Something's Fishy

March 14, 2004 9:00 AM

How can I neutralize fish odors, either in the air after cooking / preparation on plastic or metal dishware?

(more...) I'm doing a high-protein diet lately and find myself eating an inordinate amount of tuna and salmon. I'd rather not have the smell of a fish-house hit me in the face every time I enter my abode. Sure, potpurri is one option but is there some magic combo of lemon and some household product that I should be using when I wash the dishes?

posted by ao4047 to food & drink (15 comments total)

Squeezing the juice of a lemon into your dish rinsing water will usually do the trick for the kitchenware and serving plates. Dunno about the cooking odors, though...
posted by JollyWanker at 9:24 AM on March 14, 2004

Baking Soda! It's a life-saver when it comes to nasty odors.
posted by degnarra at 9:33 AM on March 14, 2004

Try a white vinegar/water solution. You can soak plastic dishware in it or you can boil some in a pot on the stove.
posted by bcwinters at 10:52 AM on March 14, 2004

not to derail, but you should be careful about eating seafood too often. Tuna and (wild) salmon are ok twice a week but more than that and you run the very real risk of having mercury issues.
posted by Fupped Duck at 12:28 PM on March 14, 2004

one word:vanilla
posted by matteo at 12:47 PM on March 14, 2004

Though my familiarity with alcohol is nil, I do recall (through experience in a gourmet meats and seafoods store) that extra dry white vermouth splashed onto the fish ~15 minutes before cooking will reduce the smell. I also like apple cider vinegar on my fresh albacore.

Removing the skin will also reduce the smell (possibly a pointless explanation, but what the hell, somebody may learn...). With salmon fillet: place "belly edge" of skin towards you on the cutting board. If possible, place the edge adjacent to your cutting hand at the edge of the board or table. Use a hard, flat, blunt blade (such as a 4" wide putty knife) to hold the flap of skin that should be free on the "belly edge" of the fish. The knife should be reasonably sharp- not too sharp though, you'll cut through the skin. Hold the flap and press the blade through the length of the fillet just between the skin and meat at a very shallow angle, just above horizontal. The last inch likes to be difficult, just get a good grip and press hard. The skin should be white with a few odd splotches of gray where you got a little fat. With practice you can do this perfectly and really impress the housewives.
posted by evilbeck at 1:13 PM on March 14, 2004

eeek. thanks for that Fupped Duck. i've been having tuna sandwiches every day while on-shift...
posted by andrew cooke at 1:16 PM on March 14, 2004

(I think most of the mercury issues with salmon are related more to farmed salmon than to wild, so if you're just careful about which type you eat alot of, there should be much less risk.)
posted by onlyconnect at 2:17 PM on March 14, 2004

Most fresh fish retailers should have publications that chart the amount of PCBs and Mercury concentration per species. Ask if you can have/read one.
posted by evilbeck at 2:56 PM on March 14, 2004

be careful about eating seafood too often

Darn it! I totally forgot about that stuff - and I'm always popping off about free-range this and no-hormone that. Thanks for the reminder and thanks to everybody for your answers so far!
posted by ao4047 at 10:27 PM on March 14, 2004

Chunk White Tuna can be safely eaten twice a week, while Chunk Light Tuna is safe 3 times a week (for adults)

Taking 300mg of Alpha Lipoic Acid daily increases the rate of mercury elimination enabling you to safely add one extra weekly serving to the rates above.

From The Good Fat Cookbook by Fran McCullough
posted by Fupped Duck at 5:02 AM on March 15, 2004

I'm doing high protein as well. You could learn to embrace fish smell. My girlfriend is Japanese and likes the smell of fish in the house. My house smells like a squid farm.
posted by zaelic at 5:26 AM on March 15, 2004

Random idea: rubbing your hands, with dish soap, on a stainless-steel sink, works great for onion smell on your hands. Does it work for seafood too?
posted by crunchburger at 6:30 PM on March 15, 2004

We have to auto-clean our oven to get rid of the persistent smell.

Hey! Squid farm! Small price to pay!
posted by mecran01 at 9:18 PM on March 15, 2004

Most fresh fish retailers should have publications that chart the amount of PCBs and Mercury concentration per species. Ask if you can have/read one.

Got mercury?
posted by piskycritter at 11:56 AM on March 20, 2004