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Smoking

Smoking is the process of flavoring, cooking, or preserving food by exposing it to the smoke from burning or smoldering plant materials, most often wood. Meats and fish are the most common smoked foods, though cheeses, vegetables, and ingredients used to make beverages such as Scotch whisky,^[1] Rauchbier, and lapsang souchong tea are also smoked. Image File history File links Wikibooks-logo-en. ... Wikibooks logo Wikibooks, previously called Wikimedia Free Textbook Project and Wikimedia-Textbooks, is a wiki for the creation of books. ... Seasoning is the process of adding flavours, or enhancing natural flavour of any type of food. ... Cooking is the act of applying heat to food in order to prepare it for ingestion. ... Various preserved foods Food preservation is the process of treating and handling food in such a way as to stop or greatly slow down spoilage to prevent foodborne illness while maintaining nutritional value, density, texture and flavor. ... Smoke from a wildfire Smoke is a suspension in air (aerosol) of small particles resulting from incomplete combustion of a fuel. ... Trunks A tree trunk as found at the Veluwe, The Netherlands Wood is a solid material derived from woody plants, notably trees but also shrubs. ... Mortal Kombat character, see Meat (Mortal Kombat). ... A giant grouper at the Georgia Aquarium Fish are aquatic vertebrates that are typically cold-blooded; covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins. ... Cheese is a solid food made from the milk of cows, goats, sheep, and other mammals. ... Vegetables in a market Venn diagram representing the relationship between (botanical) fruits and vegetables. ... The word drink is primarily a verb, meaning to ingest liquids, see Drinking. ... An independent bottling of Royal Brackla Single Malt Scotch whisky is whisky made in Scotland. ... Rauchbier (German for smoke beer) is a German beer, typically dark in color and smoky in taste. ... Lapsang souchong is a black tea originally from the Zheng Shan part of Mount Wuyi in the Fujian province of China. ... Tea leaves in a Chinese gaiwan. ...

In Europe, alderwood is the traditional smoking wood, but oak is more often used now, and beech to a lesser extent. In North America, hickory, mesquite, oak, pecan, alder, maple, and fruit-tree woods such as apple, cherry and plum are commonly used for smoking. Other fuels besides wood can also be employed, sometimes with the addition of flavoring ingredients. Chinese tea-smoking uses a mixture of uncooked rice, sugar, and tea, heated at the base of a wok. Some North American ham and bacon makers smoke their products over burning corn cobs. Peat is burned to dry and smoke the barley malt used to make Scotch whisky and some beers. This article is 150 kilobytes or more in size. ... Species About 20-30 species, see text. ... Species See List of Quercus species The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of several hundred species of trees and shrubs in the genus Quercus, and some related genera, notably Cyclobalanopsis and Lithocarpus. ... Species Fagus crenata - Japanese Beech Fagus engleriana - Chinese Beech Fagus grandifolia - American Beech Fagus hayatae - Taiwan Beech Fagus japonica - Japanese Blue Beech Fagus longipetiolata - South Chinese Beech Fagus lucida - Shining Beech Fagus mexicana - Mexican Beech or Haya Fagus orientalis - Oriental Beech Fagus sylvatica - European Beech Beech (Fagus) is a genus... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... Species See text Comparison of Carya nuts Ripe hickory nuts ready to fall, Andrews, SC Hickory is a tree of the genus Carya, including 17-19 species of deciduous trees with pinnately compound leaves and large nuts. ... Mesquite Trees // Species Many; see text. ... Binomial name Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh. ... Distribution Species See List of Acer species Maples are trees or shrubs in the genus Acer. ... This article is about the tree and its fruit. ... Cherry tree redirects here. ... It has been suggested that Prune (fruit) be merged into this article or section. ... Tea leaves in a Chinese gaiwan. ... Species Oryza glaberrima Oryza sativa Rice is two species of grass (Oryza sativa and Oryza glaberrima) native to tropical and subtropical southern & southeastern Asia and in Africa. ... Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. ... Tea leaves in a Chinese gaiwan. ... Cooking in a wok The wok is a versatile round-bottomed cooking vessel originating in China. ... Ham with cloves Technically, ham is the thigh and buttock of any animal that is slaughtered for meat, but the term is usually restricted to a cut of pork, the haunch of a pig or boar. ... An example of uncooked streaky bacon. Bacon is defined as any of certain cuts of meat taken from the sides, back or belly of a pig that is cured and possibly smoked. ... Corn redirects here. ... Peat in Lewis, Scotland Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter. ... Binomial name Hordeum vulgare L. Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is a major food and animal feed crop, a member of the grass family Poaceae. ... Malted barley Malting is a process applied to cereal grains, in which the grains are made to germinate and then are quickly dried before the plant develops. ... An independent bottling of Royal Brackla Single Malt Scotch whisky is whisky made in Scotland. ... A selection of bottled beers A selection of cask beers Beer is the worlds oldest[1] and most popular[2] alcoholic beverage, selling more than 133 billion litres (35 billion gallons) per year - producing total global revenues of $331. ...

