side to smell and see if it's good. Then you could associate those "good opinions" with certain tastes in your memory.

Taste and texture are the key things. If your making a soup / stew taste as you add. Alot of things you can visually see when its cooked, (pink centre of meat when raw) In your case it would be wise to stick specifically to instructions when following recipes as you wont smell if something is over cooking. Take your time and dont start too fancy. Good luck.

[QUOTE=Mr. Agree;38130158]I'd have thought your sense of taste would be more overly sensitive or stronger due to relying on it more than your sense of smell. Kind of like those who are blind, but have stronger hearing, etc. You probably could, but I'd reckon you'd need someone by your side to smell and see if it's good. Then you could associate those "good opinions" with certain tastes in your memory.[/QUOTE] Dunno how my sense of taste compares. I don't experience the "heavenly" tastes that some people do, but I think some of that might be exaggeration. And then it varies from person to person... etc. I taste things. That works for me. Unfortunately it's just not practical to have people stand by my side and smell things, but I will be doing that for my first forays. [QUOTE=Boss;38130240]Taste and texture are the key things. If your making a soup / stew taste as you add. Alot of things you can visually see when its cooked, (pink centre of meat when raw) In your case it would be wise to stick specifically to instructions when following recipes as you wont smell if something is over cooking. Take your time and dont start too fancy. Good luck.[/QUOTE] Thank you.

[QUOTE=Tall Russian;38129582]I'd think in theory since you don't have a sense of smell your sense of taste might be stronger. [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Mr. Agree;38130158]I'd have thought your sense of taste would be more overly sensitive or stronger due to relying on it more than your sense of smell. Kind of like those who are blind, but have stronger hearing, etc.[/QUOTE] That concept is a bit of a myth; people develop skills with senses they use, it's not like the brainpower gets transferred over to other areas. In any case, the sense of taste is very heavily based on the sense of smell as well, so I would expect someone with no sense of smell to have a weaker sense of taste. But honestly, I don't think lacking smell is a problem. Most of the time if you're checking to see if something's burnt you do that by taste, or by seeing smoke or excessive water vapor coming off of it. There really isn't much use for smell when cooking.

Man I would like to eat meat all day too, but sometimes it gets a bit too expensive. And unhealthy. Try not to focus that much on the ingredients, but on the dish itself and the flavors presented. Maybe when you get your own place, you should try stuff like, Spaghetti Bolognaise if you like pasta, or some chili if you like beans, which is also a really good recipe. But as I said, make a list of ingredients you like, and maybe post them here, and Im sure we'll come up with some suggestions

I'm pretty sure smell and taste are intertwined. Hence why people pinch their noses when they take something that tastes bad. Smelling helps you taste. There's a whole science behind it, but I'm not knowledgeable enough to spout out decent-sounding evidence. But yeah, if your smelling is compromised, it's safe to assume your taste won't be exactly perfect. Only way I can think of cooking is to search for tried and tested recipes online, and follow them to the point. Taste as you go as often as you can (obviously if it's safe to, don't taste if there's uncooked meat floating about or something!) and tweak it to your own preference. Cooking without a sense of smell sure adds complexity to an already difficult task, but I'm sure with time you'll ace it :) Best of luck, buddy! Key is to just keep on tasting as much as you can, so you can keep on track of things. A shame you don't have a sense of smell. If you don't mind my asking, how did you end up losing it? A huge perk of cooking is when you learn to associate smells with tastes, and as you add an ingredient, you can picture how it tastes in your head before having to physically taste it. [editline]22nd October 2012[/editline] PS: It is a well-known fact that smell and taste heavily affect one another. Was having a beautiful cup of tea the other day, and breathing in the steam from it really enhanced the taste, it was perfect.

[QUOTE=D3TBS;38130392]Man I would like to eat meat all day too, but sometimes it gets a bit too expensive. And unhealthy. Try not to focus that much on the ingredients, but on the dish itself and the flavors presented. Maybe when you get your own place, you should try stuff like, Spaghetti Bolognaise if you like pasta, or some chili if you like beans, which is also a really good recipe. But as I said, make a list of ingredients you like, and maybe post them here, and Im sure we'll come up with some suggestions[/QUOTE] Honestly I cannot name so many ingredients off the top of my head, but I'll say what I can think of: White rice, olive oil, meat (chicken/beef/pork/lamb/whatever), fish (rockfish/flounder/others I'm sure), potatoes, pastas, breads of all kind, oregano. I can do cheeses, mild usually with a preference to provolone, not sure that'll help. Helpings of pepper, salt? As stated, not much of a vegetable/fruit guy, sorry. If this isn't what you meant, please tell me. I'm still learning and not very good at this :v: [QUOTE=loopoo;38132060]I'm pretty sure smell and taste are intertwined. Hence why people pinch their noses when they take something that tastes bad. Smelling helps you taste. There's a whole science behind it, but I'm not knowledgeable enough to spout out decent-sounding evidence. But yeah, if your smelling is compromised, it's safe to assume your taste won't be exactly perfect. Only way I can think of cooking is to search for tried and tested recipes online, and follow them to the point. Taste as you go as often as you can (obviously if it's safe to, don't taste if there's uncooked meat floating about or something!) and tweak it to your own preference. Cooking without a sense of smell sure adds complexity to an already difficult task, but I'm sure with time you'll ace it :) Best of luck, buddy! Key is to just keep on tasting as much as you can, so you can keep on track of things. A shame you don't have a sense of smell. If you don't mind my asking, how did you end up losing it? A huge perk of cooking is when you learn to associate smells with tastes, and as you add an ingredient, you can picture how it tastes in your head before having to physically taste it. [editline]22nd October 2012[/editline] PS: It is a well-known fact that smell and taste heavily affect one another. Was having a beautiful cup of tea the other day, and breathing in the steam from it really enhanced the taste, it was perfect.[/QUOTE] Thank you. As far as I know, I was born without a sense of smell. Never been able to smell to the best of my knowledge.

