Nostalgia

It is a scientific fact that taste and smell evoke early childhood memories more powerfully than any other sense. Typically, these memories are more vivid and emotional than those evoked by visual or auditory cues. 
 
If you don't believe me, you have probably never seen Ratatouille. (Which would be a shame.) Luckily I found a clip on YouTube to prove to you that I am not making this stuff up. Just pretend that there is sound, ok?

(If you are rolling your eyes at the fact that I just used a Disney movie as scientific evidence, you can go be boring and read a real article written by a legit psychologist here.)

 For me, the taste of poppy seed bread will always remind my of my Granny.

I remember going to Kentucky to visit my grandparents when I was a little girl. I would tag along with my brother and the other boys in the neighborhood when they went 'exploring' in the creek. When the sun went down, we would catch fireflies and then I would keep them in a jar by my bed while I slept. I learned how to ride a bike there when I was 5 (see picture below.) And I remember playing old maid in the kitchen with my Granny while waiting for the poppy seed bread to come out of the oven. 

gotta love the pink overalls :)

Last semester, for my still life photography class, I decided to recreate this memory for one of my assignments. I went prop hunting at the antiques mall and the fabric store, then made the muffins with a recipe I found online. The muffins were bitter and dry and the photo was a failure. 

The next week, I found the real recipe in my family cookbook. I reshot the image with the authentic muffins, taking a few suggestions from my teacher to adjust the lighting and composition. This is what I ended up with:

 And...here is the recipe.

Poppy Seed Bread

Ingredients:

3 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. milk
1 c. vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 1/2 T. poppy seeds

Glaze:

3/4 c. sugar

1/4 c. orange juice

1/2 tsp. vanilla

 1/2 tsp. almond extract

2 teas. melted butter

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Mix sugar, milk, oil, eggs, vanilla, almond extract, and poppy seeds together. Add the flour mixture and blend for 2 minutes.

3. Pour into 5 small bread pans. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. For muffins, bake for 22 minutes at 350.
4. For glaze: Place all ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine. Spoon over top of loaves and let sit in pans 30 minutes.

What tastes or smells bring back your childhood memories?