What to cook that smells great? (See details)

Sometimes I put lemon and lime peels, cloves, and other things in a pan and let it simmer. It smells super-duper good.

Pancakes
Pancakes, everywhere.

Bake bread, roast beef, turkey, or pie.

Bread is what real estate agents tell you to be cooking when people come to see the house.

Bread

I think it depends what foods you like. My husband hates when the house smells like food, his entire family is wierd about it. If I walk in when his mom is cooking, she apologizes the house smells like food.

Some realtors suggest baking cookies to sell a house. I was a realtor and never suggested it, but a lot of people like it I guess. Bacon cooking will make your house smell like bacon and comfort food breakfast, a lot of people like that when they are hungry. I also agree bread smells yummy.

The lemon peels and clove suggested above sounds good to me.

I like my house to smell clean more than anything.

@Blackberry : I’m thinking of that as a quick fix, but right now it’s so humid here that I’m trying to not put more moisture in the air.. :-)
Really trying to avoid any meat smells, thanks.

@JilltheTooth Mmmmmm, a nice, smelly meatloaf…..lol. How about oatmeal cookies?

I would be careful about bacon. Not everyone likes that smell, and some people find the smell of fried stuff absolutely off-putting. I am one such person. When I have to fry things, I do much better to open all the windows in the kitchen and close the doors to the rest of the house. I hate the smell of fried stuff lingering in the air. It makes the house more stuffy. All I want to do is open a window and get fresh air.

Here’s another vote for homemade bread, It’s a pain but it’s really good.

I like the lingering smell of any type of spicy cookie. Mom makes some fantastic gingersnaps that are soft and last a long time if stored properly. And they are great with iced tea or lemonade on a hot day.

Pumpkin pie! Smells great,tastes like dirt! :)

@lucillelucillelucille How are you making the pie?

Just light some candles.

@lucillelucillelucille Lol, so true.

@Adirondackwannabe—I MAKE NOTHING! ;)
@Blackberry I saw your meatloaf answer….I cried alittle. XD

@lucillelucillelucille XD
@JilltheTooth The candle idea was excellent.

Actually, I’m thinking the bread idea is a really good one. It’s not a pain as I don’t knead by hand, and the baking smell is beyond fabulous. Now to see if I can even get out to acquire ingredients, the town is madly flooding away…
Thanks guys Of course, cookies are also a good plan!

@Blackberry has the right idea but make sure to add cinnamon sticks and grated fresh nutmeg. That gives you the smell without actually laboring.

The one problem with bread is you can’t cook it right away, you need to let it rise usually.

I love the smell of baking onions, but I don’t think it lingers that long.

Sometimes I also use the oil of sundried tomatoes, which really smells great (a bit too strong at first, but leave let it sudder for a bit and it’ll be wonderful).

@JLeslie : It’s still morning, I’ve got all day. It’ll keep me occupied, it’s torrential out there.

@JilltheTooth What do you use to kneed the bread?

@JilltheTooth bake some cinnamon rolls, or some doughnuts.

My dad always joked that when he was cooking when I was a kid I would tell him it smelled good, and at that point it was always just garlic and onions in a pan. That’s all you need!

@Adirondackwannabe : I have a bread machine from the earliest days of bread machines, I let that do the kneading. I don’t let it do everything, as it makes a huge penis-shaped loaf which is, frankly, just a bit disturbing. I put the dough into regular loaf pans for the second rise and the baking, now.

Lol I didn’t figure I’d ever see penis-shaped in this thread, but that was pretty good. I have a Kitchenaid mixer with a bread hook that works really well.

What about a curry?

@marinelife : I have some really lovely I recently got, some beans, some rice, some veg…that’s a good idea!

A soup simmering on the stove always does it for me. And you can keep it for a long time after it’s done, too.

@CWOTUS : I’m kind of avoiding the anything simmering thing, as the humidity is awfully close to the triple digits, today….

