There’s nothing more welcoming than the smell of dinner cooking in your home. Unfortunately, after dinner is over, you might not enjoy the smell of a seared steak lingering in your living room. Luckily you have a few options when it comes to eliminating cooking odors. Stock up on scented candles and spice, check out our guide to getting rid of unwanted smells, and don’t let the fear of cooking odors keep you from cooking up the spicy dinner of your dreams.
Ways to Eliminate Cooking Odors
1. Light up your favorite candle
When it comes to scented candles, the options are endless. You can find wonderful options that will make your entire home smell like your favorite spice, citrus, or tree. This is one of the easiest ways to cover up cooking odors. If you’re looking for inspirations, Cupcakes and Cashmere lists their favorite wintry candles here.
2. Bake something
Throwing something sweet in the oven will cleanse the air of any lingering scents from dinner, and also provide you with a sugary treat. If you’re looking for something easy to bake, we recommend one of our five-ingredient sweets like molten chocolate cakes, pear crumble, or pumpkin custards.
3. Brew a spiced drink
Cinnamon is a natural odor eliminator. A vat of mulled wine or homemade hot toddies will fill the air with the aroma of warm spices, but these aren’t just for smelling! Be sure to ladle yourself a cup for a cozy after dinner drink.
4. Create a natural air freshener
If you place a couple of well-chosen ingredients like in a pot of water on the stove, you can create a natural air freshener to eliminate cooking odors. Just select a few of your favorite herbs, spices, or citrus fruits (tip: you can just use the peel), place them in a pot of water, and bring to a boil. The steam that drifts out of the pan will be deliciously fragrant. Check out a few of our favorite flavor combinations here.
5. Rig your fan
If you don’t let smells build up, you’ll have less work to do. Depending on the set-up of your kitchen and your oven fan, you can try setting a fan to blow air out of the window while you cook. Leave the breeze blowing a few minutes after you eat, then turn the fan around and blow fresh air back in.
