Bergamot oil is quite pungent (citrus) - maybe get a burner and add a couple of drops while you're cleaning up.

I find that a lot of the smell comes from counters etc. where you put stuff down - clean EVERY surface where you might have put the food down and rinse the dishes immediately.

Otherwise ask your landlord to put in an extractor fan?

@avianz

This entire group of sites is aimed at a first world audience - just because impoverished people don't have this problem (or have other things to worry about) doesn't mean we have to suck it up.

Being "green" is also a first world thing - where do you think all that wood people use in Africa comes from? Does that mean we shouldn't be environmentally responsible if we have the opportunity?

I'm getting so tired of the "first world problems" line being thrown on everything to make it seem silly. We live in the first world. We have small problems that we can trade advice on how to solve. That doesn't mean we have no substance or character.

I've done the whole simmering apple juice and spices thing but never thought of the baking soda in a crock pot idea, thanks for the tips!

I use an exhaust fan in my window that I bought at Bed Bath and Beyond. It's wonderful!

Armenian paper! Works like a charm.

Clinton Kelly had a remedy for this on The Chew on Tuesday! His suggestion: bring a pot of water to a simmer, add orange juice and the orange halves (I think any citrus would work here), add some cloves and cinnamon sticks, turn off the heat and let it sit.

I have an air filter/purifier with UV that does a great job of eliminating food smells in my home. The smaller air filters for outlets ( I think Febreeze makes one) also work really well at removing smells within the immediate area.

I know this sounds crazy, but it works. You take your CrockPot, put about 3-5 tablespoons of baking soda in it, cover that with water and turn it onto low, uncovered. Leave it like that for several hours and it will literally pull the smells out of the air. Just make sure you dump the nasty water/baking soda out somewhere where it won't smell up your house all over again.

What makes you think that people living in developing nations don't worry about cooking odors?

Close doors. When I was young and my mum would cook something I hated the smell of I would close my bedroom door.

Even putting a curtain up between your kitchen and everything else will help.

@Katie Jo---what a good idea. I'm going to give this a try. I wonder if one of those little simmering potpourri pots would do the trick?

Closing doors, like QChan said, really does help. Even if all you can do is shut your bedroom door so you have someplace to retreat to at the end of the night, it's better than nothing.

Having grown up in a developing country (Bolivia) I can tell you that they do worry about cooking odors; those who can afford it build their kitchen as a separate building, or an attached room with the only access from outside, or with a door that closes the kitchen off so that the odors don't spread through the rest of the house. But those who live in a one-room home don't have that choice. Not that I'm suggesting this as a solution :) just wanted to add my two cents.

Hi Emily,

Last year, I burned curry on my stove and the whole condo reeked for two weeks. Apparently the curry issue is in the oil left behind seeping into curtains, cabinets, etc. So if curry is your issue, throw your curtains in the wash, and give any surfaces (cabinets, countertops, floor) a good scrub with vinegar.

You can also leave a little bowl of vinegar, fresh coffee grounds/beans, or baking soda in a little bowl to help suck up any smells.

FreshWave makes awesome natural products that neutralize odors. I'd suggest investing in one of their kitchen candles to burn while you're cooking. They also have little gel pearls that soak up odors. Check out their web site--their products are an awesome far-cry from stuff you find at Walgreens. And everything is pet-safe.

Lastly, when I'm cooking with a bunch of onion or garlic, I make sure to use the exhaust fan above the stove AND put a box fan pointing outwards in my kitchen window.

Cooking smells might seem silly to some people, but when they linger for weeks it can be oddly distressing! Good luck, Emily--there are tons of natural and safe ways to fix your issue.

P.S. The remedy that reneelepage suggested smells very nice--and works well if you're only trying to introduce a new, pleasant smell to your home. Unfortunately, it doesn't neutralize odors and it is totally powerless to the awesome powers of curry.

Lampe Berger, widely available in North America, burns oils (included unscented) that effectively remove ANY household odors.
http://www.lampeberger.fr/

A Berger Lamp will do a fantastic job and you can get a basic model for about 35-40 dollars and the unscented oil cost $20 a bottle and lasts *forever*.

I learned this tip from a friend, that is Indian descent. She always lights a few candles. Just any old candle. It doesn't need to be scented. The flame takes the scent out of the air. It works wheneve I cook curry, or fish, or anything pungent. A few candles around the kitchen. Works every time!

I sympathize. There's nothing like having furniture and clothes reek of curry and garlic. I know that activated charcoal absorbs odors, right? Doesn't that come in some compost kits? We normally just open the windows, and we often put a fan in one window to suck out the odors. We luckily have French doors as well and we keep them closed while cooking.

Why is this a problem? I for one don't cook anything that I don't love the smell of. The fact that I can make my entire apartment smell like caramelized onions or basil or bacon is part of the joy of cooking for me.

I have the same problem! I've started doing a couple things that help-
1. Keep the fan over your stove on high the whole time your prepping and cooking.
2. cook with lids whenever possible
3. clean up right away! put away leftovers and wash dishes etc
4. clean your stove after it has cooled and wipe down all kitchen surfaces
5. take out the trash... theres always something lingering that will eventually make you despise whatever it was that you cooked.
6. to top it off after dinner I'll leave a "clean" smelling candle burning on my counter for a few hours (something light and fresh, like a clean linen scent or something similar)

The only time none of this helped was when we made latkes for Passover- that smell lasted for weeks.

I've heard really amazing things about using charcoal air purifiers to help draw unwanted smells out of the home. Plus, the intact pieces of bamboo charcoal look really cool.

For sorting out general odors, I am a big fan of using diluted vinegar in a spray bottle to help freshen things up. The vinegar smell fades when it dries, but it always seems to clear odors out of the air. I use it to help cope with smells from the catbox in our kitchen (the entire first floor is very open, so there's no place to tuck it out of the way - the kitchen is at least not visible when people come in the house). I've also found spraying vinegar has helped to get lingering odors out of curtains and upholstery.

I'm also seconding the idea of putting an extractor fan in a nearby window (even if you don't have one in the kitchen). Cracking another window and turning on the extractor fan will really help pull unwanted odors out of the room and is a big help in freshening up a room.

One other thought is that I always smell onions and garlic for AGES after cooking because I have trouble getting the smell off of my hands. If you have a stainless steel sink, rubbing your hands/fingers on the metal can help take the odor away, but my new kitchen has an enameled cast iron sink so I can't use that trick.

I would try the candle or baking soda method. If that doesn't work, put a couple of dishes of unused coffee grounds on the counter. They should soak up the odors. Throw them on any acid loving plant when you finish with them.

Wipe down the walls of the kitchen area. It's often an overlooked area. Oh and don't forget to wipe down the kitchen hood.

O, and putting vanilla essence out would help too, but I wouldn't waste the real stuff on that.

Steaming, braising (with lid on pot), and roasting in the oven (again, with the dish covered) are less smelly methods of cooking. Any sort of frying is terrible indoors.

Microwave cooking is also good

Well, there you have the argument against open kitchens, however inviting and convivial they may seem. If you have a door to close you can rejoin your life after you eat.