7 Ingredients To Eliminate Fishy Smells In Your Kitchen

Fish is one of the healthiest proteins you can eat on a regular basis. Not only will it help you meet your protein needs, but it's also packed with healthy fats that will have you feeling your best. And even better, fish is delicious. Whether you decide to serve it light and bright, baked in the oven with some fresh lemon slices on top, or coat it in batter and deep-fry it, cooking fish from scratch in your own kitchen can feel like a big treat.

But do you know what's not a treat? Dealing with all the smells that are left behind in the process. Many kinds of fish are known to be smelly, causing your previously clean kitchen to smell like an open fish market. This probably isn't what you're going for in your home, so after you cook fish, you need to know about the best ways to deal with the smell.

Luckily, there are several ingredients you can keep stocked in your kitchen to help get rid of those less-than-pleasant fishy smells. And chances are, you already have some of them on hand. Check out this list of ingredients that can help you eliminate those fishy smells in your kitchen, and you can enjoy your favorite fish recipes that much more.

There's nothing like the overpowering smell of fresh fish you have in your kitchen right after preparing a seafood-centric recipe. Sure, the fish may taste delicious, but the smell it leaves behind isn't exactly what you want to be sniffing all night. Luckily, one simple ingredient in your pantry can help neutralize those odors quickly: vinegar. Your best bet is to go with plain old white distilled vinegar. This ingredient works by neutralizing alkaline odors (like fish odors) that keep your kitchen stinking long after you've cooked dinner.

You can simply boil some vinegar and water in a saucepan on your stove, then leave it to sit out for a while. After a few hours, you'll notice that fishy smell has pretty much disappeared. If you don't want to actually boil the vinegar, you can simply leave a bowl of it out on the counter. After leaving it out overnight, your kitchen will no longer have that unpleasant fishy smell. This may just be the simplest solution for combatting fishy odor in your kitchen.

Unfortunately, fishy smells tend to hang on long after you've finished your meal, which can be annoying if that freshly caught scent tends to bother you. But you may be surprised to learn that all you really need are a few spices to help you eliminate those unwanted odors. Your best bet? Look for strong-smelling simmering spices that you can put in a pot of boiling water. As the water boils, it will release those more desirable scents into the air, helping you breathe better in your kitchen.

There are a few spices you'll want to be on the lookout for. Cinnamon is a great option, particularly if you love the smell of baking spices. Rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, and star anise are also good options that most people find appealing. And if you want to make things smell even better, you can add some fresh fruit to your simmering pot. Apples can complement cinnamon nicely, and citrus can be a refreshing addition to a more savory-style simmering combo. Once these ingredients spend a few minutes on the stove, your kitchen will smell fresh once again.

Sometimes, in the kitchen, you're trying to remove fishy odors from the room itself. Other times, you're actually focusing on the fish. In instances of the latter, there's one ingredient you should always have on hand: salt. Salt can help remove the unpleasant fishy smell in seafood like shrimp and other fish. It's easy to use salt to cut down on that funky odor. Simply soak your shrimp or other fish in a bowl of cold water with a bit of salt. Within a few minutes, that salt should "soak" up the smell you're trying to get rid of.

And what if you get that fishy smell on your hands after you've been handling fresh seafood? If you don't want to smell that funk every time your hand is in front of your face, you can use salt to remove the odor. Simply scrub some salt between your hands after washing them, then wash them again afterward. You may be surprised at how quickly some sea salt takes care of that stink.

Anything acidic works well in the fight against fishy smells, which is why vinegar is such a great cleaning option. But another type of acid that may be even better than vinegar for killing these smells is lemon. This is because lemon itself has a pleasant smell, so instead of your kitchen smelling like salad dressing, it'll have a lemony freshness to it instead. You can use lemon to clean your countertops and other surfaces in your kitchen — especially surfaces that came into contact with the fresh fish.

Since lemon is such a lovely flavor enhancer in dishes, you can include it in your cooking to reduce those fishy smells and flavors that you may want to avoid. For example, lemon juice is an excellent addition to canned tuna dishes because it cuts down on tuna's fishier flavors. Plus, that acid can help break up the fattiness of the fish, really bringing the dish together. So whether you're trying to reduce fishy smells in your kitchen or your favorite pasta dish, lemon can do the trick.

One super easy way to combat fishy smells in your kitchen is by putting a bowl of baking soda near your cooking station. Baking soda absorbs strong odors like fish, which makes it an essential ingredient to have on hand if you're trying to avoid the smellier aspects of making seafood at home. You can do this while you're actually preparing and cooking your fresh fish to hopefully cut down on some of those strong fishy scents immediately, but definitely put it out after you're finished cooking. It's a good idea to keep it out overnight so your kitchen smells as fresh as possible the next morning.

If you're going to keep leftovers of the fish you made, you may be looking for ways to scrub that scent from your fridge and microwave as well. Luckily, baking soda can come into play here too. Leave a box of baking soda open in your fridge at all times to cut down on all nasty scents — not just those from fish. And putting a bowl of baking soda in your microwave can make things smell fresh even after you reheat the fish the next day.

You know when you walk into a coffee shop and you're immediately overwhelmed by the scent of freshly brewed coffee? It's an intense smell, and if you like coffee, it's probably one that you find very welcoming. Well, because this scent is so strong, it can stand up well to other intense odors — like fishy ones, for instance. This makes coffee grounds an essential ingredient in your fight against a fishy-smelling kitchen. Just laying some out in your kitchen can get rid of that fishy stench in no time.

But don't worry — you don't have to use that bag of expensive artisan coffee you like to drink on weekend mornings. Basically, any type of coffee will do, so you can opt for the cheap stuff if you're just using it for cleaning purposes. And if you don't want to waste coffee at all, you can also just set out those used grounds you have from this morning. Who doesn't like fighting food waste and getting rid of nasty smells in the kitchen at the same time?

Okay, maybe this isn't just one ingredient, but one great way to cut down on those fishy smells in your kitchen is to simply cook — or, in this case, bake — something else. If you'd rather have your kitchen smell like a from-scratch bakery than a fish market, throw something in the oven. Want dessert for that same night? Bake some quick cupcakes or brownies. Not only will they come together in a pinch, but the sweet smell of their baking will make you forget all about the salmon you cooked earlier in the evening.

But maybe you're not a dessert person. That's okay! Consider yourself some healthy muffins to enjoy the next morning. You can even go with some savory egg bites if you try to stay away from the sweet stuff. Even if you don't consider yourself a good baker, you can always just grab some pre-made cookie dough at the grocery store and put it in the oven. Even if the cookies don't come out perfectly, your home will smell as warm and welcoming as your favorite bakery.