Recently, I received a pitch from Air
Wick for its new scent, Mom’s Baking. According to the brand, this fragrance has
“three distinct fragrance accords”: vanilla, homemade pie crust, and baked
pear. Fresh-baked goods? I love the smell of those, but the idea of having them
manufactured into a vaporized scent sat funny with me.
On the one hand, I can
totally understand the need for an air freshener — especially if you live
somewhere like NYC. On other, the company’s appeal to childhood nostalgia
and creating “a sense of coziness” made me think of the episode of Shark Tank with
the Cuddletunes teddy bear (anyone else see that one?). The bear has the
ability to capture and play voice recordings, so kids can fall asleep to
their parents' or grandparents’ voices if they are apart. A
lovely idea in principle, but, as Shark Barbara Corcoran pointed out, a voice
recording like this can just remind kids of what they’re missing. It's similar to when you're really aching for your significant other and someone walks by wearing their same
fragrance — is that moment a comfort or a torture? (For me, there is
a fleeting moment of solace, followed by a rapid descent into Sad Town). Along those lines, then, if you’re feeling homesick
and baking smells make you think of mom, home, family, etc., would an air
freshener make those feelings worse?
As Refinery29's food editor, I feel it's my duty to suggest
that you instead fill your house with the scent of real baked goods —
and the added bonus is that you have delicious,
homemade treats to help you eat your feelings. Now, I know what
you’re thinking: Baking can be a total drag and a lot of work! And,
you're not entirely wrong. However, there are easy, fun ways you can whip something up in minimal time, with minimal mess,
and with maximum good smells. Don’t have an
oven? No problem! Here
are 40 things (including desserts) you can cook from scratch in a microwave and
a cup.