Thursday, February 5th, 2009
From The Wikipedia Entry On Fenugreek Seeds: “In The United States, Where Maple Syrup Is Popular, Fenugreek Is Widely Used As A Substitute For Maple Syrup Flavoring”
I thought the mayor was going to say that it was the stench of Adam Gopnik’s treacly prose periodically wafting over the city, but apparently that’s not the case:
The mayor repeatedly mispronounced the name of the word fenugreek as “fenugeek.” According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the National Institutes of Health, fenugreek has historically been used for a variety of health conditions, including menopausal symptoms and digestive problems, and for inducing childbirth. Today, fenugreek is used to treat diabetes and loss of appetite, to stimulate milk production in breastfeeding women, and to treat inflammation of the skin.
Last month, the mayor said, inspectors from the city’s Department of Environmental Protection captured four odor samples, three in Manhattan and one west of the George Washington Bridge.
The substance was a kind of ester, the mayor said, in this case a harmless compound created by interaction of an alcohol and an acid. Its maker: Frutarom, an industrial company based in Haifa, Israel, that processes fenugreek seeds to make fragrances at the plant in North Bergen, in Hudson County.
“The mystery of the maple-syrup mist has finally been solved,” the mayor said. “Frutarom does not appear to be breaking any rules and New Jersey’s D.E.P. will confirm that as well.” On future days when the plant processes seeds, a similar odor will recur.
“It just happens to be one of the aromas we will have to live with,” the mayor said.
The history of the smell: The Sweet Smell Of Maple Doughnuts, Or Perhaps Eggos, Smell Returns? Mysterious Smell Comes, Goes And Leaves No Clues In Its Wake, Sweet Syrupy Smell, I Wish I Knew How To Quit You!.
