# Things That Smell Better Than They Taste **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 22, 2008, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-smell-better-than-they-taste/478257 "2008-12-22T02:00:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-smell-better-than-they-taste/478257/1 "2008-12-22T02:00:32Z")
For no particular reason, years ago I stopped drinking coffee very much and maybe have a cup once every two months or so, tops. Today I walked down the grocery store aisle that had coffee beans, and wow - did that smell great! Didn’t buy any, but sure did smell good. ---
**Author:** ![mshar253](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@mshar253](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mshar253)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-smell-better-than-they-taste/478257/2 "2008-12-22T02:02:00Z")
I really like the smell of egg nog, but the texture is so thick that it doesn’t appeal to me very much. I could sniff it all day, though. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-smell-better-than-they-taste/478257/3 "2008-12-22T02:05:05Z")
Custard. Never been a custard person. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-smell-better-than-they-taste/478257/4 "2008-12-22T02:06:41Z")
Herbal teas smell lovely. They just taste like hot water to me though. ---
**Author:** ![Hi\_Neighbor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hi_neighbor/32/494_2.png) [@Hi\_Neighbor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hi_Neighbor)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-smell-better-than-they-taste/478257/5 "2008-12-22T02:13:49Z")
My sister makes this quiche that really smells great, but I can’t stand the texture and consistency when I’m eating it. ---
**Author:** ![CWN](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bc79bd/32.png) [@CWN](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CWN)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-smell-better-than-they-taste/478257/6 "2008-12-22T02:14:17Z")
Pipe tobacco smoke, wonderful smell but awful taste ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-smell-better-than-they-taste/478257/7 "2008-12-22T02:22:44Z")
Gasoline. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-smell-better-than-they-taste/478257/8 "2008-12-22T02:30:35Z")
Coffee, pipe tobacco when it’s not burning, apple pie, all of my attempts (so far) at curry. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-smell-better-than-they-taste/478257/9 "2008-12-22T02:35:25Z")
Vanilla extract; spoken from childhood experience. What’da I win? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-smell-better-than-they-taste/478257/10 "2008-12-22T02:38:32Z")
Coffee. I don’t mind the smell of it, but can’t stand the taste (and I know that coffee’s taste is 90% smell). ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-smell-better-than-they-taste/478257/11 "2008-12-22T02:39:13Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > Vanilla extract; spoken from childhood experience. > > What’da I win? DAMNIT! Once, my dog was really bugging me about it. I mean jumping up and down, barking, begging for it. So I let him lick the spoon after I had poured it out. Wow, that dog got cured of begging _fast_. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-smell-better-than-they-taste/478257/12 "2008-12-22T02:50:06Z")
> [@mshar253](#): > > I really like the smell of egg nog, but the texture is so thick that it doesn’t appeal to me very much. I could sniff it all day, though. 🙂 Rum thins it out nicely. ---
**Author:** ![Doody\_Pants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@Doody\_Pants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doody_Pants)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-smell-better-than-they-taste/478257/13 "2008-12-22T02:50:13Z")
Snausages and Beggin’ Strips. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-smell-better-than-they-taste/478257/14 "2008-12-22T02:52:41Z")
Liver and onions. It smelled so good I was dying to taste it. I couldn’t even swallow it and almost puked at the table. Blech. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-smell-better-than-they-taste/478257/15 "2008-12-22T04:33:02Z")
Liver and onions, coffee and red wine. When I was a young meat-eater, I would get tricked into trying liver and onions at least once a year because of the smell alone. I just couldn’t believe that something that smelled so wonderful tasted so rank! ---
**Author:** ![DataZak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@DataZak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataZak)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-smell-better-than-they-taste/478257/16 "2008-12-22T04:34:51Z")
Anything from a fast-food joint. Smells great, tastes like cardboard. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-smell-better-than-they-taste/478257/17 "2008-12-22T04:40:07Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > Liver and onions, coffee and red wine. When I was a young meat-eater, I would get tricked into trying liver and onions at least once a year because of the smell alone. I just couldn’t believe that something that smelled so wonderful tasted so rank! You and Shayna posted exactly what I wanted to post, but didn’t feel like posting from my slow ass phone. I knew by the time I got to my pc, someone would have had posted it. The only difference is, I actually started to love it all of a sudden, right when I was about 18, for some mysterious reason. Then, I stopped eating meat all together about 6 months later, so that gave me about a 6 month window of actually liking liver and onions, which I am sure is 6 months longer than most folks. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-smell-better-than-they-taste/478257/18 "2008-12-22T04:51:38Z")
Bisque smells awesome, but the taste is a little incongruent and slightly sweet & bitter. It tastes good, just not as good as it would belie. Perfume…smells great, tastes awful. ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-smell-better-than-they-taste/478257/19 "2008-12-22T04:58:09Z")
Crayola scented markers… mmmm… ---
**Author:** ![seodoa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@seodoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seodoa)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2008, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-smell-better-than-they-taste/478257/20 "2008-12-22T05:06:24Z")
1. Vanilla extract has already been mentioned, I know, but it reminds me of the day my father showed me as a young tyke that a touch of vanilla extract dropped onto a spoonful of brown sugar is absolutely delicious and is a rather close approximation for the flavor of cookie dough. It was important, however, to only enjoy this treat when mom wasn’t home. 2. I also second pipe tobacco. When I was little I had a great uncle who smoked a pipe. I would park myself on his lap and just breathe in the sweet aroma whenever he visited. It’s a wonder I didn’t develop childhood cancer. 3. Peanut butter cookies also smell much better than they taste. I love peanuts and peanut butter, so the smell of peanut butter cookies makes my mouth water, but I’ve never actually liked them. 4. Oh, and, from my youth, Play-Doh. It smelled so good! Why do they make it smell so good if they don’t want me to stick it in my mouth? Thankfully, I’ve never been allergic to wheat gluten. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-smell-better-than-they-taste/478257.md?page=2)