It has been almost a year since Circuit Breaker ended and some of us are still turning to food deliveries and takeaways even while still working from home. We cannot deny the convenience that food delivery brings but there is something about home-cooked food that you just cannot replicate.
Whether you are aspiring to be the next Masterchef or planning to take your instant-noodle cooking expertise up a notch, here are 5 cooking smells you never knew would stay on your clothes.
Dried Shrimp
If you’re a foodie at heart, you should be no stranger to dried shrimps. Present in various cuisines, dried shrimps is a common ingredient found in homemade chilli pastes such as sambal (a.k.a hae bee hiam). To some, the smell of dried shrimps can be quite off-putting due to the strong fishy odour.
Egg
What better way to celebrate the weekends with breakfast in bed! Be it sunny-side up, scrambled or fried, nobody likes to smell like eggs for the entire day. Especially when deep-frying food, the smoke point of oil causes the greasy smell to permeate your kitchen and stay on your hair, clothes and even furniture.
Mushroom
With Chinese New Year right around the corner, some of us would have already started stocking up on various shiitake mushrooms to make poon choi/peng cai (盆菜) for the big day. This must-have dish consists of layers of delicacies that simmer for hours long before it's served – no doubt would you walk out of the kitchen smelling like food.
Salted Egg Yolk
You can never go wrong with any salted egg yolk dish but cooking it at home over a wok would simply leave you smelling like tze char. The smoky charred aroma is unforgettable on the lips, but also on your laundry.
Truffle
This earthy and piquant aroma is loved by many but there is a handful who find it too overwhelming. Some have even reported this Top 10 Most Expensive Ingredient to reek of a decaying swamp or cheese gone bad. Overall, the pungency of truffles is not meant for everyone.
Food For Thought
Before you throw in the towel on cooking, there are ways to minimise the “eau de kitchen” scent on your washing. Besides opening the windows and spritzing fabric fresheners, you can also minimise laundry odour by using an automated laundry system like Steigen.
The in-built Ioniser in the Steigen systems produces negative ions which encourage particulate pollutants to clump together because of the different electrical charges. These impurities will form dust-like solid compounds that can be easily wiped away.
From odour control, dust mites removal to 8 times faster* laundry drying, the Steigen system is your go-to laundry drying buddy. Now, you never have to worry about your laundry smelling like your cooking ever again!
*Based on spin-dried cotton t-shirts and jeans in normal weather.