Historically, farms in the western world included a small building termed the smokehouse where meats could be smoked and stored. This was generally well-separated from other buildings both because of the fire danger and because of the smoke emanations. The buccan is a smoking device used by some Native Americans. Smokehouse was a humour magazine published by Popular Magazines in the 1930s. ... Buccan (noun) a device made and used by certain American Indian peoples. ... Native Americans are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska. ...

Hot smoking and cold smoking

"Hot smoking" is a several-hours-long process that can be used to fully cook meats or fish; barbecue is a form of hot smoking. Generally, hot-smoking involves holding the food directly above the fire, or in an enclosure that is heated by the fire. The cooking temperature in a hot-smoking environment is usually between 55 and 80°C (130–180°F) The temperatures reached in hot smoking can kill microbes throughout the food. Mortal Kombat character, see Meat (Mortal Kombat). ... A giant grouper at the Georgia Aquarium Fish are aquatic vertebrates that are typically cold-blooded; covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins. ... It has been suggested that Grilling be merged into this article or section. ...

"Cold smoking" is an hours- or days-long process in which smoke is passed by food which is held in a separate area from the fire. Generally the food is held at room temperatures (15–25.5°C/60–80°F) as it is smoked. Since no cooking takes place, the interior texture of the food generally isn't affected; neither are any microbes living within the meat or fish. For this reason, cold-smoking has traditionally frequently been combined with salt-curing, in such foods as ham, bacon, and cold-smoked fish like lox (smoked salmon). In food preparation, curing refers to various preservation and flavoring processes, especially of meat or fish, by the addition of a combination of salt, sugar and either nitrate or nitrite. ... Ham with cloves Technically, ham is the thigh and buttock of any animal that is slaughtered for meat, but the term is usually restricted to a cut of pork, the haunch of a pig or boar. ... An example of uncooked streaky bacon. Bacon is defined as any of certain cuts of meat taken from the sides, back or belly of a pig that is cured and possibly smoked. ... Lox is salmon, typically a filet, that has been cured, and then often it is cold smoked. ... Smoked salmon is salmon, typically a fillet that has been cured using salt and generally sugar and then hot or cold smoked. ...

