Say Goodbye To Stinky Garlic Countertops With This Versatile Root Veggie

Garlic has a strong, distinct smell that's hard to dismiss. Eating a small bit garlic alone can cause its pungent aroma to stay in the mouth for hours, while simply touching raw garlic causes the hands to stink. So, imagine how difficult it is to get rid of its scent from the chopping board after slicing and dicing an entire bulb for garlic-rich recipes. The sulfur-based compounds responsible for garlic's signature smell can quickly seep into most countertops, especially those with a porous nature; such as granite, soapstone, and butcher's block. When this happens, there's actually no need to fret. A very common root veggie can eliminate the garlicky stench from countertops, and it's none other than the potato.

Not many people know that an enzyme in potatoes called polyphenol oxidase (PPO) has the ability to oxidize the sulfur compounds in garlic that give it its pungent odor. Once the sulfurous compounds have been oxidized, the smell goes away. 

There are three ways to deal with a garlic-smelling countertop. You can peel the skin off the potato, cut the vegetable open, or grate it into smaller bits. The goal is for the potato to release its starchy juice which is rich in PPO. Rub the potato against the surface and let the liquid sit for at least 10 minutes before rinsing it off or washing the countertop with soap and water.

While the potato hack is effective in eliminating the smell of garlic from kitchen countertops, it isn't always feasible, considering how many recipes utilize spuds. From mashed to hashed, many dishes use potatoes either as the main ingredient, a side, or for filler. If you badly need to clean the smell off your counters but you don't have an extra potato at hand, there's another food item you can use in its place. 

Just like potatoes, apples are also rich in PPO, the enzyme needed to execute the trick. This compound is actually why both apples and potatoes turn brown when cut open. The oxygen in the air reacts with PPO, causing the phenolic compounds in them to produce the pigment responsible for the browning of their flesh.

To perform the hack using an apple, simply repeat the same steps in the potato hack. You can either peel the fruit, slice it in half, or cut it into small bits with a grater. Again, the goal is to let out as much juice from the flesh as you can to ensure there's enough PPO to react with the smelly sulfurous compounds from the garlic. Let the liquid sit on the countertop for around 10 minutes, then wash it off and pat it dry with a towel.