What’s your favourite food aroma?

Scent is one of the strongest senses tied to memory. A whiff of a particular aroma can take you back in time; to a holiday by the seaside, your grandmother’s kitchen or your favourite sweet shop – food smells have the power to flood you with feelings of nostalgia. A scent can be comforting, satisfying and absolutely appetite-inducing.

Our office is constantly greeted with wonderful aromas from the test kitchen (tough life, we know) and it inevitably got us talking about our own favourite scents. We got curious and decided to ask the entire delicious. team what their favourite food aroma is. Then we asked some of our extended delicious. family and our twitter family too.

The most popular scent overall? Freshly baked bread (also Paul Hollywood’s favourite scent — we know because we asked him ourselves!).

The delicious. team’s favourites:

• Editor Karen Barnes – “Homemade marmalade bubbling away on the hob as it takes me right back to my mum making Seville orange marmalade in a huge cauldron of a jam kettle. It’s a unique aroma that, for me, means home and security.”
• Deputy editor Susan Low – “Gently frying onions: it generates a Pavlovian response, making me I feel instantly famished.”
• Editorial assistant Daisy Meager – “Nothing beats the smell of freshly baked bread – satisfying and comforting, it’s the smell that will make you feel at home wherever you are. An aromatic hug!”
• Food editor Rebecca Smith – “Fragrant cloud of steam that comes from red wine hitting the pan when you’re making a casserole.”
• Deputy food editor Lottie Covell – “Hot cross buns in the oven.”
• Food writer Rosie Ramsden – “Toasting fennel seeds.”
• Acting food writer Monique Lane – “Fresh basil because it smells like summer, reminds me of the med and fresh tomatoes.”
• Art director Jocelyn Bowerman – “Marzipan.”
• Acting art director Mark Taylor – “Fish and chips frying in a chip shop.”
• Art editor Martine Tinney – “Bacon makes my tastes buds tingle every time and it reminds me of being in the country.”
• Managing editor Les Dunn – “Sticking your head in a freshly opened bag of coffee. You can try in vain for the rest of your life to make it taste as good as it smells.”
• Deputy chief sub editor Hugh Thompson – “Pungent smell of a long-simmered hot, spicy curry.”
• Senior sub editor Rebecca Almond – “Barbecue  as I’m instantly jealous if the smoky smell wafts from anywhere other than my own garden.”
• Web producer Rebecca Brett – “Burnt toast. When I was younger my mum was a midwife and used to work nights. Every morning she’d come home and make herself toast for breakfast. She liked it rather charred so, every morning, I’d wake up with the smell of burnt toast wafting upstairs.”
• Promotions and marketing executive Hannah Sherwood – “Slow roast lamb studded with garlic and rosemary – because it reminds me of winter walks and coming home to the deliciously rich, meaty smell.”
• Digital and social media assistant Kathleen Silverfield – “Browned butter. The smell is nutty and sweet and it reminds me of pancakes or browned-butter shortbread cooking away.”

Our extended delicious. family favourites

• Dan Doherty @DanDoherty_ – Has to be roast chicken, with the smell of roasties knocking around too, of course.
• Roopa Gulati @roopagulati – Home-ground spices in garam masala: warming cinnamon reminds me of Xmas, toasty cumin – nostalgia, citrussy cardamom at Diwali.
• Xanthe Clay @XanthClay – Toast and the lactic whiff of good butter. Both wholesome and (these days) a bit naughty.
• Elly Pear @pearcafe  – Bay leaves – I find their scent so uplifting. I’d buy a bay leaf perfume if I could!
• Sabrina ghayour @SabrinaGhayour – Fresh baked bread…. Nothing seduces the nostrils quite like fresh bread does.
• Edd Kimber @TheBoyWhoBakes – Hard to beat melted chocolate or freshly baked bread, both remind me I have a job I love.
• Rosie Foodie @RosieFoodie I like the smell of really good beef dripping from roast beef, because it reminds me of Sunday lunch as a child.

Our delicious. fans’ favourites

• Daniela Ciocodeica ‏‪@Elena_DanielaC – Vanilla, cinnamon and bread (freshly baked).
• Amanda M ‏‪@umber_statement – Coffee, toast, cake.
• Florence and George ‏‪@floandgeo – Coffee, fresh bread, lime. Not all together though!
• Price My Kitchen ‏‪@PriceMyKitchen_ – The smell of crispy smoked bacon in fresh bakery bread.
• Paul Wright ‏‪@wrightyghost – Isn’t the smell of fresh bacon being cooked in the open air just about as good as it gets.
• Ellie Lane ‏‪@ElaBluEyes – Fresh baked bread….. *sigh*
• Jasmine ‏‪@nufinbutamuffin – Weirdly, I love the scent of raw, fresh cut aubergine.
• Kate ‏‪@BrownieQueen7 – Chocolate cake baking in the oven, vanilla and cinnamon.
• Becs ‏‪@becsj76 – Vanilla, it’s lush! And fresh baked bread.
• @ImprovingCook ‏‪@ImprovingCook1 – Has to be freshly baked bread. I also can’t resist fresh coriander.
• Deep Fried Bananaz ‏‪@DFbananaz – Banana bread straight out of the oven (all baked goods really). Reminds me of home & butter.
• Verstegen UK ‏‪@Verstegen_UK – Can’t beat warming spices now it’s getting colder. Cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.
• Eleanor Ruth ‏‪@areyouellie – Smoked bacon, mmm mmmm.
• Fiona Paterson ‏‪@FionaPaterson6 – So many but frying onions first equal with bacon for me.
• Tanya M. Bird ‏‪@thefoundbird – Popcorn. Garlic. Even when f’lup, if I smell garlic, I am *immediately* hungry.
• TipsyInChargeOfToast ‏@iDreamInCustard – Good fresh butter definitely smells even better than bread dough. Butter>‪dough>toast.
• Fishwife’s kitchen ‏@fishwifeskitch – Fresh dill. Reminds me of adventures, of travels and of first loves.

What’s your favourite food scent? Let us know in the comments below.