My favorite is putting a pot of pretend mulled cider on the stove - I put a pot of water and then add what I might to mull cider - orange or lemon peels, cinnamon, cloves, etc. Typically smells much better than whatever was there before!

I swear by the vinegar trick. I put a pot of normal vinegar on the stove and simmer it. I have some extra cinnamon sticks that I might throw in as well. yeah it makes the house smell like vinegar while it's boiling but once done the house smells neither of vinegar nor what I just made for dinner.

I have a Cinnamon Candle by Yankee Candle that gets out all smells, even curry! Plus it's the only candle scent that my husband will agree to let me buy.

Mrs Meyer's Lavender soy candle works like a charm. As does vinegar, which is a hell of a lot cheaper.

Put a small pot of vinegar on the stove and let it simmer. Does the trick every time.

I put a little pot of water with cinnamon stick and cloves. It usually does the job!

I let the smell linger. My family has been a dedicated group of foodies for generations. The smell of food is homey and comforting.

However, when I was pregnant smells were my truest enemy. So while we were cooking we opened a window and set a fan in it even with the vent hood on. Even in January.

I echo LovieDovie... smell on smell never works... my fan is a roarer... just blasts the air away and out that open window... takes a few minutes

I kinda like the smell of my dinner!
I do agree that the Mrs Meyer's Lavendar candle works wonders. As does the Chesapeake Candle cardamon & ginger one.

Box fan in the wondow is great. I keep the peels from all my citrus in a bag in the freezer. Pop a few in a pot w/ water & an ice cube of leftover white wine (what's leftover wine?, you might ask)

If you're lucky enough to have one a WHOLE HOUSE FAN is the most efficient way to totally evacuate a smelly/smokey home.

duane reade (so i'm assuming walgreen's too) sells a spray called zero odor, and i swear by it. I live in a tiny studio and cant stand to have any food smell near my bed. this stuff's non toxic and only takes a couple of sprays. and it doesn't have any fragrance which i love.

I have a bees wax candle in the kitchen for really stinky times, but I don't have to use it very often because our hood is pretty effective.

I've heard hoods often work better if you have a window open, even just a little.

The very best and quickest way to air out a kitchen is to open a window and prop a box fan on the sill. Point it facing out so the smelly air inside your kitchen gets sucked out.

We were put up at the Peabody in Little Rock a couple years ago for a convention (yes, lucky indeed) and there was a little bag of Arkansas-made goodies waiting on the bed. One of the goodies was a candle labelled "Clean Air Hotel Candle" on the lid of the tin. It doesn't say who makes it, but anytime I need to air out the guest room or get rid of cooking odors, I open the tin and leave it out. It doesn't even need to be burned, and in fact we've never lit it yet. In a closed room, like the guest room, the air is freshened in about an hour. In our open plan house, freshening the public living space takes maybe a couple hours+. I'm sure something like it could be found by googling, and you could get multiples to cut down on time.

My mom used to put a saucepan of cinnamon and apple cores or slices (if the apple was getting old) and sometimes lemon, too.

I do the same thing forsythia708 does--citrus peels and spices in water on the stovetop. My husband is sensitive to the smell of artificial scents, so this works well for our household.

The simplest solution actually works the best, in my experience. Take one of those spray bottles like you use to mist plants or ironing, or if you're a bread baker, that you use to mist the oven to make steam, fill it up with fresh water, and spray it on the mist setting up into the middle of the room. Up in the air. I usually walk around the room, spraying it at the ceiling. It's fine enough that it won't get your furniture/floors wet enough to damage them, but the water droplets will capture the odor molecules, and sink them down. I also usually spray my curtains lightly, since the offensive smells seem to gather there.

Again, you don't want to drench stuff....just a light mist. And its a great way to add some humidity to dry, heated winter air.

You will be amazed at how well this works.

@denisegk: i found this, this, this, this, ...

I love the water idea, Pierogi, and I wonder if I can add a drop of lemon oil or geranium, etc to that water mist.

Thanks!
Kim

The Basil Candle at Williams-Sonoma is perfect for de-smelling your kitchen after cooking.

@loislane: hey, the 2nd candle shown on the 1st link you listed is our exact candle! It really does work too.

Baking soda and water in a little crockpot works. It will take care of strong fish, Brussels sprouts, and sauerkraut. Also, it adds no additional orders. I also like the Mrs. Meyer's candles.