Any good fish monger will tell you that fish should have very little smell to start
with - a fresh fish should smell of the sea. If it smells 'fishy' it is probably
not fresh.
Why does lemon get rid of the smell? There are a couple of possibilities I will
offer -
- the smell of the lemon is strong and 'masks' the other smell. In fact some
smells are capable of 'turning the volume down' on your ability to smell things.
Hydrogen Sulphide (rotten egg gas) is one, perhaps lemon is another (which would
explain why it is so popular in room air fresheners, fabric sprays, etc)
- another possibility is that the acid quality of the lemon is reacting to destroy
some of the chemicals which are causing the smell.
- third, is the lemon combining with the oils in the fish to prevent the release of
molecules which are contributing to the smell?
What is the correct answer - I cannot say, but interesting to think on
Nigel
Tennant Creek High School
AUSTRALIA
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Most of the "fishy" of fish smell comes from low-molecular-weight amines, which
are alkaline molecules that are volatile enough to enter the air in enough
concentration to smell. When acidic lemon juice is added to the fish, the amine
becomes an ammonium salt, which is not volatile and thus does not enter the air and
your nose.
Richard Barrans, ph.D., M.Ed.
Department of Physics and Astronomy
University of Wyoming
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I don't think lemon removes the fish smell, I think it just covers the fish smell.
(lemon on fish tastes good too)
Burr
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