How To Rid Your Fridge of Bad Smells – For Good

Gourmandize Staff, 09/04/2017

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You go to the fridge, open the door, and are met with a foul stench from inside... How did this happen?! Here are a few simple steps to eliminating this problem for good.

Even the most diligent among us have to admit that this has happened before: we've forgotten something in the back of our fridge and it's gone rotten, or we've made the mistake of storing something stinky in our fridge over night.

The result is the same: our entire refrigerator, good food and all, ends up smelling like a dumpster. Not exactly the scent you want when you're about to start cooking that food!

So how do you prevent it? Well thankfully, it's actually very possible and not as difficult as it would seem. Here are a few conscious steps you can take to eliminate this problem for good:

Eliminate The Odor Thoroughly

Once the mystery odor has appeared, your only option is to go into full damage control mode. Clear out the entire fridge: it's a big task, but it must be done. Check over every label and due date, and get rid of anything that's past its expiration or starting to smell rotten.

Once that's done, clean your fridge thoroughly. Don't opt for chemical products – you are planning on consuming this food, right?! Instead, use baking soda and water or a half-water, half-vinegar solution to scrub your fridge clean all-naturally.

Prevent The Odor From Happening Again

You might know already that baking soda works wonders when it comes to eliminating odors. Use that to your advantage when it comes to keeping your fridge odor-free! Place an open box of baking soda in the door and let it work its magic all on its own.

You can alternatively use coffee for the same purpose: just put some grounds in a small bowl and set it on a shelf inside. It won't make your fridge smell like coffee; instead, it'll just absorb all those unwanted odors!

Store Your Food Consciously

Most of the time when we're faced with an unpleasant odor, the cause is unfortunately something lost or forgotten that has simply gone bad. This not only causes us all this trouble, but it's also wasteful and not at all cost efficient.

Perhaps the best preventive solution, then, is to take measures to avoid this from happening: keep all your fresh foods – things that will go bad faster, such as fruits and veggies – towards the front of your fridge. This will keep them visible so you don't forget they're there. Also, keep strong-smelling leftovers and other perishables in airtight containers, so that they don't spread their smell as quickly and easily.

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Chef Tips and Tricks

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Ingredients

2 large water or soda bottles (empty)
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 sticks butter
6 eggs
1 tbsp baking powder
1 cup heavy cream
4 tbsp cocoa powder

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Ready 2 large plastic bottles, cleaned and dried.
Add 1 cup of flour to each bottle.
Add 1/2 cup of sugar to each.
Melt butter, then add equal halves to each bottle.
Add 6 eggs, 3 in each.
Add 1/2 tbsp of baking powder to each.
Add 1/2 cup of heavy cream to each.
Shake the bottles thoroughly until the contents are well mixed.
In one of the bottles only, add the cocoa powder.
Beginning with the cocoa powder mixture, add a dolop of batter to the center of a circular
baking tin. Do the same with the other mixture, placing the dolop directly in the center of the previous one.
Continue with alternating additions of each mixture until all batter is used and the tin is full.
Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
Serve and enjoy!