• Leave a dish of vinegar on the counter overnight, or leave it out while you're cooking (careful of boiling it, though, because then you'll replace the fish smell with vinegar, and that's not really any better)
  
• Simmer a mixture of half-vinegar, half-water on the stove
• Simmer a mixture of lemon and orange rinds on the stove for about half an hour. Throw some cloves in, too, if you have them
• Before you cook fish, core and slice an apple into thin layers. Then submerge the apples and fry them in oil until they turn brown. Then, go ahead and cook your fish.

There are two reasons why brussel sprouts are not the most universally popular of foods. The first is that they are easily over cooked and, like the larger cabbages that they are related to, can develop a mushy texture and an unpleasant smell. The second reason that they aren't that popular also has to do with smell, but this one is one that they cause, not one that the sprouts give off themselves. Fortunately, both problems are easily remedied by proper preparation.

"Overcooking causes chemicals in the sprouts to react and emit sulphur," in turn imparting a biter taste and smell to the sprouts. To properly enjoy sprouts, start with fresh, crisp ones that have tightly curled leaves. They should require only 6-8 minutes of steaming or boiling before they are crisp-tender. Taking care not to overcook them, try braised brussel sprouts or oven roasted brussel sprouts, which will hopefully change the way you think about (and smell) brussel sprouts.

If you still don't like the cabbagy flavor of the sprout once it has been properly cooked, you can always try Shredded Parmesan Brussels Sprouts or Bacon and Cheese Brussels Sprouts.

Without naming any names, some cultures have a tradition of overcooking vegetables almost to the point of mush. If you had a grandmother or a great grandmother who liked to prepare vegetables in this way, you are probably familiar with one of the least pleasant smells that the kitchen has to offer: overcooked cabbage. When overcooked, cabbage tends to emit a faint (or strong, depending on how much cabbage is being cooked) smell of sulfur. To cope, the usual strategy is to turn on a fan or open the windows, but this week I heard about a different technique. Apparently, if you add a whole, unshelled walnut or a celery stalk to the cooking water, there will be no smell.

I don't cook enough cabbage to test this - and certainly try to avoid overcooking it, in any case - but does this actually work, or is it just an old wives' tale?

One exhibit at the Chicago BIO2006 trade show (for the world's $90 billion biotechnology industry) aims to harness the power of insects smell to improve the grape growing process.

By using an insect's acute sense of smell - which enables it to sniff out succulent grape vines - the Australian scientists plan to take the genes and turn them into electronic sensors. These will be used by grape-growers to produce tastier wines. They have several choices in how to harness the genes. They could identify how an insect's sense of smell works, and then build similar capability into an electronic chip or they could develop a "bio-chip" that incorporates needed genes into the chip itself.

AriZona Beverage Co., which produces a line of popular iced teas, is experimenting with some new advertising techniques. The company already uses bright, eye-catching labels and graphics and is now experimenting with adding scent to its packaging. AriZona is working on embedding the smell of its products inside the cap of its bottles, but other companies are using other technologies to appeal to consumers, like scented inks. The Washington Post reports that the sales industry is frantically trying to come up with new ways to lure shoppers into trying their products, as television ads are shown to be increasingly less effective.