The Hack That Prevents Strong Smells When Cooking Fish

Picture this: you're cooking up a delicious fish dinner. Everything is perfect, the meat is flaky and tender, it's cooked just right, and your family can't sing your culinary praises high enough. But there's just one problem. Once the meal is done, your kitchen might not get the memo. Fishy smells are notorious for overstaying their welcome and turning off even the most avid pescatarians.

Thankfully, getting rid of the smell of cooking fish is easier than you might think. You have multiple options at your disposal for keeping your kitchen smelling fresh, including one unexpected hack that uses ingredients you likely already have in your pantry, like cinnamon. It's called a simmer pot, and it's your new best friend when it comes to keeping bad smells out of your kitchen. All you have to do is heat up some water in a pot on the stove, and once it's boiling, add about two teaspoons of ground cinnamon, stir until it dissolves, and let it boil for around 10 minutes.

Cinnamon and other aromatic spices work wonders at eliminating strong odors like fried fish. All it takes is a couple of pinches and a few minutes of your time to give lingering kitchen scents the heave-ho. So the next time you feel like preparing some moist and flavorful salmon in your Instant Pot or frying up a delicious side of halibut on the stove, break out the cinnamon to clear the air and keep your family dinners going swimmingly.

Using a simmer pot to get rid of strong smells after cooking fish, even when you make mistakes and burn the meal, is easy as pie. In no time at all, the cinnamon will neutralize the odor and leave your kitchen smelling fresh again. If needed, you can let it boil a bit more so long as you add water to replace what boils off. Otherwise, you'll replace the smell of fish with that of burnt cinnamon, which isn't pleasant, either. For best results, use it close to the source of the smell — that is, close to where in your kitchen you were cooking the fish.

If you're not a fan of cinnamon, don't despair. It's far from the only household ingredient that can rid your kitchen of cooking smells. Other spices and seasonings like cloves, ginger, or orange or lemon peel can also freshen your kitchen. Even just straight vinegar, while it may smell mildly unpleasant in the short term, will still neutralize your fishy odor. Experiment with different scents to create your perfect homemade potpourri.

What's more, this hack isn't just for fish. Any unpleasant odors left behind after cooking, like from Brussels sprouts for example, can be broken up by a good cinnamon-based simmer pot. So the next time you poach seafood, don't be afraid to add extra flavor. Your kitchen can still smell fresh as a daisy even if you've just finished cooking a Cajun-style crawfish boil.