Silicone has revolutionized the kitchen for home cooks! You can use silicone kitchenware for making candy, specialty ice cubes, cocoa bombs, even portioned freezer sauces and soups.

There is one downside, though: silicone retains smells. Badly!

One of the ways I use silicone is to freeze pre-portioned pesto into cubes. But no matter how many times I scrubbed and scrubbed, I couldn’t get rid of the potent smell of basil. I tried the dishwasher, vinegar, even a baking soda paste overnight. Nothing helped.

Until I found the oven trick! Not only does it work better than any other tip, it’s easier, as well. What is this tip, you ask? Simple: bake it out!

How to Remove Lingering Smells from Silicone Kitchenware

First of all, make sure your silicone is clean; leaving bits of food on your mold will defeat the purpose of this exercise.

Secondly, preheat your oven to 350F, and place the offending silicone on a baking sheet for easier maneuvering.

Bake the silicone in the oven for one hour. Don’t worry if there is an initial strong smell; that’s the heat doing its job!

Once the hour is up, pull the silicone out of the oven and give it a smell test. If the odor still lingers, put it back in the oven for 20 minutes increments until the smell disappears.

Once the smell is gone, simply let the silicone cool and put it away. Easy peasy!