2 metal or glass bowls and pans

A bottle of distilled white vinegar

1 or 2 lemons, or a bottle of lemon juice

A few ounces (about 125 g) baking soda

A roll of aluminum foil

Optional:

2-3 freezer bags

2-3 sticks of cinnamon

A tablespoon of cloves

2 scoops of ground coffee

A teaspoon of vanilla extract

The fresher the fish is, the fewer smells you'll have from it. Always cook fresh fish within two days of getting it. Otherwise, wrap it tightly, label it with the date and freeze it.

If you've deep-fried the fish, drain the oil into a tin can, throw in some bread crumbs or bird seed if you maintain a birdfeeder and cover it tightly to hold in the smell. Set it in the freezer where it can stay still you need a suet ball for the wild birds. If you don't have a feeder, leave it there until garbage collection day and toss it out then.

Smoke point is the stage at which hot oil begins to emit smoke. Aside from producing acrid odors and giving an unpleasant flavor to foods, overheated oil has chemical compounds that are very unhealthy to consume. Animal fats such as butter and lard have relatively low smoke points, which means they're not so good for frying. Canola oil and peanut oil have high smoke points (good for frying).

Sprinkle a little salt in the skillet before frying fish to prevent the fish from sticking. That means less mess and fewer smells from the pan.

Grilling your fish outdoors is the most obvious method to keep the kitchen free of cooking fish smells.

