The next time you snicker at someone recounting some exotic taste he encountered in a cigar, consider this: There are apples that taste like roses. Others are reminiscent of popcorn or fennel, while some gave forth the aroma of tin or cat urine. And there were lots of other flavors recounted by food writer Harold McGee, who recently was able to munch a vast array of fruit.

McGee, in a New York Times column, described many of the apples he tried at a U.S. Agriculture Department facility that maintains “the world’s most extensive collection of apple varieties and relatives.” He also spoke to scientists involved in experiments on apples for new tastes.

Now I like apples as much as the next guy, but it was the varied flavors McGee described that really grabbed my attention. He explained that some apples contain the cis-rose that creates the smell of roses, while other chemicals created different aromas in others.

So, is it really a stretch that some cigars may have a taste of, say, licorice? If apples can contain anise, there’s no reason to think it couldn’t be found in some tobacco strains. They’re all plants.

My point is the next time you’re rolling a mouthful of smoke around your tongue and you think you detect something new, don’t be surprised. Just keep your fingers crossed that it isn’t cat urine.

-George E

photo credit: Flickr