Smoking is the process of flavoring Seasonings include herbs, spices, and all other condiments, which are themselves frequently referred to as "seasonings". However, Larousse Gastronomique states that "to season and to flavour are not the same thing", insisting that seasoning includes a large or small amount of salt being added to a preparation. Salt may be used, cooking Cooking is the process of preparing food by applying heat, selecting, measuring and combining of ingredients in an ordered procedure for producing safe and edible food. The process encompasses a vast range of methods, tools and combinations of ingredients to alter the flavor, appearance, texture, or digestibility of food. Factors affecting the, or preserving Food preservation is the process of treating and handling food to stop or greatly slow down spoilage caused or accelerated by micro-organisms. Some methods, however, use benign bacteria, yeasts or fungi to add specific qualities and to preserve food (e.g., cheese, wine). While maintaining or creating nutritional value, texture and flavour is food Food is any substance, usually composed of carbohydrates, fats, proteins and water, that can be eaten or drunk by an animal or human for nutrition or pleasure. Items considered food may be sourced from plants, animals or other categories such as fungus or fermented products like alcohol. Although many human cultures sought food items through by exposing it to the smoke Smoke is the collection of airborne solid and liquid particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-product of fires , but may also be used for pest control (cf. fumigation), communication (smoke from burning or smoldering plant materials, most often wood Wood is an organic material; in the strict sense it is produced as secondary xylem in the stems of trees . In a living tree it conducts water and nutrients to the leaves and other growing tissues, and has a support function, enabling woody plants to reach large sizes or to stand up for themselves. However, wood may also refer to other plant. Meats Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs, livers, skin, brains, bone marrow, kidneys or lungs. The word meat is also used by the meat packing industry in a more restrictive sense—the flesh of mammalian species raised and and fish A fish is any aquatic vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins. Fish are abundant in the sea and in fresh water, with species being known from mountain streams (e.g., char and gudgeon) as well as in the deepest depths of the ocean (e.g., gulpers and are the most common smoked foods, though cheeses Cheese is a food consisting of proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. It is produced by coagulation of the milk protein casein. Typically, the milk is acidified and addition of the enzyme rennet causes coagulation. The solids are then separated and pressed into final form. Some cheeses also contain molds,, vegetables A vegetable is an edible plant or part of a plants other than a sweet fruit or seed. The word is not scientific, however, but instead is largely based on culinary and cultural tradition. Thus the application of the word is somewhat arbitrary and subjective. For example, some people consider mushrooms to be vegetables while others consider them a, and ingredients used to make beverages A drink, or beverage, is a liquid specifically prepared for human consumption. In addition to basic needs, beverages form part of the culture of human society such as whisky Whisky or whiskey refers to a broad category of alcoholic beverages that are distilled from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and maize . Most whiskies are aged in wooden casks (generally oak), the exception being some corn whiskeys,[1] Rauchbier, and lapsang souchong Lapsang souchong 拉普山小種/正山小种 is a black tea originally from the Wuyi 武夷山 region of the Chinese province of Fujian 福建. It is sometimes referred to as smoked tea 熏茶. Lapsang is distinctive from all other types of tea because lapsang leaves are traditionally smoke-dried over pinewood fires, taking on a distinctive smoky tea Tea refers to the agricultural products of the leaves, leaf buds, and internodes of the Camellia sinensis plant, prepared and cured by various methods. "Tea" also refers to the aromatic beverage prepared from the cured leaves by combination with hot or boiling water, and is the colloquial name for the Camellia sinensis plant itself are also smoked.

