Swamiji preparing Mahaprashad
Nourishment for the Gods, for beings who are not in physical form but in astral forms, is the fragrance, the smell. Therefore, we put flowers and incense on the altar.
Therefore, we offer food to God, and then eat it as prasad. Whilst cooking you should be wholly concentrated on the feeling that you are cooking for a higher one, for the Divine one. Then the food becomes as nectar for you...
Swami Maheshwarananda