After enjoying some delicious recipes with fish such as sea bass, tuna, sardines, and more, we’re often faced with a difficult task: eliminating that strong fish smell from the kitchen.
Its strong aroma is usually dispersed throughout the whole house very quickly. Many times, it can even be perceived in nearby rooms. But what can you do to stop it?
Luckily, there are several tricks that help neutralize this aroma so that it isn’t a problem in your house.
1. Soak the fillets in milk
There’s an easy trick you can do before cooking the fish that stops the smell from invading the kitchen and the house. Our tricks can often start as a preventive measure. So, before preparing it, you can simply try this easy trick with milk.
What to do
- About 30 minutes before cooking the fish, put the fillets in a container with plenty of milk.
- With this simple trick, you’ll avoid that its fish smell flood the whole kitchen and house.
2. Coffee grains
One of the natural home air fresheners is coffee beans. Like the drink, they have a strong aroma that manages to neutralize unpleasant odors such as those left by fish in the kitchen.
What to do
- When the fish smell invades your kitchen, take several coffee beans, and put them to roast.
- In a matter of minutes, that uncomfortable smell will be a thing of the past!
3. White vinegar to eliminate the fish smell
The natural odor eliminator par excellence is white vinegar. Although its smell is not so pleasant for many people, its application manages to eliminate strong smells like fish.
Also, as highlighted in the article Functional Properties of Vinegar, published in the Journal of Food Science, it has antimicrobial properties and therefore helps to disinfect.
What to do
- If after cooking fish that unpleasant smell remains, boil one cup of white vinegar in two cups of water.
- Leave the solution uncovered so that the vapors released when boiling eliminate the bad smell.
- Then, don’t throw the mixture away. Put it in a spray bottle and use it to clean floors, countertops, and pans.
4. Citrus peels
The aroma of citrus fruits is also ideal for eliminating the smell of fish from the kitchen. The essential oils of the skins of these fruits release a strong aroma that, as a publication in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences highlights, is also relaxing.
What to do
- First, cut the citrus peels into several parts (they can be lemons and oranges, for example).
- Then, put them in a pot with plenty of water.
- Afterward, put them to boil with the pot uncovered so that the aromatic vapors can be released.
If necessary, repeat the process until the nasty smell is eliminated.
5. Cinnamon sticks
The smell of cinnamon is so effective against bad odors that it isn’t uncommon to find it in many conventional cleaning products. However, if it’s a matter of neutralizing the fish smell, it can also be used in its natural state.
What to do
- First, boil two or three cups of water with several cinnamon sticks.
- Leave them on low heat for 10 or 15 minutes so that the vapors have time to spread throughout the kitchen.
You can also use another method; it consists of putting several cinnamon sticks in the oven on a baking tray. The aroma they release will remove the fish smell in a matter of minutes.
Are you planning on cooking fish? Next time you do it, keep all these tricks in mind so that the horrible odor doesn’t cause you any inconvenience.
If you know other methods to avoid this problem, don’t hesitate to share them with us!