A Sense of Nostalgia: Reminiscing on the Past through Taste

As Thanksgiving approaches many look forward to taking some much appreciated rest time, visiting with friends, family, and indulging in the classic Thanksgiving foods. However, turkey, mashed potatoes, and freshly baked bread may not be everyone’s top choice of food. Though, this classic Thanksgiving meal isn’t just about the taste of the food on the table. These meals are a reflection of American culture with many dishes incorporating ingredients native to the Americas like potatoes, corn, pumpkins, squash, and of course turkey. Although specific dishes providing comfort to people don’t just occur during the Thanksgiving season, but rather year round.

While the idea that certain tastes are able to evoke strong feelings of nostalgia may seem unfamiliar, the link between taste and memory in the brain provides an intriguing explanation to this concept. Taste is linked to the sense of smell as the olfactory bulb transports information about certain scents to the brain. Located just above the nasal cavity, at the bottom of the brain, the olfactory bulb is responsible for receiving and processing smell information from the nose. Interestingly, this means that the olfactory bulb can sense smells that indicate possible danger, like gas leaks or smoke, and trigger responses to avoid those smells. The part of the brain responsible for forming memories and storing them, called the hippocampus, has a strong connection to the olfactory bulb through a neural pathway that links the processing of smells to memory. The olfactory bulb’s connection to the hippocampus explains why the scents of a certain food enhances the flavor of that dish.

When the sense of taste resurfaces past memories it is most commonly caused by a certain dish, meal, or snack consumed during a person’s youth or the past stages of their life. For my mom and I, Gerber’s freeze dried yogurt is one of these snacks. When I was younger, around two years old, my mom would occasionally bring these snacks to pick me up from daycare. I can’t recall many details about these treats, but I always remembered how I liked the taste of them. A couple weekends ago, I was in Walgreens and on one of the shelves I saw the same Gerber’s freeze dried yogurts ranging in a variety of flavors. As I scanned the shelf trying to remember what these snacks tasted like, the strawberry flavor caught my eye. Immediately I was set on purchasing these yogurts so I could refresh my vague recollection of this snack. Interestingly, the urge to buy this snack because of past memories isn’t the only instance of nostalgic food causing people to spend money. Today, nostalgia is incredibly prevalent in food marketing as many companies use its emotional appeal to increase their sales. One notable example of nostalgia in food marketing is McDonald’s birthday celebration for one of their characters introduced over 50 years ago. This character is known as Grimace and the company celebrated his birthday by releasing a purple milkshake since his character is known for loving milkshakes. Although Gerber probably didn’t market their freeze dried yogurts to appeal to my nostalgia, my past associations with this snack caused me to buy it. As soon as I got home, I went to go show my mom what I found and the first words she said when she saw it was “these are so nostalgic.” 

As Thanksgiving approaches everyone can settle into their seats at the dining room table and relive old memories brought with the collection of these classic Thanksgiving dishes. However these meals bring much more than just old memories, they bring connection with family, friends, and represent America’s early history with ingredients native to the country. Though these meals are more than just ingredients at a table, they can be recipes passed down from grandparents and further reflect current culture in America with new recipes being added. So while appreciating the past through certain dishes can certainly bring joy, it’s also important to look to the present and create new recipes that could hold nostalgic appeal for future generations.