Wood smoke

Hardwoods are made up mostly of three materials: cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Cellulose and hemicellulose are the basic structural material of the wood cells; lignin acts as a kind of cell-bonding glue. Some softwoods — especially pines and firs — hold significant quantities of resin, which produces a harsh-tasting soot when burned. Because of this, these woods are generally not used for smoking. Beech is a typical temperate zone hardwood The term hardwood designates wood from angiosperm trees. ... Cellulose as polymer of β-D-glucose Cellulose in 3D Cellulose (C6H10O5)n is a long-chain polymeric polysaccharide carbohydrate, of beta-glucose [1][2]. It forms the primary structural component of green plants. ... A hemicellulose can be any of several heteropolymers (matrix polysaccharides) present in almost all cell walls along with cellulose. ... Lignin (sometimes lignen) is a chemical compound that is most commonly derived from wood and is an integral part of the cell walls of plants, especially in tracheids, xylem fibres and sclereids. ... Drawing of the structure of cork as it appeared under the microscope to Robert Hooke from Micrographia which is the origin of the word cell. Cells in culture, stained for keratin (red) and DNA (green). ... Despite being fairly hard, cedar is a softwood Softwood is the wood from conifers. ... Subgenera Subgenus Strobus Subgenus Ducampopinus Subgenus Pinus See Pinus classification for complete taxonomy to species level. ... FIR may stand for: finite impulse response (a property of some digital filters) far infrared, i. ... Resin of a pine Insect trapped in resin. ...

Cellulose and hemicellulose are aggregate sugar molecules; when burnt, they effectively caramelize, producing sweet, flowery, and fruity aromas. Lignin, a highly complex arrangement of intelocked phenolic molecules, also produces a number of distinctive aromatic elements when burnt, including smoky, spicy, and pungent compounds like guaiacol, phenol, and syringol, and sweeter scents like the vanilla-scented vanillin and clove-like isoeugenol. Guaiacol is the phenolic compound most responsible for the "smokey" taste, while syringol is the primary contributor to smokey aroma. (Hui 512) Wood also contains small quantities of proteins, which contribute roasted flavors. Many of the odor compounds in wood smoke, especially the phenolic compounds, are unstable, dissipating after a few weeks or months. Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. ... Vegetables being caramelized Caramelization or caramelisation (see spelling differences) is the oxidation of sugar, a process used extensively in cooking for the resulting nutty flavor and brown color. ... In organic chemistry, phenols, sometimes called phenolics, are a class of chemical compounds consisting of a hydroxyl group (-OH) attached to an aromatic hydrocarbon group. ... Chemical structure of guaiacol Guaiacol, or 2-methoxyphenol, is a natural organic compound with the molecular formula C7H8O2. ... Phenol, also known under an older name of carbolic acid, is a colourless crystalline solid with a typical sweet tarry odor. ... Syringol Syringol, also called 2,6-dimethoxyphenol, 1,3-dimethoxy-2-hydroxybenzene, 2-hydroxy-1,3-dimethoxybenzene, or pyrogallol 1,3-dimethyl ether, is an organic compound. ... Vanilla is a flavoring derived from orchids in the genus Vanilla. ... Vanillin, methyl vanillin, or 4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde, is an organic compound with the molecular formula C8H8O3. ... Binomial name Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merrill & Perry A single dried clove flower bud Cloves (Syzygium aromaticum, syn. ... A representation of the 3D structure of myoglobin, showing coloured alpha helices. ...

A number of wood smoke compounds act as preservatives. Phenol and other phenolic compounds in wood smoke are both antioxidants, which slow rancidification of animal fats, and antimicrobials, which slow bacterial growth. Other antimicrobials in wood smoke include formaldehyde, acetic acid, and other organic acids, which give wood smoke a low pH — about 2.5. Some of these compounds are toxic to people as well, and may have health effects in the quantities found in cooking applications. The compounds best demonstrated to have long-term health consequences are the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, many of which are known or suspected carcinogens. Hotter wood fires make more PAHs; hot-burning mesquite produces twice as much as cooler-burning hickory. This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Rancidification is the decomposition of fats and other lipids by hydrolysis and/or oxidation. ... The chemical compound formaldehyde (also known as methanal) is a gas with a pungent smell. ... Acetic acid, also known as ethanoic acid, is an organic chemical compound best recognized for giving vinegar its sour taste and pungent smell. ... The correct title of this article is . ... An illustration of typical polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons - NASA Crystal structure of a hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene reported by Müllen and cooworkers in Chem. ... The term carcinogen refers to any substance, radionuclide or radiation which is an agent directly involved in the promotion of cancer or in the facilitation of its propagation. ... Mesquite Trees // Species Many; see text. ... Species See text Comparison of Carya nuts Ripe hickory nuts ready to fall, Andrews, SC Hickory is a tree of the genus Carya, including 17-19 species of deciduous trees with pinnately compound leaves and large nuts. ...

