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I bought what I was told by the proprietor of the store were fresh curry leaves. They looked like photos I have seen of fresh curry leaves and were on branches, not separate leaves. So far so good. But they had a distinctive smell that makes me wonder if what I got really WERE curry leaves. I have seen descriptions of their aroma as "slighlty citrusy" or "like tangerines." These smelled more chemical, almost like hot asphalt with a hint of pine pitch thrown in, although it was not unpleasant. I went ahead and used them and they certainly gave the curry a new layer of flavor. But I was surprised that the smell was so different from "citrusy."

Can someone who is familiar with the smell of fresh curry leaves describe their smell? Is this one of those things that you either smell or don't?

Curry leaves (Murraya koenigii) don't smell at all citrusy to me.  "Hot asphalt with a hint of pine pitch" is closer.  I've always thought they smell like leather boot (the outside, not the inside).

I've had zero luck keeping them in the refrigerator or freezing them, so when I buy some I try to use them up in 2-3 days.

Thanks, mcvl! It is reassuring to know I am not alone. Since I posted my question, I found another description that included "popcorn, lemongrass and roasted nuts" and that does get closer (and sounds nicer than hot asphalt or even leather boot, inside or out). As Ii was walking through the coffee aisle at the store today, I thought there was some component of the aroma of darkly roasted coffee beans in the curry leaf smell, too.

When you say you have had zero luck freezing them, what has happened to them? I used two sprigs the other day and froze the leaves of a third, and planned to buy more and freeze them the next time I could find them.

They lost their color and their smell.  I think I should try again for a shorter time -- the batch I froze got lost in my freezer for a while, like maybe 6 months.  (I do not have good freezer control in my house.  My husband resists writing down what he's put in the freezer because he says it's "obvious."  This from a systems architect.  Sigh.  He has other, redeeming qualities that I won't go into here.)  The curry leaves might be fine for, say, a month or two.