Hi, when I cook a curry the smell seems to hang around in my kitchen for a few days. I always open the window when I cook and put my extractor fan on but it doesn't seem to help. Does anyone have any good tips for me? I've tried air fresheners etc but these just seem to mask the smell for a couple of hours.

why get rid of it ?

:-)

Steve

Nothing much you can do about the smells, but when you fry onion - ginger- garlic always keep the lid on, but still you have to take the lid off for stirring.

Smelly clothes are a problem for me that is why i wear old clothes while cooking which goes straight into washing machine thereafter ;)

why get rid of it ?

:-)

Exactly what I thought lol.

I have read somewhere that you can boil some vinegar in a pan of water on high for a while, and that is supposed to get rid of the smell. I haven't tried it though. The same place where I read this also mentioned that the lingering smell is caused by small particles of the oil splashing up and landing near to the cooking area. This would make sense - after reading the posts on here to do with flavour loss.

Sid

It is a problem to get rid of cooking smells, especially during winter months when house windows are mostly closed. Often, these smells are more noticeable to people who visit your house, when you don?t think that your house smells at all! Sorry, this has become rather a long answer! These are some of the things I do;

1. When cooking, keep the kitchen doors to the rest of the house closed, so smell doesn't get into the rest of the house

2. Open at least one kitchen window and keep the exhaust on until at least half an hour after cooking is finished, to get rid of lingering smells.

3. Splashes of grease on cooker holds smells, cooking smells of fish or fried foods also linger. I always clean the cooker and work surfaces, as soon as I have finished cooking. Wipe kitchen surfaces, especially around your cooker, with a dish cloth soaked in white malt vinegar. I keep a cheapest bottle of vinegar under the sink with my cleaning stuff. I used to have a home help/gardener/friend called Tom, who taught me that vinegar and baking soda is all you need to clean a house and that we spend far too much money on cleaning products in pretty bottle! He also kept a 25/75 vinegar/water solution in a spray bottle for this purpose.

4. I don't have curtains in the kitchen, because curtains hold smells I only have blinds which also remain rolled up 99% of the time

5. My kitchen towels go in the wash every day. They also hold smells.

6. Discarded cooked food/fish etc. smells linger and worsen. I keep a liner bag in my bin and then the rubbish collecting bag on top. This bag is discarded every day, every other day maximum. If you can't discard your bag every day, tie a knot in the one you are using and keep a clean one on top.

7. It is worth wiping cupboard doors about every 10 days or so. My cleaning lady knows this and does it whenever she has spare time.

8. When doing a lot of frying of onions etc., I do it before shower. If not, I sometimes use a shower cap to cover my hair (it is a sight!), because smell lingers in hair too, and change clothes after cooking.

9. If you have time, bake bread/naan/cake/biscuits etc., things that smell nice, after you have finished cooking.

Here are some of the things I picked from the internet, some new to me and I will try.

1. Mix a tablespoon or two of sodium bicarbonate with water in slow cooker. Put it on and leave it on low setting, with the lid off, in the room that needs freshening for a couple of hours. I am going to try this one for sure. You can also add a few drops of essential oil or a nice-smelling spices like cinnamon stick/powder to the pot. Other things that can be added are; drops of essential oil, a tsp of vanilla extract, ground or whole cloves, lemon slices

2. Simmer a pot of half vinegar and half water for 30 minutes. Simmer a pot of water with lemon and orange peels. This was something I was taught at microwave course when I first bought one years ago. Personally, I would keep the exhaust on, especially in winters, to avoid steaming up your kitchen.

3. Wipe kitchen surfaces, with a dish towel soaked in a solution of baking soda and water.

Funnily enough, smell is never a problem in India, because all windows and doors are always open there and people do not have carpets in the house, except for a rug in the lounge, sometimes.

Whoa long post Mamta....thanks for your suggestions. Hair of course holds smell, I always wrap a kitchen towel on. Chak de phattey!!!!.

Wishing all of you a very happy new year.

Happy new year to you too Rajneesh.

What is Chak de phattey? I am not familiar with this!

