On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 858

acid(vinegar)andotherorganicacids,thanks
towhichthepHofsmokeisaverymicrobeunfriendly 2.5. Many of the phenolic
compounds in wood smoke are also
antimicrobials, and phenol itself is a strong
disinfectant.Thephenoliccompoundsarealso
effective antioxidants, and slow the
development of rancid flavors in smoked
meatsandfish.
Inadditiontoantimicrobialcompounds,
smokealsocontainsantihumancompounds,
substancesthatareharmfultoourlong-term
health.Prominentamongthesearethe
polycyclicaromatichydrocarbons,orPAHs,
whichareprovencarcinogensandareformed
fromallofthewoodcomponentsin
increasingamountsasthetemperatureis
raised.Hot-burningmesquitewoodgenerates
doublethequantitythathickorywooddoes.
ThedepositionofPAHsonmeatcanbe
minimizedbylimitingthefiretemperature,
keepingthemeatasfaraspossiblefromthe


fire,andallowingfreeaircirculationtocarry
sootandotherPAH-containingparticlesaway.
Commercialsmokersuseairfiltersand
temperaturecontrolforthesepurposes.
LiquidSmoke

Liquidsmokeisessentiallysmoke-flavored
water.Smokeconsistsoftwophases:

microscopicdropletsthatmakeitvisibleasa
haze,andaninvisiblevapor.Itturnsoutthat
muchoftheflavorandpreservativematerials
areinthevapor,whilethedropletsarelargely
aggregatesoftars,resins,andheavier
phenolicmaterials,includingthePAHs.PAHs
arelargelyinsolubleinwater,whilemostof
theflavorandpreservativecompoundsdo
dissolvetosomeextent.Thisdifference
makesitpossibletoseparatemostofthe
PAHsfromthevaporsanddissolvethevapors
inwater.Cooksthenusethisliquidextractof
smoketoflavorfoods.Toxicologicalstudies