11 ms·

Smoked foods are tastier, less harmful with a tip from the auto industry

181 points by camtarn 9y ago

whoisthemachine 9y ago
A delicious avenue of science!
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
positr0n 9y ago
Awesome! I wonder if anyone sells liquid smoke made using zeolite filters. I would buy it and use it in foods like sous vide brisket. https://www.seriouseats.com/2016/08/food-lab-complete-guide-sous-vide-barbecue-smoked-bbq-brisket.html https://www.seriouseats.com/2016/08/food-lab-complete-guide-...
- matte_black 9y ago
  Isn’t liquid smoke already much safer? The carcinogens aren’t water soluble.
- wcdolphin 9y ago
  That was my first thought as well. Did you find anything?
esdott 9y ago
So, who will be the first here to attach the closest available tailpipe/muffler to their smoker? I’d honestly be surprised if this hasn’t been thought of or done before.
- pat2man 9y ago
  The Grand Tour did it: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/on-demand/2018/02/16/grand-tour-season-two-episode-11-recap-gang-get-stuck-mud-inmozambique/ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/on-demand/2018/02/16/grand-tour-...
  - abakker 9y ago
    Coal rolled kippers!
- gHosts 9y ago
  Nah. Zeolite is just kitty litter. Swipe some from your cat.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
no_identd 9y ago
So why don't industry cigarettes contain zeolite filters? Same question for activated charcoal filters. And don't say 'false sense of security', harm reduction is harm reduction is harm reduction.
- ricardobeat 9y ago
  Cigarettes are already expensive, that would make them a luxury item.
  - stochastic_monk 9y ago
    They’re only expensive because they’re so heavily taxed. Putting some of that money to consumer health in the form of more advanced filters would be great harm reduction.
    - _asummers 9y ago
      That's not the right behavior to be encouraging at the macro public health level, though. The goal of the taxes is to discourage use, by making the cost outrageous, and while you can make them safer, ultimately you want to be discouraging their use entirely.
      - dexterdog 9y ago
        The taxes have the main goal of raising revenue for the government. Discouragement is just a side benefit.
        dsr_ 9y ago
        That would depend on which government is doing the taxing. To the US states, tobacco taxes are revenue. For the Federal government, they are a policy measure.
      - coldtea 9y ago
        >That's not the right behavior to be encouraging at the macro public health level, though. The goal of the taxes is to discourage use, by making the cost outrageous And why's that the government's business exactly? In a country that they actually offer free public healthcare, I'd understand it (sick people incur costs), but in the US and other such places, it's mostly the state playing nanny (even more so than the tax money).
I_am_tiberius 9y ago
Does this concern Lapsang Souchong (tea) as well?
borne0 9y ago
I can see this being a real marketing thing for smoked salmon, makes me want to try it out in my smoker.
ricardobeat 9y ago
> the researchers smoked tomato flakes, coconut oil and water using either filtered or unfiltered smoke. Then, they added the smoked tomato flakes to cream cheese and used the water to brine some chicken Not that this disqualifies the results, but what an odd choice of tests.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- jerrysievert 9y ago
  > Not that this disqualifies the results, but what an odd choice of tests. I would disagree: grilled tomatoes are a mainstay of a simple taste profile - very easy to distinguish acrid or "extra" flavors. Coconut oil has a very high smoke point, and thus should pick up any flavor from the smoke without bringing anything to the plate itself - very easy to test flavors. Water, well, if you've not had a cocktail with smoked ice, I'm afraid I can't help you :) The point is that these choices provided more neutral mediums for the collection of smoke, as opposed to, say, trying to smoke meat or cheese, where the base ingredients may have just a little bit of different flavor. as an aside, I have a chicken in the smoker right now, with a load of cherry wood, but would love to eliminate a few of those carcinogens.
  - ianai 9y ago
    I would experiment with liquid smoke in marinades and long, ‘wet’ cooking times (rotisserie if possible). But I’m a vegan now, so I just get to put the liquid smoke directly into my seitan ;) Definitely buy the most liquid smoke you can reasonably store and use. A gallon or a quart has been maybe 10% the cost of similar volumes purchased in smaller bottles. Also, I’m considering deleting my comment thanks to the downvotes. I’m guessing it’s because I revealed I’m a vegan, despite the fact that I made valid cooking suggestions for meat. Nothing about anything I said was judgemental.
    - jerrysievert 9y ago
      I didn't downvote you, nor do I have any issue with you being a vegan, but will just point out that I personally don't care for liquid smoke - mostly because I find it boring compared to the woods I would normally use to smoke food with.
djrogers 9y ago
It is well known in the BBQ world that not all smoke is good smoke. In fact, one of the secrets/talents a great pit master must have is the ability to manage a fire to minimize or eliminate the plume of white smoke - that’s the stuff that tastes like ashes. The thin blue smoke from a properly tended hardwood fire is more flavorful and contains fewer carcinogens - it’s a big key to great Q. It’d be a huge advancement to casual/home BBQ if these filters have a similar effect- although I’m sure many popular styles of smoker would need to be completely redesigned to support the addition of a filter...
- userbinator 9y ago
  The thin blue smoke from a properly tended hardwood fire is more flavorful and contains fewer carcinogens Do you have any references for that? In the automotive world, blue smoke is worse than white smoke.
  - tyingq 9y ago
    Seems unrelated. White smoke is usually antifreeze (head gasket blowout) and blue smoke is burning oil (more serious engine damage).
    - toomanybeersies 9y ago
      Burning coolant generally signals a worse problem that burning oil. A cracked head gasket is a bad thing to have, it get a lot worse quite quickly. Burning oil is fairly normal for an older car, it generally means your piston rings are getting a bit worn, perfectly normal for a 20+ year old car. The solution is generally to use a heavier oil.
      - tyingq 9y ago
        Not my experience. Replacing head gaskets isn't cheap, but it's cheaper than a rebore and new rings. Thicker oil is a very short term band aid.
    - toothbrush 9y ago
JoshMnem 9y ago
It looks like a smoked food company hired a researcher to investigate the health effects of smoked food. Surprise -- smoked food is tastier and less harmful than you thought! Unfortunately, the actual research can't be examined during the PR campaign.
- azernik 9y ago
  Did you even read the link? It's about how smoked food is carcinogenic, and that a specific new technique (that isn't widely used yet) can reduce that problem.

