There’s nothing like walking into Nana’s house and smelling the aroma of sage as the stuffing bakes in the oven. The sweet smell of butter and onions being sautéed on top of the stove awaiting zucchini and yellow squash with a pinch of basil and thyme. Let’s not forget mint jellies and marmalades for the baked lamb.

Aroma permeates every food. Without aroma there is no flavor. Certain herbs and spices cross the line and are used both in the kitchen and on our bodies. We often think of vanilla, cinnamon and pepper as spices for the kitchen table but they are often used as some of the major notes in the creation of perfumes.

Let’s take a look at how herbs and spices can be used for adding life to our food and to our favorite scents.

What we’ll do is have this article introduce you to a few herbs and spices. It’s a great way to start a guide as to how they are used in and out of the kitchen.


Herbs and Spices at a Glance


Spices

Ginger -Spicy - used in Asian & Caribbean seasoning. Increases circulation in your limbs. Combine ginger with other essential oils and you’ve got a great body oil

Sea Salt -Salty - The single most important ingredient in cooking and acts as one of the main ingredients of a relaxing bath.

Vanilla - sweet - Adds flavor to Nana’s pound cake receipt. Also used as a narcotic fragrance, that seduces with its rich and decadent layers of sweetness in your favorite perfume


Herbs

Basil - Spicy, sweet-used in sauces.

Chives -Onion flavor-used in butters, sauces and soups

Lavender -Floral,sweet-used in teas and jellies.

Lemon balm -Refreshing-used in drinks and teas.

Mint- Sweet, refreshing used in jellies and teas.

Sage -Woodsy, bitter- used in poultry and stuffing.

Thyme - Lemony, minty-used in casseroles, soups and vegetables.


A great thing about aromas in your kitchen, is that you can always have access to fresh herbs and spices. By creating an indoor garden box, you can grow your own spices and herbs as if you had a real garden. In essence you do.

You can start by growing cooking herbs like your sweet basil, sage or thyme. And then, there are your healing herbs that can be grown and used as sachets for your bath or as teas for drinking during the day or evening.

A quick and easy do if yourself project is to take-

A man’s white handkerchief
1 cup of sea salt
1 teaspoon of lavender seeds or dried leaves
1 teaspoon of lemon balm leaves

Blend the lavender, lemon balm and sea salt together and place it in the center of the man’s handkerchief. Join the four corners of the handkerchief together forming a ball at the end of it. Tie the end with the ball securely with a ribbon or rubber band. Something that will allow all of the ingredients to remain inside the handkerchief.

Start your bath water running and place the scented handkerchief in your bath water. The salts will begin to melt and the hot water will release the aroma of the lavender and lemon balm, creating a very relaxing bath.

When you’ve finished, you can dispose of the contents in the handkerchief. This is great for clean up and you’ve got no tea leaves stopping up your bath tub.

Waste not, want not. Whether it’s creating aromas in your kitchen or using the same herbs and spices to create a soothing cup of tea or relaxing bath, the choice is yours.

Life Never Smelled So Sweet !

Juliette Samuel,
Fragrance Editor, BellaOnline