Hey, there! Log in / Register
Remember when you could actually smell things in a bakery?
By adamg on Wed, 12/30/2015 - 11:42am
Candelaria Silva misses those days:
Commercial places must now have superior ventilation systems that eliminate the aromas of what’s being prepared and, for me, something is lacking as a result.
When I cook and bake, the aromas of the foods linger in the air. There’s something too antiseptic, sterile, about many of the foods sold by food purveyors. It's actually reduced the amount of pastry that I eat - a good thing I guess - because it's easy to avoid something that is cold and, other than visual appeal, doesn’t make my mouth water.
Neighborhoods:
Topics:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
Not sure what this person is talking about
I don't have any problem enjoying the aromas in bakeries or coffee roasting places. In fact, it is a lot better than in the days when smoking was everywhere.
On the days when I'm out early on my bike near some of the commercial bakeries in my area (like Piantidosi), the smell of warm bread is very strong indeed. Also on Somerville Ave with the now double-whammy of Forge Baking and the Portuguese sweet roll factory.
I do have a very sensitive sense of smell, though.
Grandfathered vs new.
Roache Bros is brand new. Everyone else has been around for years. Different standards for a different era. Different towns/cities probably have their own standards too.
Somerville Ave bakery
I don't know the Portuguese place; do you know its name or more exact location?
The strongest bakery smell on that street is from La Ronga.
yep...
absolutely...La Ronga ...
It's nice at first...
But when you live near it..... smells like non. stop. butter. And try coupling that with the smokehouse for Redbones right next door...
I'm sure, for some, it'd be non-stop salivation. I've grown used to it by now.
Never really noticed that much of a new scent from Forge, oddly enough.
It is LaRonga
However, despite the Italian name, they seem to be cranking out a lot of sweetbread during the morning commute.
Forge smells great inside.
La Ronga is a pretty big commercial operation
In addition to their storefront they bake for other bakeries like Piantidosi and many restaurants.
That would explain the non-Italian varieties you smell.
Good smells everywhere you go
Hell, even the Dunkin Donuts in Ruggles Station can smell mighty tempting sometimes, and I KNOW they're not baking the donuts on-site...
don't forget
Don't forget..
If you're near the Teddie peanut butter factory in Everett when they are roasting nuts. OR New England Coffee in Malden when they are roasting the beans. Mmm smells so good.
I love the smell of Tootsie
I love the smell of Tootsie roasting Tootsie Rolls and Charleston Chews in Cambridge.
When I'm in a place that
When I'm in a place that actually bakes on site, I've no problem with smell. My post was about how often baking isn't onsite and so there aren't many aromas.
Thanks for commenting.
Timothy's coffees of the world - Prudential Center
I swear they direct vented out the front door, into the mall. That place used to draw me in from 100 yards.
When Natick used to smell of fresh baked bread
Ah, the old Wonder Bread plant ...
Not The Onion
n/t
visit watertown
I work near Newly Weds Foods (Grove Street, Watertown) which produces "batters, breadings, coatings, spices and seasonings to the processed food industry" and you can most definitely get a yeasty baking smell on a breezy day for at least a half mile.
Stop & Shop
I’ll date myself by mentioning the old Stop & Shop bakery on the corner of Causeway and N. Washington. Could always smell it when rounding the corner by it on the elevated train.
Good and Bad
I subletted in Cambridge some time ago in the place right next door to the Junior Mints factory. (As in, my window and the frosted factory winter faced each other. Oh, how I yearned to look inside.)
Sometimes the smell of mints would be terrific. Other times the burning sugar smell would be so overpowering it would burn.
When I first looked at a place in Medford the smell of donuts was nice but after 20 minutes of looking around I quickly realized it would not be fun living in a place which smelled so strongly all the time. (The current occupants said the smell never went away.)
So I can understand the nostalgia of missing the smells but also understand why abutters frequently insist upon systems which will eliminate it. Too much of a good thing and all.
The aroma...
...I miss the most came from the Walter Baker Chocolate Factory in Lower Mills. When the winds were right, the smell of chocolate would waft all the way to Mattapan, where we were livinga t the time. The wind shift also tended to portend rain, so, being an impressionable newt, I have associated rain & chocolate ever since.
And we would always roll down the car windows when we passed the Kasanoff's & Green-Freedman bakeries which were close by each other on Old Colony Ave. (if I remember correctly... )
Can a one verify that Roche
Can a one verify that Roche bakes on the premises? And do they make anything from scratch, or do they just throw frozen items in an over?
Call me a snob, I don't consider any supermarket "bakery" to be a bakery. Clear Flour is a bakery, and has bakery aroma.