Microwave popcorn, then. But be sure not to scorch it!

Gingerbread! Get a mix for a quicker preparation.

Yum, gingerbread.

Chocolate chip cookies, apple pie, beef stew which when simmering lasts for hours and hours…. I have this wonderful simmering potouri that smells like apple pie that I buy at christmas time at christmas tree shop and I stock up so I have enough for a while….

During the winter, I too, put apples, cinnamon sticks, sugar and bay leaves in a pot with water and let them cook. So maybe doing something like that with less wintery scents?

I also make a lot of sprays for my linens. I take CLEAR essential oils and put them in a spray bottle with filtered water. My mom just sent me an oil thing for those candle holders (you know, you put the oil on top and tea light on the bottom) and it’s beach scented. It’s strange and I don’t have one of those gadgets so I used it as a spray. It’s kinda refreshing (and a little odd).

Baking is great .. choco chip cookies are a very inviting smell.

Also, how about opening all windows and doors for a little and running some fans? I tend to do that when I feel like the air is stagnant.

Just to clarify, it’s August in New England. The humidity is hovering around 98%, everything is open, fans are running full blast.
Thanks for all the suggestions, especially the ones for baking.

Haha, @JilltheTooth – maybe you should close the windows and blast the AC then! What about running laundry? That always smells nice. Boy, I’m glad I don’t live on the east coast anymore. I certainly do not miss that part of summer.

Believe me, if the AC was working…..

oh yuck!

Baked apples

-core apples

-place a knob of butter in where the core use to be

-cover apples with brown sugar and bake

Cinnamon water, though that will add moisture to the air, it smells nice anyhow.
Spaghetti sauce, lasagna.

And the winner is…<drumroll>...gingerbread! As we speak it is scenting up my humble abode….

I’m going to revisit this Q in the winter to take advantage of the other suggestions.

@JilltheTooth I just pulled onto your street and I can smell them. Be up in a minute, looking for a parking spot.

@JilltheTooth Just when I had finally stopped drooling from the chili recipes you go and do that. I can smell it from here.It’s heavenly.

@Blackberry : Pull right on into the driveway, it’s the only place not flooded around here!
You, too, @Adirondackwannabe , c’mon over!

Perhaps just cutting a bunch of lemons and spritzing them everywhere would help? Then you don’t have to pain yourself with putting the oven/stove on in hot weather?

Yum! I was about to make some banana bread, but you might have inspired me to make gingerbread too!

Reading this thread I felt so sorry for you having to clarify time and again that’s it’s so humid! I live on the coast, so 100% relative humidity is pretty common. I know how icky it can make everything smell and feel.

In August in New England, I would not turn to the oven for yummy smells. This is not the time to load up a turkey with sage and stuffing and roast it for 5 hours.

(My mother groaned when I asked for meat loaf for my birthday dinner and gingerbread for my cake. It was July in Massachusetts, and I was eight.)

Fry bacon. Fry onions. Make some kind of aromatic soup.

Or—light some scented candles. How about New England bayberry?

Sorry I’m coming late to this thread, late at night. Did not read the above posts.

I would suggest Gingerbread, lemon cake, berry cobbler, apple cider, apple sauce with cinnamon, butternut squash, garlic bread, basil pesto, pizza, something with maple syrup, something with cloves, grilled onions, fresh bread, brownies, baked beans, vegetarian chili, orange (juice and zest) scones, rosemary roasted potatoes, potato leek soup, tomato basil soup, Greek lemon chicken soup, pineapple upside down cake, peanutbutter cookies, any kind of pie (especially apple, and pumpkin and boysenberry) cheese enchiladas, oatmeal, sugar cookies, fudge, banana pudding, butterscotch pudding, baked sweet potatoes, coffee cake, caramel apples, coffee, hot chocolate, macaroons, marinara sauce, mole sauce, pumpkin bread, abd popcorn!