Pork ribs being smoked

In Europe Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast. Europe is washed upon to the north by the Arctic Ocean and, alder Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family (Family Betulaceae). The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas also along the Andes southwards to Argentina is the traditional smoking wood, but oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 400 species exist. "Oak" may also apear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus. The genus is native to the northern hemisphere, and includes deciduous and evergreen species extending from cold latitudes to tropical Asia and the Americas is more often used now, and beech Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America to a lesser extent. In North America North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific Ocean; South America lies to the, hickory Trees in the genus Carya are commonly known as Hickory. The genus includes 17–19 species of deciduous trees with pinnately compound leaves and large nuts. A dozen or so species are native to North America (11–12 in the United States, 1 in Mexico), and 5–6 species from China and Indochina, mesquite Mesquite is a leguminous plant of the Prosopis genus found in Northern Mexico and the United States from the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas up to southwestern Kansas and from southeastern California and southwestern Utah to the southern limits of the Sonoran desert. Mesquite trees are also found in the Chihuahuan Desert of Mexico, oak, pecan The Pecan is a species of hickory, native to south-central North America, in Mexico from Coahuila south to Jalisco and Veracruz, in the United States from southern Iowa, Illinois and Indiana east to western Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and western Tennessee, south through Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma and, alder, maple Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as Maple. Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or (together with the Hippocastanaceae) included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification, favour inclusion in Sapindaceae. There are approximately 125, and fruit-tree woods such as apple The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family Rosaceae. It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits. The tree is small and deciduous, reaching 3 to 12 metres tall, with a broad, often densely twiggy crown. The leaves are alternately arranged simple ovals 5 to 12 cm long and 3–6 centimetres, cherry The word cherry refers to a fleshy fruit that contains a single stony seed. The cherry belongs to the family Rosaceae, genus Prunus, along with almonds, peaches, plums, apricots and bird cherries. The subgenus, Cerasus, is distinguished by having the flowers in small corymbs of several together (not singly, nor in racemes), and by having a smooth and plum A plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera in the shoots having a terminal bud and the side buds solitary (not clustered), the flowers being grouped 1-5 together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one side, and a smooth stone are commonly used for smoking. Other fuels besides wood can also be employed, sometimes with the addition of flavoring ingredients. Chinese tea Tea refers to the agricultural products of the leaves, leaf buds, and internodes of the Camellia sinensis plant, prepared and cured by various methods. "Tea" also refers to the aromatic beverage prepared from the cured leaves by combination with hot or boiling water, and is the colloquial name for the Camellia sinensis plant itself-smoking uses a mixture of uncooked rice Rice is the seed of the monocot plant Oryza sativa, of the grass family . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in tropical Latin America, the West Indies, East, South and Southeast Asia. It is the grain with the second highest worldwide production, after maize (", sugar Sugar is a class of edible crystalline substances, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose. Human taste buds interpret its flavor as sweet. Sugar as a basic food carbohydrate primarily comes from sugar cane and from sugar beet, but also appears in fruit, honey, sorghum, sugar maple (in maple syrup), and in many other sources. It forms the main, and tea Tea refers to the agricultural products of the leaves, leaf buds, and internodes of the Camellia sinensis plant, prepared and cured by various methods. "Tea" also refers to the aromatic beverage prepared from the cured leaves by combination with hot or boiling water, and is the colloquial name for the Camellia sinensis plant itself, heated at the base of a wok A wok is a versatile round-bottomed cooking vessel originating in China. It is used especially in East and Southeast Asia. South Asia also uses a similarly-shaped vessel known as a karahi. Some North American ham Ham is the thigh and rump of pork, cut from the haunch of a pig or boar. Although it may be cooked and served fresh, most ham is cured in some fashion. Cuts referred to as ham in the U.S. are called gammon in the U.K. and Ireland and bacon Bacon is a cut of meat taken from the sides, belly, or back of a pig, and then cured, smoked, or both. Meat from other animals, such as beef, lamb, chicken, goat, or turkey, may also be cut, cured, or otherwise prepared to resemble bacon, and may even be referred to as "bacon". Such use is common in areas with significant Muslim makers smoke their products over burning corncobs A corncob is the central core of a maize ear. Young ears, also called baby corn, can be consumed raw, but as the plant matures the cob becomes tougher until only the kernels are edible. When harvesting corn the corncob is collected as part of the ear, leaving the corn stover in the field. Peat Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter. Peat forms in wetlands or peatlands, variously called bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. By volume there are about 4 trillion m³ of peat in the world covering a total of around 2% of global land mass , containing about 8 billion terajoules of energy is burned to dry and smoke the barley Barley is a cereal grain derived from the annual grass Hordeum vulgare. It serves as a major animal feed crop, with smaller amounts used for malting and in health food. In 2007 ranking of cereal crops in the world, barley was fourth both in terms of quantity produced (136 million tons) and in area of cultivation (566,000 km²) malt Malting is a process applied to cereal grains, in which the grains are made to germinate by soaking in water and are then quickly halted from germinating further by drying/heating with hot air. Thus, malting is a combination of two processes: the sprouting process and the kiln-drying process. These latter terms are often preferred when referring used to make whisky Whisky or whiskey refers to a broad category of alcoholic beverages that are distilled from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and maize . Most whiskies are aged in wooden casks (generally oak), the exception being some corn whiskeys and some beers Beer is the world's oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic beverage and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from cereal grains—the most common of which is malted barley, although wheat, maize , and rice are widely used. Most beer is flavoured with. In New Zealand, sawdust from the native manuka (tea tree) is commonly used for hot smoking fish.

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.

