The smell of baking peanut butter biscuits.
It’s a magical time-machine moment that whisks me straight back to when I was just an imp that couldn’t see over the top of the kitchen counter. Straining on tippy toes with saucer eyes, to get a glimpse of what the ‘cleverest’ mum was going to do next.
All that sparkling sugar and huge jars of peanut butter and the whisk that is all gooey with the mixture. It makes my mouth water as I anticipate the bowl that mum will give us… if we’re good. I’m hopeful that it won’t be too cleanly scraped, and ready to nudge my little sister out of the way to get my pudgy little hand in first.
And how could I ever forget the granadilla ice creams on the beach? So cold my lips went numb and weird and we squealed as our fingers stuck together and spat black pips at each other. Everytime I hear an ice cream bell, that warm and summery memory comes flooding back.
There is also ‘cheesy fish’, my all-time favourite dinner that is still requested on birthdays (I am 33), that is basically fish with a huge mash volcano and peas pooled in mums amazing lemony cheesy sauce. It zips me back to my school days, eating supper with my grubby sports stuff on and giggling as we told the day’s stories.
It’s wonderful how food is intertwined with our memories, and can bring it all back to life in a flash with the wisp of a smell, taste or sound.
Hey, but it’s not always good, I will NEVER forget the warm and definitely ‘poisoned’ milk they used to give us at school in break-time. I can only have a glass now if it’s got ice blocks in it!
What’s your favourite food memory?