How would things taste if you lost your sense of smell?

It's a question that has become surprisingly common this year.

Anosmia -- or "smell blindness" -- is a condition which is thought to affect around 5% of the population.

But with loss of smell and/or taste two of the recognized symptoms of Covid-19, this previously little-known condition has come under the global spotlight.

Not only have people been unable to smell or taste while sick with the virus, but many people report long-term loss of these senses, meaning that even while they recover from other symptoms, their world continues to be devoid of flavor.

So what happens when, all of a sudden, you lose your sense of smell and taste?

Dutch cookbook writer Joke (pronounced Yok-e) Boon suffers from anosmia -- the inability to smell. She lost her sense of smell at the age of four -- probably a combination of a severe cold and having her tonsils removed.