Preparing, cooking, serving, and eating the many wonderful fish dishes we love is a culinary art and joy! That is… until it comes to that pesky lingering and unwanted fish smell in the kitchen that can last for days! Here are some tips for managing this smelly problem even while you are preparing your lovely fish meal.
- TOWEL: Hang a wet towel in the kitchen while cooking fish—it leaves the kitchen almost odour free.
- MINT: While prepping, put eight to ten mint leaves in the pan when cooking. This will prevent the fish smell in the kitchen from taking over the house.
- VINEGAR: Boil a saucepan of water to which you add some white vinegar and a few cloves, or instead a teaspoon of cinnamon and lemon peels. The acid in the vinegar or lemon peels is what seems to counter whatever fishy-oiliness is in the air.
- MILK: Soaking the fish in milk for half an hour and then draining before cooking it will help with the smell. If you do not like the milky flavour, you may try washing it with vinegar before cooking.
- LEMONS: Lemons are not only great for cooking, they can also help remove the stinky fish smelling kitchen on your hands when you prepare fish. A couple of halves of lemons soaked in water make for a great way to rinse your hands while preparing fish. You can also use lemon wedges and lemon juice as an ingredient to help enhance the flavour of the fish and remove unappealing odours and flavours while cooking it.
- APPLES: You can also put a few slices of apples into the oil in which you are frying the fish.
- BICARBONATE OF SODA: It also helps to keep an open box of bicarbonate of soda inside your refrigerator or freezer compartment when you store the fresh fish. Plain bicarbonate of soda on the counter while prepping can also help remove fishy odours.
- LEMON and SOAP: Got fishy smells on your hands? Wash them before you join the meal with a cut lemon and follow with soapy warm water… twice!
- CLEAN: After your fish dinner, clean everything near the cooktop. The lingering smell may be from any oils that have spattered on the walls, cabinets, floor or on other appliances. Even a few tiny drops of fishy oil can make your kitchen very stinky. Really clean it with warm soapy water followed by a lemon-smelling kitchen disinfectant.
- RUBBISH: Separate and bag any waste items that have touched the fish and take outside to the trash as soon as possible.
- WASTE DISPOSAL: After you've scraped and washed the fishy pans and dishes, send half a lemon down the kitchen sink waste disposal unit.
- LAUNDRY: Start a load of wash of any aprons, mitts, napkins, tablecloths, and even clothes you cooked in – or bag up for tomorrow’s laundry.
We hope you enjoyed our tips on getting the fish smell in the kitchen to go away. Don’t forget to check out our other organising and cleaning tips such as the best way to clean the oven, how to clean the microwave, and how to clean a vinyl floor.
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