Ants Smell Like Marzipan

"It has that overpowering smell of crushed ants," replied A when I offered to fix him an almond drink, one of my comfort drinks only a notch down after coffee and hot chocolate. I thought he must be out of his mind associating that sweet, flavourful aroma of almond to the odour of those little critters. Apparently, eversince that sensory association was formed in him, A never liked anything almond-y and marzipan-y anymore. Tough.

All I know about ants and ant-related smell are (1) that they release some sort of formic acid, which are intended for defense against predators and enemies, and (2) that they have very strong sensory organs for sniffing and smelling that are meant for identification and detection of other ants from the same colony. What escaped me is the possibility for humans to actually detect this ant acid smell, or at least I would think so as A claimed to have known. Is it just my olfactory sense being far inferior than his? Or perhaps it is his sense of smell which has totally flipped and gone wacko? What was he up to anyway coming across such odour?... bizaare! And let me ask, how many crushed ants does it take for one to actually get a whiff of that ant scent?... should we produce a mortar and pestle for experimentation?... the image of which gives me goosebumps. One or two ants are alright, but the thought hundreds of them scrambling about makes me wanna gag.

Funny thing is I know how ants taste like. It was an accident - for me and of course for the poor thing which died a quick death inside my mouth. The taste was very distinct, kind or rusty, cold, electric-like, and has a sharp bite to it... definitely not a condiment I would recommend unless you're vying for the championship of eating exotic stuff and insects.

For the life of me, keep them out of my kitchen and I'd be happy. Someday my good ol' beau would have to learn to appreciate and love my almond biscottis.