This is an interesting topic, I've never really thought about what it would be like to cook without a sense of smell. To be honest the more I think about it the more I believe a sense of smell really isn't necessary when cooking. I honestly can't think of a time when my sense of smell mattered for something I was cooking, sure realizing something is burning could be important but most of the time you'll see smoke or hear something out of the usual long before you smell it burning (in my experience at least). So other then having a different sense of taste, as smell does affect the way things taste, there really shouldn't be a problem. Just find things that you like, try some recipes and if you don't like them try something else.

[QUOTE=scout1;38134033]Honestly I cannot name so many ingredients off the top of my head, but I'll say what I can think of: White rice, olive oil, meat (chicken/beef/pork/lamb/whatever), fish (rockfish/flounder/others I'm sure), potatoes, pastas, breads of all kind, oregano. I can do cheeses, mild usually with a preference to provolone, not sure that'll help. Helpings of pepper, salt? As stated, not much of a vegetable/fruit guy, sorry.[/QUOTE] Well, thats not really a wide variety is it? Vegetables are important because they're cheap and they're healthy. I would love to eat a big ass hamburger everyday, but I can't because of the 2 reasons above. Just try to get used to the flavour of the vegetables or something. Think to yourself, that its good for you and get pumped about it, I dont know. Another reason you should get used to more ingredients and really become more passionate about food, is that you get to eat different stuff more often. For example, you can divide your list in 2 parts: The main dish and sides. For example, you can eat any type of meat or fish with potatoes or rice, or even make a sandwich with bread, but you'll grow tired of eating the same thing every time after a while. And I dont know what type of food you eat at home, but maybe you could try foods from other cultures. Its great to understand more about a certain culture and about their cuisine. For me it would be mexican, chinese and indian, although theres a huge variety all over Asia that have beautiful dishes. Something else you could try doing is stews. You can put a bunch of meat and vegetables in water and let it cook for a while, then you get a delicious broth, and maybe the bad flavour of the vegetables gets to blend with the rest of the broth. You can even make some noodles and eat it like ramen. Ill leave a website here, you can just type what you like to eat and it'll give you some suggestions. [url]http://www.gojee.com/[/url] [editline]23rd October 2012[/editline] Also, pepper salt, and oregano dont count as what you like to eat, because all they do is change the flavour of your food. That, unless you like to eat spoonfulls of salt, then you should consider stopping

I have a very very poor sense of smell and I can cook fine. I can only smell powerful or very distinct smells (i.e. the smell of coffee, and I can tell when the air is thick with some type of scent, even if I can't actually smell anything). Most cooking you go by the feel/look/taste rather than directly for the smell, though smells can play a large part. Not for anything you'd be making for yourself though in an apartment. Worst case scenario just follow the directions in the recipie and you'll be fine

Thanks thanks thanks and a thanks. I can't promise a quick turnaround with a "You guys saved my life!" or anything, but everything here has been duly noted. I'm going to take all your advice in mind as I continue to learn and prepare to move out.

I also don't have sense of smell and it does not get in my way while cooking. Sure i'm no great cook, but people usually like my food, just focus on the taste and the texture.

Not having a sense of smell won't impair your cooking skill, my father has been in the restaurant business for a very long time and he's busy a lot of time with cooking. He lost his sense of smell a very long time ago and he is a great chef ! so I'd say don't worry, just practice cooking it's where it all starts

If you have no sense of smell,either where it's actually that you can't smell anything or just unskilled with scents,your eyes will have to compensate.

If you don't mind me asking, how did you loose your sense of smell? Were you born without it?

I actually know a Peruvian chef who has no sense of smell, he lost it when he was in a fire as a child. Great guy, great sense of cooking smarts. I constantly use my sense of smell when I cook, so I can't personally tell you how to do it, but it's at least possible.

[QUOTE=LSK;38179306]If you don't mind me asking, how did you loose your sense of smell? Were you born without it?[/QUOTE] I never had a very good sense of smell personally. Some people are just born without it I guess.