Wednesday, June 17th, 2015

fenugreek reek

Wednesday, June 17th, 2015 09:39 am
darkoshi: (Default)
Not having cooked methi before, I thought it was okay to include the stems. Wrong - the chopped up stems remained tough and fibrous even after cooking.

I had cooked the greens with mustard seeds, which in spite of my familiarity with their popping action, made a bit of a mess on the stove.

Because of the stems, I told Qiao that he didn't have to eat his portion. Then, after meticulously picking out all the stems, I ate the remaining good parts up all by myself, just to get rid of the mess and be done with it. That was Sunday evening.

I didn't notice the methi having any strong flavor. Raw, it tasted simply like mild greens to me. This seemed odd, as I had read that it had a distinctive taste. I recall fenugreek seeds not having much of a smell either - only a light butterscotch smell.

Cooked, it was like spinach. Most of the taste was from the mustard seeds.

Fast-forward to Monday afternoon. I was surprised by and self-conscious of a smell emanating from my underarms, even though I had washed and used deodorant like usual that morning. After getting home in the evening, I washed and applied more deo, but the smell persisted. I worried that my deodorant was no longer working for me.

Tuesday morning, I showered and again applied deo. I even re-applied some deo before and after my lunch-time walk outside in the 100-degree heat. But I still noticed the odor. It's not even a very bad smell, but definitely unfamiliar. It's not the normal smell of my sweat.

So I wondered if it was from something I had eaten. I've been trying out SAM-e supplements... but I had started those over a week ago. Furthermore, I had gotten sweaty working in the yard on both Saturday and Sunday, without noticing this odor.

Then I remembered the methi and mustard seeds. I had eaten mustard seeds in the past without any ill effect. Could it be due to the methi? Yep, apparently so.


Fenugreek pungent sweat, how to get rid of it?

(from a comment on that page) Fenugreek contains an aromatic compound called Soletone. It smells sweet like maple and a bit curry-like. It is the scent that people notice wafting off of people from certain countries where it is commonly eaten. These people do not notice it since they and those they know mostly smell like it, so to them it isn’t an odd thing. Some Asians have commented that Americans all smell like rancid butter, which is probably true based on our diet. Some Asians smell like fermented cabbage to other people. The fact is that most of us shower every day and these smells have nothing to do with hygiene (although this can be a separate issue).

The Mystery of the Maple Syrup Smell

ETA: My body odor continued to smell of fenugreek for a whole week, even though I had only eaten it that one day!

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