I thought you knew it Mamta. It was used as a war cry by Sikhs nowadays it means something like - bravo , bring the house down, horrah, lets do it ...etc :D

The quicker and more simple answer.....

anyone who complains about the smell, don't invite them again ! :-)

Steve

Kitchens should smell, I feel, but I guess the smell of cabbage lingers rather unpleasantly, and the smell of Swiss raclette cheese also hangs around for too long.

But the smell of Indian food? You're kidding! My grown-up daughter says she loves the fact that our kitchen has a lovely Indian smell.

Steve: you're right; don't re-invite people who don't like the smell of your kitchen.

There are also people who want odour-free and spotless kitchens. I think that these are mostly people who can't cook and don't enjoy food. Some of them, in the UK, have spent thousands on designer kitchens whose immaculate state shouldn't, they feel, be despoiled by the messy act of cookery.

I love our messy, cluttered kitchen, and I don't care whether anyone disapproves of it!

Phil

It is not the smell of fresh food that is the problem, That of course is lovely. It is the stale, lingering smell, just like the smell from a chippy's clothes! That is true of most foods, not just a curry, I guess LOL

I'm loving some of the answers, thanks. Some made me laugh. I do like the sound of the slow cooker one and the boiling pan with citrus peel. Curry smells don't bother me at all, it's the wife who is always complaining and she can't cook at all. She's more bothered about the house being like a show house lol. She's always happy to eat Mamta's curries though. All the best for the new year!

agree with Steve - if they dont like the smell of Indian food lingering around the house dont invite them. My wife and I often comment how nice it is to walk indoors after work to smell indian food from a couple of days ago :o)

Cheers

Steve

If its the "stale" smell of old cooking that causes problems, just cook it more often ! :-)

Steve

I unfortunately know an aunt who complains the house smells whenever meat is being cooked as she is a vegetarian. I feel like stuffing her mouth with chunks of raw bloody ######:D :D

Now, now Rajneesh! Most vegetarians will agree with your GM and you will be excommunicated for those evil thoughts LOL! My GM used to get very upset if any of us used her kitchen knife to slice onions. Touching it with meat would have killed her!

The smell of a pan full of hot oil can be unpleasant: when we were living in rural Northumberland, we had a stone outhouse where we put our Belgian chip pan, a wonderful electric contraption which allowed you to cook chips the Belgian way, firstly at one temperature, to cook the inside of the potato, then at a higher temperature, to make the outside brown and crisp.

No-one does chips better than the Belgians, with the right variety of potato, an the right method. But the smell of the hot oil is not nice.

A fish n chips shop is just about 200 yards from our house, an occasional whiff is stimulating!!!

The best chips I've had in a long time were made by my other half, par boiled, then allowed to steam dry. Then into hot oil, drained and then back in again once back to temperature....

Steve

Steve: that's an impressive method! We never do Belgian chips any more (machine kaput), but the best tatties for chips are called, I think, 'binches' in Flemish and French.

Whatever happened to the lost culture of cooking different things with different potato varieties? You rarely see varietal names on potatoes these days.

Phil

well guys theres nothing worst than the smell of curry .I work cleaning a busy motel and do service for the ones that stay...We had Indians staying in unit six for over a week and when they left the smell of curry lingered throughout the whole unit , in every room.

We scrubbed everything , every untensil, plate , pot and everything got a good scrub down and its been a week and still smells of curry.We changed all the bedding and used carpet deoderiser on the furniture and carpets, yet the smell is still there. We also cleaned the filters in the heat pump washed in hot soapy water...

We have used white vinegar and also vaniila essence and the smell we cant get rid off...so anyone with any ideas please get in contact with me.

Tracey Clark

0278697436

email;traceyclark@hotmail.co.nz

thanks

Hello Tracy

These guys must have had curry take-aways and left the empty containers in their room/rubbish bins for long periods. It is like eating fish and chips in a closed car, smells for ever!

I am also wondering if they were doing some cooking in their rooms, perhaps using a small rice cooker! I have known some people travelling with one when they went abroad! But they say that they cook in their bathroom, with exhaust on and window open. Not sure how they get away with it, what with smoke alarms! Part of the fun of travelling is eating local foods. Anyway, I am digressing.

