Smoking (cooking) facts for kids

Meat hanging inside a smokehouse in Switzerland

A Montreal smoked meat sandwich, a well-known Canadian dish

Hot-smoked chum salmon

Smoking is a way to flavor, cook, or preserve food. It involves exposing food to smoke, usually from burning wood. People often smoke meat, fish, and even some types of tea. Smoking gives food a special taste and can help it last longer.

Different types of wood are used for smoking. In Europe, alder was traditional, but now oak is more common. In North America, popular woods include hickory, mesquite, oak, and fruit woods like apple and cherry. Sometimes, other materials are burned instead of wood. For example, some ham and bacon are smoked over burning corncobs. In Iceland, dried sheep dung is used to smoke fish and lamb!

Historically, many farms had a special small building called a "smokehouse". This was where meats were smoked and stored. These buildings were usually kept separate from other buildings. This was because of the fire risk and the strong smell of smoke.

How Food Is Smoked

Smoking food can be done in a few different ways. These methods mostly affect the outside of the food. To truly preserve food for a long time, smoking is often combined with other methods. These include chilling the food or special packaging.

Cold Smoking

Cold smoking uses smoke at a low temperature, usually below 30°C (86°F). The food is not cooked during this process. Cold smoking is mainly used for flavor and to help preserve foods like cheese, fish, and cured meats.

Hot Smoking

Hot smoking cooks the food while it smokes. The temperature is higher, usually between 60°C (140°F) and 80°C (176°F). This method is great for cooking and flavoring meats and fish at the same time.

Liquid Smoke

"Liquid smoke" is a product that captures the flavor of smoke in a liquid form. It's made by collecting smoke and condensing it. People can add it to food to give it a smoky taste without needing a smoker.

Images for kids

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  Hickory-smoked country-style ribs.

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  An example of a common offset smoker.

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  A diagram of a typical upright drum smoker

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  A typical vertical water smoker

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  A diagram of a propane smoker, loaded with country style ribs and pork loin in foil.

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  Various shapes of primitive smoking racks

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  Smoked omul fish, endemic to Lake Baikal in Russia, on sale at Listyanka market.

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  Smoked Gruyère cheese

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  Fish being smoked in Tanji, The Gambia

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  Pastrami, a smoked and cured beef product

See also

In Spanish: Ahumado para niños