Since different species of tree have different ratios of components, various types of wood do impart a different flavor to food. Another important factor is the temperature at which the wood burns. High-temperature fires see the flavor molecules broken down further into unpleasant or flavorless compounds. The optimal conditions for smoke flavor are low, smoldering temperatures between 300 and 400 °C (570–750 °F). This is the temperature of the burning wood itself, not of the smoking environment, which sees much lower temperatures. Woods that are high in lignin content tend to burn hot; to keep them smoldering requires restricted oxygen supplies or a high moisture content. When smoking using wood chips or chunks, the combustion temperature is often lowered by soaking the pieces in water before placing them on a fire. General Name, Symbol, Number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series Nonmetals, chalcogens Group, Period, Block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless (gas) very pale blue (liquid) Atomic mass 15. ...

Preservation

Salted and smoked (kippered) herring.

Smoke is a decent antimicrobial and antioxidant, but smoke alone is insufficient for preserving food in practice. The main problem is that the smoke compounds adhere only to the outer surfaces of the food; smoke doesn't actually penetrate far into meat or fish. In modern times, almost all smoking is carried out for its flavor, not its preservative qualities. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 623 KB) Summary A kipper is a fish which has been split from tail to head, eviscerated, salted, and smoked. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 623 KB) Summary A kipper is a fish which has been split from tail to head, eviscerated, salted, and smoked. ... Kippered herring. ... Species Clupea alba Clupea bentincki Clupea caspiopontica Clupea chrysotaenia Clupea elongata Clupea halec Clupea harengus Clupea inermis Clupea leachii Clupea lineolata Clupea minima Clupea mirabilis Clupea pallasii Clupea sardinacaroli Clupea sulcata Herrings are small oily fish of the genus Clupea found in the temperate, shallow waters of the North Atlantic...

In the past, smoking was a useful preservation tool, in combination with other techniques, most commonly salt-curing or drying. For some long-smoked foods, the smoking time also served to dry the food. Drying, curing, or other techniques can render the interior of foods inhospitable to bacterial life, while the smoking gives the vulnerable exterior surfaces an extra layer of protection. For oily fish, smoking is especially useful, as its antioxidant properties delay surface fat rancidification. (Interior fat isn't as exposed to oxygen, which is what causes rancidity.) This antioxidant effect could be especially important for salted meats and fish, since salt itself is an oxidant. (Hui 512) Some heavily salted, long-smoked fish could keep without refrigeration for weeks or months. Such heavily-preserved foods usually required a treatment such as boiling in fresh water to make them palatable before eating. Edible salt is mostly sodium chloride (NaCl). ... In polymer chemistry and Process Engineering, curing refers to the toughening or hardening of a polymer material by cross-linking of polymer chains, brought about by chemical additives, ultraviolet radiation or heat. ... Drying is a method of food preservation that works by removing water, which is required for decay and the growth of microorganisms. ... Rancidification is the decomposition of fats and other lipids by hydrolysis and/or oxidation. ... General Name, Symbol, Number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series Nonmetals, chalcogens Group, Period, Block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless (gas) very pale blue (liquid) Atomic mass 15. ... An oxidizing agent is a substance that oxidizes another substance in electrochemistry or redox chemical reactions in general. ...

Some smoked foods and drinks

Slices of Pastrami, a smoked and cured beef product.

