When we were kids growing up in Tehran, every spring my family and I would go visit my grandmother's sisters on the other side of the mountains in Gorgan not far from the Caspian Sea. My brother and I loved hanging out there because we lived in an apartment in the city and this was in the countryside where we could run free.

One of the things we did every spring was to make this homemade jam called Bahar Nāranj (orange blossom jam), from the nāranj citrus trees that grew in their backyard. The smell of that jam is amazing. Once you smell it, you never forget it.

I remember when I was about 8 or 9 years old, some of the family would get together to make this jam. During the day, we’d all work to collect the orange blossoms from the nāranj trees. We’d take the ladies’ head coverings and place them under the trees. And then we’d shake the nāranj trees to release the blossoms. Often we’d use these big sticks to help us get all the blossoms off and collect them in the tarp. The smell of those blossoms was unforgettable.

After we collected the blossoms, we’d take them inside and put them in these big pots to cook them. My grandmother and aunts would heat the blossoms with water and sugar to make this incredible jam. The smell of it. It’s simply amazing. In the evening the whole family would come around, more than 50 people. I remember it being such happy times, all of us eating and laughing.

The smell of that homemade jam takes me back to my childhood and nature. It takes me back to everything good. The feeling itself is of fleetingness. The flowers are only there for a short time and then you have to wait for them to bloom again. It’s rare and precious. I feel like I need to stop in time, take the moment to enjoy because I’m not going to get this again for another year.

When you capture the smell in the jar and you open that jar again and again it’s there. It gives you the same effect over and over again. It’s divine. Recently I was at this restaurant here in San Francisco and we had this napoleon with figs and this orange blossom essence, and I was dying. I got completely transported back to my time in Iran. The scent memory reminds me of family, of nature, of happiness, abundance and all the good stuff.

If the scent had a sound, what would it be? Vivaldi’s Summer.

If the scent had a color, what would it be? White.

If the scent had a texture, what would it be? Handmade cashmere.

If the scent could give you advice, what would it tell you? It would tell me to live a little for today. Live a little for tomorrow. Take the time to slow down. There are moments in life when you’re going to want to stop and enjoy the moment just because. You’re going to want to prioritize it because you’re not going to get the moment back.