Why frozen food smells way less, almost nothing, than when at ambient temperature?

Question

Why frozen food smells way less, almost nothing, than when at ambient temperature?

In: Chemistry

Answer 1

A lower temperature means molecules have less energy and are moving less. When you smell things, that’s molecules of those things getting into your nose and attaching to smell receptors. So when something is frozen, those molecules aren’t moving around much and not many of them are getting into your nose. When it warms up, those molecules are moving more so more of them make their way into your nose, so you smell it more.