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Name: Errol
Status: other
Grade: 9-12
Location: N/A

Question: Why does Lemon added to fish removes the smell from the fish?



Response(s)


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
====================================================================
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
====================================================================
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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