• Fish
  • Lox
  • Smoked salmon
  • Kippers
• Many pork products are cured and smoked
  • Ham
  • Bacon
• Pastrami, pickled, spiced and smoked beef brisket
• Various sausages
• Traditionally-prepared jerky
• The malt used to make Scotch whisky
• Lapsang souchong tea leaves are smoked and dried over pine or cedar fires
• Wumei are smoked ume fruit
• Chipotles are smoked jalapeño peppers
• Cheeses, such as smoked gouda
• Smoked salt
• Smoked paprika

Image File history File links Pastrami. ... Image File history File links Pastrami. ... Pastrami Pastrami is a popular deli meat made from chiefly red meat. ... A giant grouper at the Georgia Aquarium Fish are aquatic vertebrates that are typically cold-blooded; covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins. ... Lox can stand for any of several things: Lox (salmon) - a type of salmon produce LOx (oxidizer) - liquid oxygen used as oxidizer in aerospace The Lox - was a Yonkers, NY-based rap trio This is a disambiguation page — a list of articles associated with the same title. ... Smoked salmon is salmon, typically a fillet that has been cured using salt and generally sugar and then hot or cold smoked. ... Kippered herring. ... Two halves of a pig being delivered Pork is the meat taken from pigs. ... Ham with cloves Technically, ham is the thigh and buttock of any animal that is slaughtered for meat, but the term is usually restricted to a cut of pork, the haunch of a pig or boar. ... An example of uncooked streaky bacon. Bacon is defined as any of certain cuts of meat taken from the sides, back or belly of a pig that is cured and possibly smoked. ... Pastrami Pastrami is a popular deli meat made from chiefly red meat. ... For other uses, see Beef (disambiguation). ... Brisket is a cut of meat from the breast or lower chest. ... Plate with German Wurst (liver-, blood- and hamsausage) A sausage consists of ground meat, animal fat, herbs and spices, and sometimes other ingredients, usually packed in a casing (historically the intestines of the animal, though now generally synthetic), and sometimes preserved in some way, often by curing or smoking. ... Jerky is meat which has been cut into strips with the fat trimmed off, marinated in a spiced, salty or sweet liquid for a desired flavor, then dried with low heat (usually under 160°F or 70°C). ... Malted barley Malting is a process applied to cereal grains, in which the grains are made to germinate and then are quickly dried before the plant develops. ... An independent bottling of Royal Brackla Single Malt Scotch whisky is whisky made in Scotland. ... Lapsang souchong is a black tea originally from the Zheng Shan part of Mount Wuyi in the Fujian province of China. ... Tea leaves in a Chinese gaiwan. ... Binomial name Prunus mume Siebold & Zucc. ... Chipotles (pronounced chee-POHT-lehs) are smoke-dried jalapeño chilis used primarily in Mexican and Mexican-inspired cuisine. ... Binomial name Capsicum annuum The Jalapeño is a small to medium-sized chile pepper that is prized for the hot, burning sensation that it produces in the mouth when eaten. ... The chili pepper, or more simply just chili, is the fruit of the plant Capsicum from the nightshade family, Solanaceae. ... Cheese is a solid food made from the milk of cows, goats, sheep, and other mammals. ... Country of origin The Netherlands Region, town South Holland, Gouda Source of milk Cows Pasteurized Yes Texture semi-hard Aging time 4-18 months Certification  ?? Gouda is a yellowish Dutch cheese named after the city of Gouda. ... Smoked salt is salt with smoke flavoring. ... Bell peppers come in various shapes and colors, and are used to make paprika. ...

Other home food preservation methods

• Pickling
• Canning
• Drying (food)

Cucumbers gathered for pickling. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Drying is a method of food preservation that works by removing water, which is required for decay and the growth of microorganisms. ...

References

• McGee, Harold (2004). On Food and Cooking (Revised Edition). Scribner. ISBN 0-684-80001-2.  pp 448-450, "Wood Smoke and Charred Wood"
• Hui, Y.H. (2001). Meat Science and Applications. Marcel Dekker. ISBN. 

Notes

1. ^ McGee p. 767: "Malt whiskies from Scotland's west coast have a unique, smoky flavor that comes from the use of peat fire for drying the malt."

External links

• National Center for Home Food Preservation - How Do I...Cure & Smoke

• Smoked Fish from A to Z