Make Your House Smell Like Food (in a Candle Way)

June 08, 2023

Make Your House Smell Like Food (in a Candle Way)

You could cook a lovely meal or you could light a candle and pretend you did. For the latter, we've got you covered.

Welcome to What’s That Smell?, a monthly roundup of the newest and the best in home scent solutions, from a dedicated home scent enthusiast to you.

We’re in a new era of savory food candle. It used to be that most of the savory food candles available for purchase were a joke; a prank gift for someone who particularly liked, for example, A1 steak sauce. "Here is a candle that smells like A1 steak sauce, LOL," you can imagine the gift-giver saying as onlookers chuckle at the bad, but appropriate, candle. Ha-ha-ha, oh, gosh, that certainly was a clever waste of money for an item that is sure to be thrown away without having been used, wasn’t it? But times have changed.

I attribute this change to the humble tomato. Once candle fans realized "tomato" was a good candle scent (don’t fact-check this — I’m going by vibes) the doors opened for luxury candlemakers to get in on other savory food themes, like hamburger, and so on. Are all of these candles good? Far from it, no. Most of them are still bad. But some of them aren’t. This month, let’s take a look at a collection of the not bad ones.

It’s crisp!

Green bell pepper is king. Crisp and slightly sweet, the robust aroma literally snaps of earthy accords. Dried cut vetiver and petitgrain kick, but never overpower the fruit’s natural sweetness, married with garden tuberose and hyacinth. It's a pleasant shock to the senses.

Boy Smells recently released a collection they’re calling "Farm to Candle." The three candles included have fresh, vegetal scents: bell pepper, watermelon, and herbs. The watermelon (Rinder) is a bit too sweet for my taste, but the herb candle (Herbaceous) is great, particularly if you’re looking for a dupe of Trudon’s fan-favorite "Abd El Kader."

But the candle I want to highlight is "Snap," a fresh green bell pepper scent that would be perfect for a warm Saturday afternoon, particularly one on which you are longing for a taste of rustic country life that you know you would dislike immediately if you were to actually obtain it. It’s satisfying to fantasize about, though, isn’t it? Maybe in your fantasy you have a small farm, and you take your "veggies" (you call them veggies) to the farmers market on weekends. You do so more to socialize with your community than to make money, of course, but of course you also do make quite a bit of money. Ahhh. Gosh, that’s nice.

It’s pasta!

When Jupiter approached me with this idea, I was excited. It’s up our alley. Real pasta water is a quiet ambient scent. Top notes: saline water Heart notes: semolina wheat Base notes: chef's secret

DS & Durga have made a name for themselves by harvesting odd scents — latkes, concrete, and my personal favorite, diesel — for candle purposes. This one is a collaboration with NYC Italian restaurant Jupiter, and the result is a salty, starchy candle that, forgive me, reminds me a bit of the salty sweetness of popcorn jelly beans. (My favorite jelly bean as a child.) I know that doesn’t sound good and, it’s true, this candle likely has a more limited audience than most. But it would be fun to burn at a relaxed cocktail party, and you would certainly look a bit avant garde, which can be a priceless affectation to obtain. It would probably have to be a cocktail party where you provide some sort of pasta-like snack, though. You don’t want to make a scent promise you can’t keep.

It’s spicy!

Sichuan pepper is named for the mountainous region in China where it has been grown for centuries. Called "flower pepper" in China, this spice rare in Europe is not actually a pepper. Belonging to the Rutaceae, that gather the citrus framily, its berries are more reminiscent of a fruit than a peppercorn.

Like the "bell pepper" candle, this one is mightily green, but a bit warmer and more perfume-y than its predecessor in this list. It fills your space with the scent of sichuan pepper, but with a less attuned palate (or without the information that came on the box), you might register it simply as "fresh, green, nice candle." I gave this one as a gift to a friend and he texted saying he loved it, and that his "whole apartment smell[ed] like peppers!!!!!!" Maybe you would like to experience that pepper-related excitement for yourself?

It’s pizza!

Brick oven aroma wafts throughout the establishment, captured via notes of citron, golden amber, smoked birch, patchouli and sugarcane. Mark Iacono, the Brooklyn-born chef and owner of iconic Lucali, has devoted his life to creating the perfect pizza. The Joya team got to know the Lucali ethos and origin story. Mark grew up in Carroll Gardens, revealed stories about neighborhood kids and his grandfather’s favorite coffee drink, the smells associated with those. Through novel scent creations that involve both fragrance and flavor raw materials, Joya evokes a beautiful New York and Italian-American history with a chef that shares the company’s passion for capturing moments and stimulating the senses, our aliveness.

