Sorry for the length.
I like fish, mostly pink fish (like tuna, salmon, trout). Not a huge fan of white fish (mostly just ate tilapia) but my inlaws introduced me to pompano which I really like.
My mum is from the East Coast NB. My nan from Trinity Bay, NL and my papa from Lunenburg, NS, both right on the water.
Growing up, my dad would buy whole fish from the market, my mum would clean it, cook it like she did growing up. Whatever wasn't cooked (guts, scales, fins) would be put in a bag in the freezer for garbage day, the head would go in a bucket in the freezer for stock. We'd have our meal and what was not eaten would go immediately into the fridge. The next day for lunch we'd have salad with the leftover fish or sandwiches. Never reheat fish, is what I was taught.
Even though I like fish (for the most part) and grew up eating it, I have a very hard time with the smell. When I cook, I have the exhaust going, windows open, etc.
My inlaws are from the Philippines. Fish is big in their diet. They have fish for breakfast. Something we would only do camping growing up (I'd choke down the bass or pickerel because there wasn't anything else to eat).
They fry dried squid in the mornings and while I was pregnant, it would send me running to the bathroom, I even threw up on the floor because my husband had locked the door while showering. They boil mackerel in tomatoes and broth of some sort at lunch on the stove. I've asked them repeatedly to open windows and use the exhaust while cooking fish. When they are finished eating the fish, it stays on the table under the microwave splatter cover until they're ready to eat again. Then they stick it in the microwave for 3-5 minutes. Then they (mil mostly) get mad at me for not wanting to eat the reheated fish that has been sitting out since breakfast.
My husband finally understood what I meant about the dried squid smell after we moved into our first home (rental places all had weird smells so he never noticed before) and his parents hadn't been around for a year (returned home then traveled Europe). He had cooked the fried squid doing everything I asked (exhaust, open windows, etc) went to work and came home to the smell still in the house. He has apologized for not believing me for the last 4 years.
So my 2 questions:
Am I wrong for not wanting to eat the fish?
And
How do I get the smell of fish out of the microwave/ house after they cook it/reheat it multiple times a day?
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