• About
  • Login to comment
    • Bluesky
    • RSS
    • Twitter

Now Smell This

a blog about perfume

Menu ▼
  • Perfume Reviews
  • New Perfumes
  • Archives
Browsing by tag: food

Bunch o’ random chocolate bars. No theme, no perfume.

Posted by Robin on 11 January 2011 87 Comments

Eclipse Coffee Walnut barVosges Peppermint Candy Cane

To a greater extent that I’d like to admit, this blog started out as something of an excuse to go on wasting huge amounts of time on the internet gabbing about perfume, and I think that pretty much explains the occasional chocolate posts as well. This chocolate bar I’m eating? Oh, it’s just research. Here are brief reviews of six bars. If you’re not interested in chocolate, come back tomorrow, when Kevin will have a real fragrance review.

Do you love cardamom? The L’Artigiano di Gardini Cardamomo bar (62% cocoa, shown above left) is fabulous. It does for cardamom what the Chuao Chocolatier Chinita Nibs bar does for nutmeg. If they would just add something crunchy and/or chewy to it, it would be heaven on earth. According to the little price tag on the back, I paid $11.50 for this bar. That can’t be, can it? I’m quite sure I would never spend that on a chocolate bar. Ack. Next.

Moving on, the Eclipse Chocolat Gingerbread Crumb bar…

Read the rest of this article »

I began making perfumed desserts

Posted by Robin on 5 January 2011 14 Comments

After an apprenticeship at elBulli, he realized that his preoccupation was with scent. “That was something that hadn’t really been realized enough in desserts, I thought: the power of aromas. We had this new machine that could extract essential oils, and I began to play with it. I began making perfumed desserts.” He laughed. “I went to Sephora and found the most wonderful aromas in all the women’s perfumes. And I started making desserts built around their smells. Calvin Klein-like aromas. [...]  Sense memory extends to the heart of who we are...”

— Adam Gopnik of the New Yorker talks to Jordi Roca of El Celler de Can Roca (reputed to be the 4th best restaurant in the world). Read more at Sweet Revolution: The power of the pastry chef at the New Yorker. Many thanks to Jessica for the link!

An accent of mushrooms

Posted by Robin on 17 November 2010 8 Comments

An accent of mushrooms merged with sweet notes of honey in a sampling Wednesday of what's been billed as the world's oldest champagne, salvaged from a shipwreck in the Baltic Sea.

— From Hints of yeast, honey; shipwrecked bubbly uncorked at Comcast News. Many thanks to Emily for the link!

The Alchemy of Taste and Smell ~ event in New York City

Posted by Robin on 22 October 2010 1 Comment

“The Alchemy of Taste and Smell” is a weekend of events exploring the use of essential oils in cooking, at the Astor Center in New York City on November 12th and 13th. There are eight separate events; tickets can be purchased at the Astor Center website…

Read the rest of this article »

Bunch o’ chocolate bars with citrus. No perfume.

Posted by Robin on 9 October 2010 88 Comments

So March (of Perfume Posse) and I are talking about chocolate this weekend. She wrote about texture issues with chocolate bars yesterday; today I’m writing about citrus-flavored chocolate bars.

March started off by pointing out that she knows even less about chocolate than perfume. I’m pretty sure I’ve already come clean on that score, but it never hurts to repeat: I know absolutely zip about chocolate. Those single-origin estate chocolates that true chocophiles pay a premium for hold no interest for me. What I want is simple: a dark chocolate (around 60% cocoa) bar with something fun added. That’s not quite the chocophile’s version of the sweet generic fruity florals I turn my nose up at around here, but I’m guessing it’s close…

Read the rest of this article »

« Newer articles
Older articles »

Advertisement

Search

Recent reviews

Atelier Cologne Love Osmanthus
Moschino Toy Boy
Arquiste Misfit
Diptyque Eau Capitale
Zoologist Bee
Parfum d’Empire Immortelle Corse
Comme des Garcons Series 10 Clash
Frédéric Malle Rose & Cuir
L’Artisan Parfumeur Le Chant de Camargue
Yves Saint Laurent Grain de Poudre
Régime des Fleurs Chloë Sevigny Little Flower
Chanel 1957
Gallivant Los Angeles
Amouage Portrayal Woman

Blogroll

Bois de Jasmin
Grain de Musc
Perfume Posse
The Non-Blonde
More blogs...

Perfumista lists

100 fragrances every perfumista should try
And 25 more fragrances every perfumista should smell
50 masculine fragrances every perfumista should try
26 vintage fragrances every perfumista should try
25 rose fragrances every perfumista should try
11 Cheap Perfumes Beauty Outsiders Love

Favorite posts

The Great Perfume Reduction Plan
Why I Love Old School Chypres
New to perfume and want to learn more?
How to make fragrance last through the day
Fragrance concentrations: sorting it all out
On reformulations, or why your favorite perfume doesn’t smell like it used to
How to get fragrance samples
Perfume for Life: How Long Will Your Fragrance Collection Last?

Upcoming

List of upcoming Friday projects

6 January ~ damage poll

31 January ~ winter reading poll

Back to Top

Home
Archives
About Now Smell This :: Privacy Policy
Perfume Reviews
New Perfumes
General Perfume Articles
The Monday Mail

Glossary of Perfume Terms
Perfume FAQ
Perfume Books

Noses ~ Perfumers A-E :: F-K :: L-S :: T-Z

Perfume Houses A-B :: C :: D-E :: F-G
H-J :: K-L :: M :: N-O :: P :: Q-R :: S
T :: U-Z

Copyright © 2005-2026 Now Smell This. All rights reserved.