It may take a few days for the smell to go completely. The best thing you can do is leave the windows open for a couple of days, rain permitting. You can also try these things written in my original reply.

1. Mix a tablespoon or two of sodium bicarbonate with water in slow cooker (someone in your staff must have one). Put it on and leave it on low setting, with the lid off, in the room that needs freshening for a couple of hours. It seems to work. You can also add a few drops of essential oil or a nice-smelling spices like cinnamon stick/powder to the pot. Other things that can be added are; drops of essential oil, a teaspoon of vanilla extract, ground or whole cloves, lemon slices

2. Simmer a pot of water with lemon and orange peels. This was something I was taught at microwave course when I first bought one years ago.

Unit six sounds a bit like our kitchen :-)

I found this in a book I have called 'how to clean just about anything'.

Odours are tricky, because you are trying to move something you can't see. Masking the smell with perfumes and air freshener is a temporary solution. To truly quell a smell, you must remove its source.

Use a sponge or clean cloth to wipe down kitchen surfaces (other than those that come into contact with your food) with a kitchen cleaner. You are trying to remove tiny particles and grease, carried by smoke, steam and splatter, in the same way that you would spots you can see. Wipe walls and other surfaces close to the stove. If the smell is still there, as heat rises and is drawn to cool areas, you'll need to wipe down windows, light fixtures, and high kitchen cabinets. If it is still smelly, wash curtains and exposed fabrics.

Assuming they may have cooked in the unit/room, the above might be helpful. But if it is from takeaway food, have a really good look to see if you have missed something - such as an empty container, or maybe something has been spilt. If you have really cleaned floors, walls and surfaces, then concentrate on fabrics.

Sid

Perhaps the best method is not to allow the smell in the first place!

For instance to stop that cabbage smell add some white vinegar or lemon juice to the boiling water.

For the hotel/motel, ban cooking in the bedrooms and fine those who break the rule. A lot of hotels seem to have windows that you can't open which doesn't help. I've certainly heard of airline staff cooking in their hotel rooms so they don't spend all their expenses on their stay overs.

Winton

Well, Tracey, there's nowt better than the smell of curry, in my view.

When I used to manage hotels many moons ago, the rooms had coffee/tea facilities in the rooms. The manager booked in, on behalf of The British Council, 20 or so Asians, of different nationalities over here to learn from the English about farming etc.

They were on bed and breakfast terms but they used to make their own curry in our KETTLES! in their rooms. Wow what a smell and ruined kettles!!

Hi all! I live in a flat above an Indian restaurant and the smell of spices during cooking hours is extremeley intense in my young son's bedroom. This is the only room where it lsmells and is probably directly above their kitchens. My son does not like the smell and i am looking for a solution to the problem without having to move. I'm pondering on purchasing an air purifier or humidifier and would like to hear any suggestions you may have? Cheers! Roy V

Very difficult to get rid of that kind of everyday, bulk frying of onions/garlic/spices and deep frying etc. etc. I am not sure if extractor/air-purifier etc. will do it. No chance of swapping the rooms? Since they are a restaurant, they can't sop cooking, it might be worth moving if it is causing so much problem for your son and especially if it is a rented flat.

I don't think there is anything that is going to stop the smells coming from a restaurant that is constantly cooking something that is so strong in aroma. A bit like moving in to a house at the end of a runway and trying to stop plane noise.

My only thought is if its only that one room, is something leaking ? Could be the airbrick to ventilate the room is right where their exhaust fans are ?

Steve

Hi all! Thanks so much for the feedback. I know that living here is a catch 22 situation. I'm desperately seeking alternatives to everything i've tried so far. The airbrick suggestion was just what i was looking for. I hadn't tried looking for that but i will do now. Someone else has suggested sealing the floorboards to prevent the smells coming up. Trouble is, i dont know if it is coming through the boards or not and the suggestion sounds expensive. Particularly as the carpet doesn't exactly 'reek' of it. Going to check that airbrick though!

Roy V