What's That Smell?

Ashwitha Jayakumar

Tara and her family are home!
“It’s good to be back, isn’t it Tara?” says Ma.
Tara nods. “I’m hungry!”
Madhav rubs his stomach. “Also hungry,” he says loudly.
Tara and her family are home!
“It’s good to be back, isn’t it Tara?” says Ma.
Tara nods. “ I’m hungry! ”
Madhav rubs his stomach. “ Also hungry ,” he says loudly.

“We have milk, eggs,
bread
and vegetables in the fridge,” says Ma.
“I’ll cook dinner!” says Pa.
“Pa, can you make fried rice?” asks Tara.
“Fried rice,” Madhav echoes.

As soon as Tara, Madhav, Ma and Pa enter the house, they know that something is wrong. Very wrong.
"Chee! What’s that smell?” cries Tara.
“A MONSTER!” yells Madhav.

It is hot, dark and stinky. The whole house smells!
Where is the smell coming from?

Ma checks the bedroom.
Madhav checks the bathroom.

Tara checks the dining room.
Pa checks the kitchen.

“It’s coming from there,” says Pa, pointing at the fridge.
“A stinky fridge monster?” gasps Tara.
“Scared,” says Madhav, hugging Ma.
“Let’s open the fridge and see what’s inside,” says Ma.

Ma opens the fridge. Everyone covers their noses and mouths.
“Hmm, it’s warm inside and the light is off,” says Ma, sticking her arm into the fridge.
“What happened?” asks Tara.
"The fridge stopped working some time ago," Pa explains.
"Without the cold air, everything spoiled,” says Ma, glumly.
“Has the milk gone bad?” asks Tara.
“Yes, can you smell how sour it is?” asks Ma.
“Milk needs to be kept cold to stay fresh,” says Pa.

“Has the bread gone bad?” asks Tara.
“Yes, do you see that green stuff? That’s mould,” says Pa, “It grows on the bread.”
“Fuzzy,” says Madhav, curiously.
“Don’t touch it,” says Pa. “You’ll fall sick if you eat it.”

“Have the vegetables gone bad too?” asks Tara, sadly.
“Yes, they’re rotten,” says Ma. “We can’t eat them.”

Madhav picks up an egg and drops it.
“Madhav, now it smells even worse!” shouts Tara.
“Oh no! These have gone bad too,” says Pa.
Tara is sure she can never eat eggs again.
“Yuck, yuck, yuck!” cries Madhav, running away while Pa cleans up the mess.

They put all the rotten food into garbage bags and clear the fridge.
“Why do things go bad?” asks Tara.
“Everything goes bad over time. The cold air of the fridge keeps food fresh for longer. When it’s warm, food goes bad faster,” says Ma.


“Does all food spoil?”asks Tara
“Not this rice,” says Ma, “Or these potatoes, at least for a while.”
“And not this pickle,” says Pa.
“And not this ghee,” says Ma.
"We can eat ghee rice and potatoes!" says Tara, happily.

Invisible Monsters
Tara and Madhav thought there was an invisible monster in their house. While there was no monster to be found, they were right about there being something invisible!
When food goes ‘bad’ — meaning it cannot be eaten by human beings — it’s because something invisible has begun to eat the food. These invisible beings are called microbes.
Microbes aren’t totally invisible: they’re just very, very, very tiny (tinier than the tiniest insect you’ve ever seen). You need a machine called a microscope to be able to see them. They look something like this.

When Food Goes Bad
Some foods spoil quicker than others and some foods spoil very slowly.
Wet foods, like many fruits and vegetables, spoil faster.
Dry foods, like uncooked dal and rice, spoil slower.
Eggs, meat and cheese spoil fast.
Preserved foods, like pickles and ghee, spoil very slowly.
Packaged foods, like biscuits and sweets, spoil the slowest.