Even though fish is a healthy and tasty meal, the catch of the day (or at least its smell) can stay too long. If your house smells like fish for days after cooking, you aren’t alone. It’s just one of those smells that likes to hang around.
Cooking fish is a great way to get lean protein and healthy fats into your diet. However, dealing with the lingering fishy smell afterwards can be unpleasant. If your home smells like the docks after frying up some salmon, don’t panic. With the right techniques, you can eliminate fish odors easily and make your house smell fresh again.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover 15 fast and effective methods for getting rid of fish smells after cooking. From natural odor absorbers like baking soda to ventilation tricks, you’ll have all the tips and solutions needed to blast away fishy smells. Let’s dive in!
Why Does Fish Smell So Much When Cooking?
To understand how to eliminate fish smells it helps to know what causes them in the first place. Fish have an oily, high-protein flesh that contains odor-causing compounds like trimethylamine oxide amines, and organic acids.
When fish is cooked, the heat causes these chemicals to break down and release stinky fishy smells into the air. Frying fish is especially odor-intensive since the oils volatilize and spread the smells further.
Oily fish like salmon and mackerel tend to smell more than white fish like tilapia or cod. But all fish can make your home reek long after dinner is over if the smells aren’t managed properly.
Top Tips to Prevent Fish Odors While Cooking
The first line of defense against fishy odors is preventing them from spreading in your kitchen during cooking. Here are some useful tips:
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Choose fresh fish – Older fish smell more strongly, so choose the freshest possible.
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Wrap in foil or parchment – This contains odors rather than letting them spread.
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Turn on kitchen vents – Vents and hoods suck up cooking smells Keep them running on high
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Open windows – Let fresh air circulate to dilute and displace smells
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Grill outdoors – Grilling avoids stinking up your kitchen altogether.
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Clean immediately – Wash dishes, surfaces, towels, and hands right after cooking.
How to Get Rid of Fish Smells in the House
Even if you’re careful, some fishy odor will likely persist after cooking. Here are some effective solutions for removing fish smells from your home:
1. Simmer Vinegar
Vinegar is a miracle worker when it comes to eliminating fish odors. Boil 1⁄4 cup white vinegar mixed with 1 cup water in a pot. As it simmers, the acetic acid in vinegar neutralizes nasty amino acids from the fish. Say goodbye to fishy smells!
2. Absorb with Baking Soda
Baking soda is a natural odor remover. Place open boxes or dishes around the kitchen to absorb the fish smell over several hours. For faster results, boil a baking soda solution.
3. Burn Citrus Peels
Citrus fruits like lemons contain d-limonene, a powerful odor absorber. Boil lemon, lime, or orange peels in water for 30 mins to clear the air. You can also simmer peels in vinegar for extra odor-fighting power.
4. Activate Your Range Hood
Turn that range hood on high and let it run for a while after cooking. Range hoods are designed to remove cooking odors like fish from the kitchen. Don’t have a range hood? Position a box fan in the window to blow air out.
5. Deploy Essential Oils
The strong scents of essential oils like lemon, lavender, eucalyptus, and tea tree help override fish odors. Put a few drops in an oil diffuser, or make a DIY odor absorber by adding drops to baking soda.
6. Ventilate the House
Open up windows and doors throughout the house to circulate fresh air. This dilution of the smelly air reduces fish odors in all rooms. Turn on bathroom fans too for extra venting power.
7. Set Out Charcoal
Activated charcoal absorbs and traps odorous compounds. Place small bowls of charcoal around the kitchen to clear the air. You can also put charcoal bags in the fridge or trash can to tackle the source.
8. Clean Surfaces with Vinegar
Wipe down countertops, sinks, appliances, walls, and floors with an all-purpose vinegar cleaner. Vinegar dissolves smelly oil residues left behind during cooking. Add some lemon juice for extra deodorizing action.
9. Wash Fabrics and Towels
The smell can cling to dish towels, sponges, and aprons. Wash them in hot water with baking soda or vinegar to remove odors from the fabric fibers. Don’t forget hand towels in bathrooms too.
10. Seal and Remove Leftovers
Pack leftovers in airtight containers, then stash them outside the kitchen to contain the smell. Take out the trash immediately since residue on cans or boxes reeks.
11. Light Scented Candles
Candles like lemon, vanilla, or jasmine add pleasant aromas to the air to help mask fish odors. Place them around the kitchen while cooking and let them burn for a while after to override lingering smells.