Contents

Types

Wood smoke

Hickory Trees in the genus Carya are commonly known as Hickory. The genus includes 17–19 species of deciduous trees with pinnately compound leaves and large nuts. A dozen or so species are native to North America (11–12 in the United States, 1 in Mexico), and 5–6 species from China and Indochina smoked country style ribs

Hardwoods The term hardwood is used to describe wood from non-monocot angiosperm trees and for those trees themselves. These are usually broad-leaved; in temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen are made up mostly of three materials: cellulose Cellulose is the structural component of the primary cell wall of green plants, many forms of algae and the oomycetes. Some species of bacteria secrete it to form biofilms. Cellulose is the most common organic compound on Earth. About 33 percent of all plant matter is cellulose, hemicellulose A hemicellulose can be any of several heteropolymers present in almost all plant cell walls along with cellulose. While cellulose is crystalline, strong, and resistant to hydrolysis, hemicellulose has a random, amorphous structure with little strength. It is easily hydrolyzed by dilute acid or base as well as myriad hemicellulase enzymes, 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.

Cellulose and hemicellulose are aggregate sugar molecules; when burnt, they effectively caramelize, producing carbonyls, which provide most of the color components and sweet, flowery, and fruity aromas. Lignin, a highly complex arrangement of interlocked 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.[2] 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.

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.

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 570 and 750 °F (300–400 °C). 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.

Types of smokers

This section requires expansion.

There are a few basic types of smoker designs, each with their own advantages and disadvanges.

Diagram of a propane smoker

Propane smoker

A propane smoker is a newer method that is designed to allow the smoking of meat in a somewhat more controlled environment. The primary differences are the source of heat and cause of the smoke. In a propane smoker, the heat is generated by lighting a gas burner. This lies directly under a steel or iron box that contains the wood or charcoal that is used to provide the smoke. The steel box has few vent holes which are on the top of the box only. By starving the heated wood of oxygen, it will smoke instead of burn. Any type of wood, charcoal or mix could be used. This method uses less wood and may be more convenient for some people.

Smoke box method

This is a more traditional method that uses a two box system: The fire box and the food box. The fire box is typically adjacent or under the cooking box, and can be controlled to a finer degree. The heat and smoke from the fire box exhausts into the food box, where it is used to cook and cure the meat.

Commercial smoke house

Commercial smokehouses, mostly made from stainless steel, have independent systems for smoke generation and cooking. Smoke generators use friction, an electric coil or a small flame to ignite sawdust on demand. Heat from steam coils or gas flames is balanced with live steam or water sprays to control the temperature and humidity. Elaborate air handling systems reduce hot or cold spots, to reduce variation in the finished product. Racks on wheels or rails are used to hold the product and facilitate movement.

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. This flavoring can be purchased as a liquid in most supermarkets to mimic the flavor of smoking—not its preservative qualities—without the actual cooking process (see also liquid smoke).

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.) Some heavily salted, long-smoked fish can keep without refrigeration for weeks or months. Such heavily-preserved foods usually require a treatment such as boiling in fresh water to make them palatable before eating.

Some smoked foods and drinks

Slices of Pastrami, a smoked and cured beef product

Other home food preservation methods

See also

Food portal

References

  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."
  2. ^ Hui, Y.H. (2001). Meat Science and Applications. Marcel Dekker. ISBN.

Further reading

External links

Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on Smoking
Cooking techniques
Dry
Conduction Dry roasting · Grilling (la Plancha) · Hot salt frying · Hot sand frying · Searing
Convection Baking · Grill Roasting · Roasting (modern) · Smoking
Radiation Charbroiling · Broiling · Grilling (gridiron) · Toasting · Roasting (traditional) · Rotisserie
Wet
High heat Blanching · Boiling · Decoction · Parboiling
Low heat Coddling · Creaming · Infusion · Poaching · Simmering · Slow cooker · Steeping · Stewing
Indirect heat Bain-marie · Double boiling · Double steaming · Steaming · Sous-vide
Fat-based
High heat Browning · Deep frying · Pan frying · Sautéing · Stir frying (bao) · Shallow frying
Low heat Caramelizing · Gentle frying · Sweating
Mixed Medium Barbecuing · Braising · Griddling · Stir frying (chao)
Device-based Clay pot cooking · Earth oven · Microwaving · Pressure cooking · Pressure frying · Roman oven/Tandoor · Vacuum flask/Haybox cooking
Non-heat Pickling · Souring · Fermentation
See also Food preparation · Food preservation · Food safety

Categories: Cooking techniques | Food preservation | Smoke | Garde manger

 

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