From Apple Pie to House Keys

Published: American TurkNetwork Magazine, Washington DC, September 2025 , "CULINARY CHRONICLES"

The real estate sector can be pretty dynamic, with trends, seasons, interest rates, and economic shifts all playing a role. A realtor plays a crucial role in helping us navigate the renting, buying, and selling process, which can be either rewarding or challenging. Especially skilled real estate brokers have the ability to observe you, your choices, profession, and economic status, making your life easier throughout this process. 

A Recipe for Success

I had a chance to observe a boutique realtor, Shenny Fahrali, who also has home staging experience. She once mentioned that the highest cost of a home comes from the kitchen and bathroom. More bathrooms and a bigger kitchen drive prices higher. That made me remember once upon a time how I turned my previous house’s living room into a kitchen. It was very convenient for me. Loved ones were gathering around the table, having a pleasant time while we were cooking.

Back to Shenny: She explains that if you are in a boutique business, you can be selective about clients. She handpicks them and invests significant time understanding their specific needs and desires. She said that she always carries water and basic supplies, saying, “These are for my guests”, because she wants clients to feel comfortable. She makes sure to show them the local shops and businesses, so they really picture themselves living in the neighborhood. According to Shenny, the challenging part about working boutique is that it demands more intensive effort than high-volume approaches, but the advantage is that her clients become like guests to her, and her reward is building these long-lasting friendships. She seems like she puts her heart into it. I think she is a great role model for new realtors. Her philosophy is centered on personal connection, together with technology that she uses as a research tool. 

Quite frankly, she works like a private chef who creates something completely customized for each client; she’s crafting a personalized experience rather than serving up the same thing to everyone. It’s exactly that kind of artisanal approach. Chefs create meals; realtors guide you to make your new home.

How do we decide? The Hidden Factors in Home Selection

Whether you like a big bedroom or a big kitchen, or prefer a small backyard, or maybe you just pay attention to your neighbors. There is a Turkish saying, “you’re not just buying a house, you’re buying a neighbor”, and in English, people say, “location, location, location.” The idea is that the area and neighbors matter just as much as the house itself. The essential thing is your tranquility. Your home decides how you live, what you cook & eat, and where you sleep on your behalf. You may want to sleep on the north side of your home, but you can’t if there is a bathroom there. 

Therefore, your home is going to dictate which side of the house you will sleep, eat, study, and live on. Do you like cooking at home, making börek, or using big counters in the kitchen for rolling out baklava dough, proofing pita? Your realtor will tell you what you can, and you can’t make in this house. Your hero in this transaction is your realtor.

Studies in environmental psychology have shown that certain scents, sounds, and music can influence your duration at a place and purchasing decisions. Vanilla, cooked apple-cinnamon combinations, and baking smells tend to make people feel a more positive vibe and cozier about spaces. The National Association of Realtors has also done research on home staging effectiveness, and they’ve found that staged homes are more attractive to buyers, usually sell faster, and at higher prices. According to NAR 2023 statistics, while 39% of buyers pay attention to living room staging, 30% of buyers give importance to staged kitchens. 

Behavioral economics research suggests that when people smell something pleasant, they’re more likely to associate the space emotionally. According to research compiled in “The Neurobiology of Olfaction” (Menini, 2010), a well-respected publication in the Frontiers in Neuroscience series, smell is also a trigger of memories through smell pathways and the limbic system, which also affects other senses, emotions, and the decision-making process.

Additionally, research on how sound affects taste perception shows wonderful connections between our senses. Based on a 2019 study published in the Journal of Neuroscience Research, higher-pitched sounds can make things taste sweeter, and further research published in the International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science specified that certain frequencies or soundtracks can significantly affect how people perceive and enjoy the saltiness in bread (Swahn & Nilsen) and enhance specific flavors. Even some restaurants and food companies are experimenting with consumer behaviors. 

The meal you have before home-gazing is also essential. There is research about expert decision-making by Shai Danziger and colleagues (PNAS, 2011). They took judges and their decision-making process before and after meals as their theme. Even judges’ decision-making process has been highlighted in research, showing that our physical state can unconsciously influence even supposedly objective decisions. How many “rational” choices we make are actually affected by things like hunger, meal timing, fatigue, comfort level, or getting into debt? As a result, you need an experienced realtor who acts in your best interest beside you during the process.

Consequently, these studies specify that consumer behaviors are affected by the environment subconsciously. Your realtor should know what you want! A comfy place, or losing weight with a close gym for exercising, a fresh salad instead of the smell of apple pie. Trustworthy realtors help with your decision without trapping you with sound, smell, or your favorite taste combination, and they show you the right home choices for you. Being a realtor is a challenging business.

The fall is coming, and home hunting season picks up. We all need experienced guidance; I hope the issue of the magazine will support you.  I wish you an excellent home harvesting season. I would like to support you with a welcoming smell in your new home. You can find my apple cinnamon cake in a pan recipe below. That is just for you. Right after you move to your new home, before finding bakeware among many moving boxes, you only need a pan and a stove for this recipe.

Enjoy your cake!

Apple Cinnamon Cake in a Pan

4 servings

Ingredients:

2 apples

¼ cup lemon juice

½ cup of sugar

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 handful raisins

1 handful of dried apricots

1 cup of flour 

½ cup of almond flour

½ tsp. baking powder

2 eggs

1 tablespoon yogurt

1 cup of heavy cream

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

80 gr. (2,8 oz) butter

Direction:

Soak the dried apricots and raisins in lukewarm water for a while.

Cut the apples into slices and place them in lemon water.

Sauté the apples in a pan with 1/4 lemon juice, 1/4 cup of sugar, cinnamon, and a little butter. Drain the apricots and raisins, then add them to the pan.

In a bowl, mix baking powder, a cup of flour, and almond flour.

Mix the vanilla with the cream.

Add the eggs, yogurt, and vanilla cream mixture and stir.

Bring the rest of the butter to room temperature and add it to the mixture last.

Mix all the ingredients to prepare your cake batter.

Heat a pan and cook the cake on both sides.

Enjoy your cake!

All rights reserved by Deniz Orhun

Resources:

National Association of Realtors, 2023 Home Staging Statistics https://www.nar.realtor/magazine/real-estate-news/home-and-design/study-home-staging-can-sway-budget-conscious-buyers

“The Neurobiology of Olfaction,” edited by Anna Menini, Frontiers in Neuroscience series, 2010

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK55967/

Journal of Neuroscience Research, 2019, Höchenberger and Ohla study on taste-sound correspondences  https://doi.org/10.1002/jnr.24308

 International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science, Swahn and Nilsen study on sound and taste perception https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijgfs.2023.100718

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2011, Danziger study on judicial decision-making https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1018033108