Comments on: Something's Fishy

Question: Something's Fishy

ao4047 — Sun, 14 Mar 2004 09:00:09 -0800

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?

By: JollyWanker

JollyWanker — Sun, 14 Mar 2004 09:24:06 -0800

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...

By: degnarra

degnarra — Sun, 14 Mar 2004 09:33:42 -0800

Baking Soda! It's a life-saver when it comes to nasty odors.

By: bcwinters

bcwinters — Sun, 14 Mar 2004 10:52:47 -0800

Try a white vinegar/water solution. You can soak plastic dishware in it or you can boil some in a pot on the stove.

By: Fupped Duck

Fupped Duck — Sun, 14 Mar 2004 12:28:42 -0800

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.

By: matteo

matteo — Sun, 14 Mar 2004 12:47:07 -0800

one word:vanilla

By: evilbeck

evilbeck — Sun, 14 Mar 2004 13:13:26 -0800

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.

By: andrew cooke

andrew cooke — Sun, 14 Mar 2004 13:16:54 -0800

eeek. thanks for that Fupped Duck. i've been having tuna sandwiches every day while on-shift...

By: onlyconnect

onlyconnect — Sun, 14 Mar 2004 14:17:28 -0800

(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.)

By: evilbeck

evilbeck — Sun, 14 Mar 2004 14:56:44 -0800

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.

By: ao4047

ao4047 — Sun, 14 Mar 2004 22:27:19 -0800

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!

By: Fupped Duck

Fupped Duck — Mon, 15 Mar 2004 05:02:44 -0800

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

By: zaelic

zaelic — Mon, 15 Mar 2004 05:26:13 -0800

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.

By: crunchburger

crunchburger — Mon, 15 Mar 2004 18:30:57 -0800

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?

By: mecran01

mecran01 — Mon, 15 Mar 2004 21:18:13 -0800

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

Hey! Squid farm! Small price to pay!

By: piskycritter

piskycritter — Sat, 20 Mar 2004 11:56:09 -0800

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?