#Anosmia

[incognitopolls]

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[a-polite-melody]

I hate how many things which are meant to be easy cooking recipes and tutorials rely on being able to “add spices by smell it should be obvious what goes together” or “smell when it’s done”.

Because like… is a beginner looking for something easy really going to have the right kinds of knowledge to do those things?

I’d expand further on that myself, but I can’t, because I run into another issue altogether:

I’m anosmic

I can’t smell

So no.

I can’t just smell the spices and tell which go together. Even if that were something the average person with no cooking experience could intuit by smell by remembering the smells of things they’ve eaten, I can’t do that.

I can’t just smell when it’s done or when the beginning of burning is happening to be able to use that to stop the cooking. Even if that were something the average person with no cooking experience could smell and interpret as a sign to take food off of the heat, I can’t do that.

It’s frustrating as fuck. I want to be able to cook. Every resource I’ve ever seen for people who were not taught to cook who are now learning in adulthood focus so much on using your sense of smell. Guess I’m fucked.

(And I’m very aware that this is probably the least frustrating and debilitating sense to not have/have a disability around in this regard. And it’s still fucked. I can’t even imagine if there were other barriers as well.)

[errrr-vent-blog]

we are so ableist about smell. "oh youcant smell ? yea youre probably just sick or something it'll pass" "youmean youcant smell that awful smell ?? YOURE SO LUCKY I WISH ICOULDNT" "its not a disability not to be able to smell !!" "youre so lucky to not be able to smell" "wellll even if it is a disability youre still lucky" and so on cause icould go on forever. why say that to an anosmic ? it isnt fair, im disabled too, and im NOT lucky for not being able to live a normal life like a non disabled person.

[blue-sleeps-in]

it's genuinely hilarious how fake smells sound. when was the last time you heard someone notice or describe a smell. I don't remember the last time anyone even mentioned the word "smell" and I don't think anyone ever described a smell beyond "good" or "bad" to me. no one EVER talks about it. you guys have to be making this stuff up

[godlessondheimite]

when i was a kid i thought scented markers were a scam and thought the other kids were lying when they said skittles had different flavors. eventually i figured out i didn’t have a sense of smell but whenever i told my parents this, they said that was impossible and so i didn’t know what the deal was until i got over and realized my parents were wrong.

[lily-of-the-valley-2763]

This is even funnier to me because I'm a questioning asexual who can't smell, and people will literally ask me to smell something even after I've told them I can't smell.

Like, just because your lavender or whatever scent is "really strong" doesn't mean my nose is going to start magically working 🫠

[runawaymarbles]

The most stressful part of anosmia isn't the BO. it's not being able to tell the spray bottle full of water apart from the spray bottle full of vinegar

[kariachi]

Sometimes I watch shows like the Great British Bake-Off, other cooking competitions, and I see the judges going to people and going "you've overseasoned, it's awful now" and I think "you would not survive my cooking". Because loves I am anosmiac, I season like it is the only chance I'll get to taste something, and in many cases it is. The word 'aromatic' is my mortal enemy. I always season to taste, so that I can taste, and anyone who gets caught in my path will simply have to adjust or make their own damn food.

I can't speak for other anosmiac cooks, but I know I probably wouldn't last on one of these shows.

[miaprime]

i apologize in advance for the person i will be on February 27th

[poll-palace]

(Anosmia is being unable to smell things)

[hellopuns]

Bun-Berry #32 !

It's MY webcomic and I get to pick the character who shares my disability

[frankchurchillsaysrelax]

i’m anosmic, of course i’m going to politely ask you not to shove things in my face and ask me to smell it…the first time. i’m anosmic, of course i’m going to have an anxiety spiral during the summer wondering if i stink after half an hour in the sun. i’m anosmic, of course i’m going to eat something spoiled once in my life and then obsessively ask people to check everything i eat in the future like some sort of medieval king afraid of being poisoned.

[disagigglebilities]

Me: oh ew someone farted.

Someone: I thought you didn't have a sense of smell.

Me: ...I can taste it in the air.

Someone: ,ew

[doratonkslupingaunt]

The way I (anosmic) sometimes talk about "taste" as I perceive it shows how fundamentally different it is from how most people perceive it. I had a conversation with my mum today where I told her I love oyster mushrooms the most and she was like "they're tasteless" and I was like????? No they're not????? In that case all mushrooms are tasteless, you have to add salt and spices to all of them to make them tasty, but oyster mushrooms have the best texture and they're juicy! And she was like ??????????????? Anyway I found it super funny and couldn't stop cackling because we just stared at each other like we were from different planets, like two different aliens were explaining a basic concept to each other 🤣

[bleed-ing4u]

Fun fact about me! I have Anosmia! Which means I can't smell well/at all. Kinda always had it? Just never really been able to smell, did some research and said 'Well! Main symptom is not being able to smell. I couldn't smell since birth!'

Feel free to ask questions in comments :)

[aftonsparv-bugzz]

death shall be bestowed upon the planet earth (an "anosmia culture is" blog still doesnt exist)