Elvis Had No Burning Love For This Food

While mostly known for being an iconic American musician, Elvis Presley is also remembered for his love of food. He famously loved grilled peanut butter, banana, and bacon sandwiches as well as comforting Southern dishes, and hamburgers from Krystal. But his voracious appetite stopped short at one specific protein: fish. He disliked the lingering odors that came from cooking fish so much that he altogether banned seafood from his Tennessee home, Graceland.

Apparently, Elvis' aversion to fish stemmed from his childhood when he would go fishing in his hometown of Tupelo, Mississippi, with his mother Gladys and aunt Lorraine. It was young Elvis' job to scale and clean any fish that were caught, a task he absolutely hated because of the smell and the slimy, unpleasant texture of the fish innards. He was close to his parents and extended family and grew up in a loving environment, so getting this much-loathed fish-cleaning task was, perhaps, due to his smaller hands, the fact that these two dear women had no desire to do the messy job either.

Still, the damage was done, and when he became a rich celebrity, he definitely made his own rules at Graceland. Elvis welcomed his aunt Lorraine and her husband Vernon to his home (his uncle worked as Graceland's gatekeeper), but whenever Vernon went fishing nearby, Elvis wished him luck but reminded him, "Don't you dare bring those smelly things into my house," (per Ostjysk TV).

Most of us can probably relate to Elvis' aversion to strong fish odors, even if we like seafood. It's one thing to breathe in the air after coffee, bacon, or cinnamon rolls have been made but quite another after you've browned the skin of that lovely piece of salmon. You can blame biology for the odor. Saltwater fish contain a molecule called trimethylamine oxide, and when fish are taken out of the water and exposed to air, those molecules convert to a gas called trimethylamine, and it stinks like, well, fish. A similar occurrence happens with freshwater fish, but the molecules they emit (geosmin and methylisoborneol) smell more earthy, what some describe as "muddy."

If you love fish but not the smell of it, there are some things you can do to keep the odor at a minimum. When it comes to seafood, it's no secret that the fresher it is, the better it will taste. Still, fresh fish will also smell less because the longer those aforementioned molecules are exposed to air, the stronger the smell becomes. By rinsing your fish with cold water before you cook it, you'll rinse away some of those molecules as well. Consider your cooking method if you're concerned about lingering smells. For example, you can opt to cook fish outside on the grill. Baking in parchment paper and poaching fish will also be less smelly than frying or sautéing it on the stovetop. If you are cooking it on the stove, add some citrus juice, which will not only taste great, but neutralizes some of the smell. Finally, open up your windows, turn on some fans, and power on an air purifier while you cook. This might also be the time to light a scented candle or heat up a homemade potpourri to neutralize any unpleasant odors.