12. Brew Coffee
Coffee’s strong aroma helps neutralize funky smells. Brew a pot after cooking and let the grounds sit out in a bowl overnight to act as an odor absorber.
13. Fire up the Fan
Plug in a simple box fan or oscillating fan to circulate air and dissipate the fishy smell faster. Direct the breeze through open doors and windows for rapid odor removal.
14. Boil Orange or Lemon Peels
Citrus peels contain heavy concentrations of odor-neutralizing oils. Boil peels in water for 15 mins to clear the air with a fresh, tangy scent. For extra power, add vinegar too.
15. Bake Cookies, Bread or Pie
The sweet scents of baked goods help override lingering smells. Turn on the oven and bake something yummy like cookies to make your home smell like a bakery, not a fish market.
Tackle Odors on Your Hands, Clothes and More
Fish smells can cling to anything they touch, including your hands, clothes, and tools. Here’s how to tackle those extra-stubborn odor spots:
- Use toothpaste to remove smells from hands. The minty freshness overpowers fish.
- Soak clothes in vinegar solution if they smell. Add baking soda too for a cleaning boost.
- Clean knives, pans, and cutting boards with lemon juice. It cuts through fish oil residues.
- Rub lemon slices on wooden spoons and chopping blocks to freshen them up.
- Rinse fishy-smelling sink drains with baking soda and vinegar to deodorize.
Enjoy Fish without the Lingering Odor
With the right techniques, you can cook flavorful fish dishes without stinking up your home for days after. Choose fresh fish, ventilate your kitchen well, and clean immediately after cooking. Then employ vinegar, citrus, baking soda, and other odor absorbers to erase any lingering smells.
Next time the fish cravings hit, you’ll be able to fry, grill or bake worry-free, knowing you have all the solutions to banish fish odors for good. Get ready to enjoy the healthy benefits and mouthwatering flavors of fish without suffering the smelly downsides.
Boil citrus Peels to Get Rid of Fish Smells
Some people think citrus fruits are superpowers—just try putting a lemon through a stinky garbage disposal. Peel an orange, lemon, or lime and boil the zests in a pot of water on your stove. Leave simmering on low for a few hours. The citrus will chase off that smell in no time.
Keep Fish from Smelling While Cooking
Applying heat to fish will release its odor. Inevitably, cooking with fish is going to cause your kitchen to smell a little fishy. However, there are a few cooking techniques that you can use to keep the smell from spreading.
- Make a pouch. If you wrap your fish in foil or parchment paper, the smell will stay inside and not spread to the rest of the house. Adding whatever else you put in your pouch will also help the fish absorb those flavors.
- Try poaching your fish. Putting your fish in water that is just barely simmering will help keep the TMA in the water. Using milk as the liquid is especially helpful because it helps keep the smell in and gives you a flaky, creamy fish.
- Always cook your fish with maximum air flow. Turn on that overhead fan in your kitchen.
- Grill your fish. If you cook your fish outside, the smell of fish will never come inside.
- When you’re preparing the fish, put on gloves to keep the smell from getting on your hands.
After cooking with it, your house will smell a little like fish, no matter what you do. However, if you use the above methods, you should be able to reduce the smell.
How to Get Rid of Fish Smells in Your Kitchen | Cooking Tips | Made to Order | Chef Zee Cooks
How to remove fish smell from cooking?
You can use citrus essential oils in the simmer water to help remove fish smell from your kitchen. If you don’t want to have an extra pot of water cooking on your stove then you can use an aromatherapy diffuser to disperse the citrus oil. Sweet Orange, Mandarin or Lemon essential oil work well.
How can one make rice water smell good?
You may add vanilla essential oil, citrus peels, lavender essential oil, lemon grass essential oil, peppermint essential oil, jasmine oil, chamomile essential oil.
How do you stop a fish smell when chucking it out?
How to stop fish smells when throwing fish away: Freeze your fish. CJ reveals an incredibly nifty way of reducing the smell of out-of-date fish when you’re chucking it out. Freeze it. ‘No one likes dead, raw fish in the food bin,’ she says.
How do you keep fish from smelling?
Bundle with baking paper: Wrapping fillets in baking parchment before cooking retains moisture in the fish while keeping any nasty smells at bay. When reading recipes, this method is known as ‘en papillote.’ How to stop fish smells when throwing fish away: Freeze your fish.