On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 857

and fish, by exposing the foods to the smoky
vapors emitted by burning wood. Makers of
wine and spirits store them in wood barrels
whose interiors have been charred; the
volatiles are trapped in and just below the
barrels’ inner surface, and are slowly
extractedbytheliquid(p.721).
Theflavorthatwoodsmokeimpartsto
foodisdeterminedbyseveralfactors.Above
allthere’sthewood.Oak,hickory,andthe
fruit-treewoods(cherry,apple,pear)produce
characteristicandpleasingflavorsthanksto
theirmoderate,balancedquantitiesofthe
woodcomponents.Asecondimportantfactor
isthecombustiontemperature,whichispartly
determinedbythewoodanditsmoisture
content.Maximumflavorproductiontakes
placeatrelativelylow,smoldering
temperatures,between570and750ºF/300–
400ºC;athighertemperatures,theflavor
moleculesarethemselvesbrokendowninto
simplerharshorflavorlessmolecules.High-


ligninwoodsburntoohotunlesstheir
combustionisslowedbyrestrictedairflowor
ahighmoisturecontent.Whensmokingis
donebythrowingwoodchipsontoglowing
charcoal,thewoodchipsshouldbepre-soaked
inwatersothatthey’llcoolthecoals.Because
it’slargelypurecarbon,charcoalburns

mostlysmokelesslyattemperatures
approaching1,800ºF/1,000ºC.
Thoughsmokehelpsstabilizetheflavors
ofmeatsandfish,smokeflavoritselfis
unstable.Thedesirablephenoliccompounds
areespeciallyreactive,andlargelydissipate
inafewweeksormonths.
The Toxins in Wood Smoke: Preservatives
and Carcinogens In the beginning, smoking
was not just a way of giving foods an
interesting flavor: it was a way of delaying
their spoilage. Wood smoke contains many
chemicals that slow the growth of microbes.
Among them are formaldehyde, and acetic