In the food-related candle space, Italian offerings loom large. I assume this is because of the "tomato" appreciation I mentioned earlier, and probably also because of how the scent of basil is so damn good. This one’s a collaboration between beloved Brooklyn pizza spot Lucali and beloved Brooklyn candlemaker Joya, and it attempts to showcase the olfactory joys of a brick oven pizza. Again, it’s not for everyone — certainly not a candle to cozy up in a blanket with on a self care Sunday, unless you particularly love the scent of pizza, in which case okay, maybe it is. But I assure you that while it does retain the experience of brick oven pizza, it’s more normal than it sounds. Less pizza as a joke, more a deep and sensual appreciation of pizza as a concept.

It’s a fun way to hold your flowers!

Have fun with your florals in this curvy ceramic take on the tropical favorite.

Okay this one isn’t a savory food candle (and, full disclosure, neither is the next one) but it is a food (banana), and it does hold flowers, so. And isn’t it so cute?

It’s the drink of the summer!|

Antica Farmacista's signature soft white glass, filled with their soy-paraffin wax blend, results in 60 hours of beautifully scented illumination. Each decorative box includes a set of Antica's signature matches. Aperol Spritz is Icy, splashy, and bubbly. A glowing fusion of zesty orange and sweet sparkling prosecco. Its unmistakable citrus spectrum — featuring bitter orange, grapefruit, and tangerine — meets a cheery floralcy balanced with a dash of bitters. Zesty, energizing, and exuberant, Aperol Spritz hits all the right notes for the happiest hours. Top Notes: Bitter Orange, Grapefruit, Tangerine, Aldehydic Fizz Middle Notes: Crisp Prosecco, Green Floralcy, Peach Nectar, Dash of Bitters Base Notes: Madagascar Vanilla, White Musk

Oh, hell yes. I like this candle both because the scent is pleasing and because the vessel makes it look a lot more expensive than it is. (Plus it came with matches. I love when that happens.) "Where’d you get that candle — on a trip to Italy?" is what people are gonna ask you. "Yes," you’ll say. "I’m there constantly, just like — judging by the content of their Instagram stories — everyone else I know."

It’s tomato — famously!

Conjures memories of late Summer dinner parties in Sicily.We worship the Tomato. Ripe, supple, and bursting with juice, the scent of the Heirloom Tomato catapults us to memories of late Summer dinner parties in Sicilian gardens and awakens pleasure in all our uncommon senses.

Listen, there are a lot of tomato candles out there — some more expensive, some less — but this comes in the mid-range, price-wise, and is maybe the best of the bunch. It smells like a fancy Nancy Meyers character who comes inside after working in the tomato garden and pours herself a glass of cool water. It smells like a tomato on a luxury vacation. It smells like a tomato vine who just took a shower with expensive bath products. It’s good. And, more importantly, it’s tomato.

It’s egg!

Fun! Sunny side up Incense holder. It can also be used as a support for Palo santo. Hand built in white clay, hand glazed.

Again not a candle, but so cute.

It’s ice cream!

There is nothing like a vanilla cone with rainbow sprinkles on a hot summer day. Why is it always impossible to get that piece of paper off the cone? We think that tiny bit of glue enhances the flavor anyway.

I thought I should throw in something for those of you who are not sold on the savory candle idea. I get it. This one, from Literie (a brand that also offer a set of Real Housewives candles that I’m actually really into) (particularly the lavender one) just smells like vanilla ice cream. Yum!

It's arugula—sort of!

Crisp arugula greens, bright peppermint, cucumber, and sweet garden herbs create a refreshing blend perfect for enjoying throughout summertime.

This one is super fresh and super clean, and super affordable. While it’s meant to me a mix of arugula, mint, cucumber, and herbs, the scent I pick up the most is cucumber, which is fine. No worries. "No problem if not." We like cucumber, too, especially on those every-so-often 90-degree days that pop up in June. Cooling and refreshing.

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More smells:

Make Your House Smell Like April Showers Have Brought May Flowers

Make Your House Feel Like You’ve Spring-Cleaned (Even If You Haven’t)

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