lignin woods burn too hot unless their
combustion is slowed by restricted airflow or
a high moisture content. When smoking is
done by throwing wood chips onto glowing
charcoal, the wood chips should be pre-soaked
in water so that they’ll cool the coals. Because
it’s largely pure carbon, charcoal burns
mostly smokelessly at temperatures
approaching 1,800ºF/1,000ºC.
Though smoke helps stabilize the flavors
of meats and fish, smoke flavor itself is
unstable. The desirable phenolic compounds
are especially reactive, and largely dissipate
in a few weeks or months.
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