To cook onions without making your house smell, maximize ventilation with exhaust fans and open windows, use a lid to trap steam, soak chopped onions in cold water first, and simmer odor neutralizers like lemon or vinegar in water on a back burner to absorb lingering scents. Prompt cleanup and using a dedicated cutting board for onions also prevent smells from setting in.
Vinegar is the ultimate odor neutralizer.
Try putting a bowl of it out next to the stove to put the kibosh on those strong onion odors. (It's like a game of rock paper scissors: vinegar trumps onion every time.)
Open a window & have a fan in it blowing OUT while you cook, light a candle, wipe down the surfaces with a multipurpose cleaner after, and while you're cleaning up boil a pot of water with white vinegar in it. Cleaning up the food and dishes immediately after the meal helps too.
If you're particularly sensitive to onions' self-defense mechanisms, you can try to intercept the onion mist on its way to your eyes. This is the theory behind methods like lighting candles or matches near your kitchen workspace—the flame ostensibly works to neutralize the onion's gas on its way through the air.
Keep your kitchen breezy. Open the windows, turn on the fan above your stove or use the overhead kitchen hood while you work. This will sweep away the eye-irritating mist that rises from chopped onions.
Baking soda is great at soaking up odors and it can get rid of the onion smell in the house. Sprinkle it generously on your carpets, rugs, and even your couch.
Place a bowl of water very near the cutting board where you will be cutting the onion. Place your knife about 1/3 out from the center of the onion and cut it at an angle to remove the bulb part of the onion.
Keep cut onions in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week to avoid a lingering smell. Freeze chopped onions in airtight bags to keep them fresh for up to six months, ready for your next recipe.
Cigarette smoke odour removal is one of the toughest removal jobs because the smoke finds a way not only to embed in furniture but in walls as well. The smoke penetrates odour absorbent objects such as couches, carpets, upholstery, and clothes.
Cooking odors come from particles and gases released into the air while you cook, and they can be a sign of poor indoor air quality.
White vinegar neutralizes odors in the air. Leave small bowls around the house (especially in musty corners or the kitchen) overnight.
Here's what you need to know to extend your onions' lifespans for as long as possible: Keep storage onions in a cool, dark, and dry place.
The best way to avoid odors is to blow them outside. If you have a range hood or vent over your stove, use it! Otherwise, an air conditioner or an air filter can help remove the stench. Opening a window before you start cooking helps with air circulation, especially if you position a fan pointing out the window.
Mix dish soap, bar soap, or liquid hand soap with table salt and baking soda to create an odor-removing salt soap scrub. Coat both sides of your hands in the solution and rub them together for twenty seconds. Rinse your hands under cold water until they are clean.
🧅 We do not recommend keeping cut onions in the refrigerator as they absorb moisture quickly which causes bacteria and mold to grow. You can marinate, pickle, and keep onions soaked in olive oil to preserve it. The oil prevents onion from absorbing moisture.
When you slice onions, they release sulfur compounds that cause their strong taste and tear-inducing effects. Soaking them in cold water for about 10 minutes dilutes these compounds, resulting in a sweeter, crisper onion.
Cutting onions with a dull knife
Slicing onions, in particular, with a dull knife is a mistake too many of us make all the time. Dull knives struggle to make clean, even cuts, even in relatively firm and solid foods like onions.
When preparing raw onions, soak in cold water before hand to remove some of the pungency and soften the flavor. However since soaking too long will dilute the flavor, soaking in cold water for 5 to 10 minutes is recommended. Squeeze out excess water before using.
Soak onions in water to reduce their pungent smell and taste
Onions are pungent, that's one of the reasons we love them so much, but sometimes you just want a milder taste. Luckily, all you have to do to tone down the aroma and taste of chopped onions is soak them in a bath of iced water for about 10 to 20 minutes.
The vinegar and vanilla will neutralize the onion odor.