Well technology is rapidly invading the food scene in ways we cant imagine! There is a Japanese company called "Scentee" that is designing an added gadget to your smart phone (I-phone in particular for now), whereby it can allow you to smell food by a single click on the screen!
How does it work?
The " Hana Yakiniku" or " Nose Grilled Meat" kit words around the concept of " tasting and savouring food with your nose".The company listed flavours like apple, lavender, strawberry, curry, mint, rose, cinnamon role, coconut, corn soup, Jasmine &Coffee...
The Food-scented cartridges are meant to be attached to your smartphone. ( sold on Amazon)
Then: It’s simple: download the free app, choose a flavor, insert the Scentee cartridge, and let your olfactory nerves do the work! Be sure to prepare a bowl of rice to go with your ‘scent’.
What is the benefit?
- Enjoyable Experience: Enjoy your untasty food by smelling other foods from your phone.
For example, you are eating rice, you can smell grilled meat along.
Or if you don't like eating a certain food, you can choose your favorite food, lets say PIZZA! & just smell it! - Better Health: How? Besides being full, smelling a certain junky food that you love, you wont have to eat it. This means less eating, less calories and better health
Is it effective? ( Back draws)
- This "invention" can make some people more hungry or atleast stay hungry even after eating
- Does the food taste change? Perhaps it does. Perhaps the combination of the smell and the food you eat, wont be very delicious.
- There are no complicated flavors, the flavors listed for now are simple that can be overwhelmed and not obvious with other flavors.
- Dismiss complex flavors and aromas. Food is not a single ingredient, it is a hybrid matrix of many chemicals ( compounds, elements, nutrients, flavors).
- Sometimes, you might crave even more when you smell a certain food. A simple example, when you pass by a restaurant of bakeshop and you smell the food coming out, you will want to enter there and order some!
Other possible/beneficial uses
- Restaurants and Cafes to attract passers by. They can put it on the street or in the mall, and make passers want to come in and grab their food.
- Ads by Restaurants and cafes online ( real smell of their food) to invite customers to come, instead of posting normal text or visual ads
- Place it in your home , room, or car to change the smell of your room.
The company says it has other uses (Self-Puffing tool) for example, every time you get a facebook like or a message, a scent gets automatically puffed to your nose from your phone! Thereby, providing the 4D communication experience for the customer!
Will it be the next Instagram thing? Where people post & share the smell of their food instead of photos?
Oh... no.. I hope not.. especially for not the-so-well avid cooks.