2torial #0838: Learn2 Remove Fishy Smells   Something fishy this way comes...   ...and yikes! It sure does stink. That's the thing about fish, though. You can sometimes smell it before you even see it, and it's difficult to enjoy your meal when your home smells like the cargo hold of a fish trawler. But don't worry. Before you can say "Holy mackerel!" you'll be bragging about the smell that got away--and that's not a fish story.   Accept the fact that if you're cooking fish, then it's going to smell like fish--it doesn't matter if the fish is fresh, canned or frozen. On the other hand, you don't want strong smells hanging around for hours after you've eaten. What can you do? Work step by step, minimizing the spread of the smell where you can, and removing the remaining smells as you go. Your response to a fishy smell depends on where you got the fish. Did you catch it yourself? If so, see below for special advice. If you're opening a can or thawing some fillets, you've got packaging to deal with. No matter what form the fish is in, you'll have utensils and cooking containers to clean up. And inevitably, your hands will smell of fish. Last but not least, the cooking of the fish will add a fishy smell to the air. Special advice for those who catch their own fish The smells associated with a great day at your favourite fishing hole are now in your clothes. It's best to get them cleaned up right away, to prevent the smell from getting stronger and stinking up your home. Pre-soak the offending garments in cold water; then add a cup (about 250 g) of baking soda to the wash to help remove the smells. (Important: Don't add chlorine bleach to the wash when you use baking soda.Mixing these creates a bad chemical reaction.)   If you store rubber boots and waders inside your home, rinse off them with soapy water, and then vinegar, and leave them outside to air-dry.   Don't forget to take a shower. You were wearing those clothes! Start with yourself You've been working with the fish: handling it, perhaps cleaning it, and preparing it for whatever dish you're making. You need to get your hands dirty--there's no way around that. But you can remove the "eau de fish" from your hands. Start off the smell removal project with a sinkful of warm soapy water. Wash your hands in soapy water to remove the fishy liquids. If you've filled the sink already, it's just a matter of swishing your hands around.   Next, rinse your hands in undiluted white vinegar or lemon juice, or rub them with half a lemon to remove the fish smell. (If the vinegar smell bothers you, another dip in the warm soapy water will take care it.)   Note: try rinsing your hands in vinegar or lemon juice before you handle the fish--it'll be easier to remove the smell from them afterwards. Move on to the utensils and counters   Fish will leave a smell on any surface with which it has made contact, especially rubber or plastic. Hence, use metal or glass bowls whenever possible. If you do use a plastic bowl, and soapy water and a vinegar rinse doesn't do the trick, try this: dampen some newsprint, place it inside the bowl, cover it tightly and put it into the freezer for a few days. The newsprint should absorb the smell nicely.   Clean the counters, cutting board and utensils with soapy water. Remember the lemon you used for your hands? Use it again--rub it over the cutting board and counters to get them smelling fresh again. If you're cooking with canned fish like tuna, salmon or the dreaded sardine, be sure to wash out the tins and rinse them with vinegar before you put them into the recycling bin. Otherwise your recycling bin will attact pests and generally smell unpleasant.   Sink therapy: Any unwanted liquids from the cans can be poured down the sink if you also add a handful of baking powder and some boiling water. This will act to freshen up the drain. Or if you have an interested cat, save the sink drain. Pour the fish over its food and make sure it's all been consumed. Then rinse out the cat's dish. Cook it right   Is it possible to cook fish and not have a fishy smell? Attention to how you cook and what you cook will show that you can greatly reduce the smell. To keep fishy smells out of the refrigerator, keep the fish tightly covered in plastic wrap until you're ready to cook it.   Pan-frying is one of the easiest ways to cook fish. It's also the method most often responsible for giving the house a cooked fish smell. To prevent this odor, be careful to keep the frying fat from reaching its smoke point. Frying fish in overheated (smoking) oil is notorious for producing fishy smells.   Aluminum foil is your biggest ally when it comes to cooking fish in the oven. It keeps your fish moist, seals in flavors and odors, removes much of the skin for you when you unwrap it, and best of all, it leaves you no smelly pans to deal with.   Cook another dish that adds a pleasing smell to the kitchen. A dish prepared with garlic can fill an entire home with its tantalizing aroma.   Once the fish is cooking, clean up the bowls that held the raw fish. Aside from reducing the spread of fishy smells, the utencils used for raw fish and cooked fish shouldn't come into contact with each other, for health reasons.   Refill the sink with hot soapy water. After you transfer the cooked fish to the serving plate, drop any dirty pans into the sink to soak while you eat.   Enjoy the fruits of your labor. It's time to eat! Why not light a candle or two for a little added charm at the table? Nobody has to know that you are also quietly burning away odours. Clear the air! Cleaning the stuff that emits fishy smells is most of the battle. But fish has a way of hanging around, so you'll probably have some odor to deal with. Here's how to cope. Ventilate. Open the windows or use an exhaust fan while you work. Set a dish of warm white or cider vinegar on the counter or in the windowsill. This acts to neutralize odors.   Once you've neutralized the air, burn a scoop or two of ground coffee on a piece of foil on a burner. You might like to do this while you cook as well. Of course, you might not like the way coffee smells. If you don't, try boiling some water and adding cinnamon and cloves. Let it simmer in an uncovered pot, letting the sweet warm smells fill the air. Do the dishes right away   Sometimes you can afford to leave the dishes for morning; but with fish, you're highly advised to clean them right away. If you've been following the steps so far, you should only have the plates, the flatware, and the pans (which were soaking while you ate.) Scrape the plates into an old plastic bag and seal it up nice and tight. Toss in any cooking foil you have as well and get it outside your home. Remember to put all fishy remains in a garbage container with a tight-fitting lid--you don't want animals to get at it. (Your pet dog could undo all your hard work with a quick roll in the garbage and a romp through your home!)   Leftovers, if there are any, should go into the refrigerator right away. Be careful to store them in a tightly sealed container. An open box of baking soda set in the back of the refrigerator will absorb fish odors that might be lurking there.   Scrub the soaked pans first, empty the sink, and refill it with fresh water and soap. Breeze through the plates, silverwave and glasses. Once the dishes are done and put away, give your sink a quick scouring with baking soda to catch any smells there.   More sink therapy: Another handful of baking soda down the drain followed by a cup (about 250 ml) of vinegar will nicely clean out the fishy residue that can clog the drain and emit foul smells. Just rinse the baking soda-vinegar combo with boiling water after an hour or so.   Have you used a garbage disposal unit? Use it again to grind up the lemons that you've used for seasoning and for removing the smells from your hands. Their lemony scent will spread through the kitchen.   For a little extra: Pour a little vanilla extract on a cloth, and walk around to some lamp and light fixtures in the room that have exposed bulbs. A few quick rubs on the light bulbs will add another pleasant smell--the heat from the lit bulbs will fill the room with scent.   Brew yourself a nice cup of herbal tea or any other hot drink. Its pleasant aroma will fill your nose as you relax in your easy chair and dream of the big one that got away. -end- Learn More!