181 points by camtarn 9y ago

whoisthemachine 9y ago

A delicious avenue of science!

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

positr0n 9y ago

Awesome! I wonder if anyone sells liquid smoke made using zeolite filters. I would buy it and use it in foods like sous vide brisket. https://www.seriouseats.com/2016/08/food-lab-complete-guide-sous-vide-barbecue-smoked-bbq-brisket.html https://www.seriouseats.com/2016/08/food-lab-complete-guide-...

matte_black 9y ago
Isn’t liquid smoke already much safer? The carcinogens aren’t water soluble.
wcdolphin 9y ago
That was my first thought as well. Did you find anything?

esdott 9y ago

So, who will be the first here to attach the closest available tailpipe/muffler to their smoker? I’d honestly be surprised if this hasn’t been thought of or done before.

pat2man 9y ago
The Grand Tour did it: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/on-demand/2018/02/16/grand-tour-season-two-episode-11-recap-gang-get-stuck-mud-inmozambique/ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/on-demand/2018/02/16/grand-tour-...
- abakker 9y ago
  Coal rolled kippers!
gHosts 9y ago
Nah. Zeolite is just kitty litter. Swipe some from your cat.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

no_identd 9y ago

So why don't industry cigarettes contain zeolite filters? Same question for activated charcoal filters. And don't say 'false sense of security', harm reduction is harm reduction is harm reduction.

ricardobeat 9y ago
Cigarettes are already expensive, that would make them a luxury item.
- stochastic_monk 9y ago
  They’re only expensive because they’re so heavily taxed. Putting some of that money to consumer health in the form of more advanced filters would be great harm reduction.
  - _asummers 9y ago
    That's not the right behavior to be encouraging at the macro public health level, though. The goal of the taxes is to discourage use, by making the cost outrageous, and while you can make them safer, ultimately you want to be discouraging their use entirely.
    - dexterdog 9y ago
      The taxes have the main goal of raising revenue for the government. Discouragement is just a side benefit.
      - dsr_ 9y ago
        That would depend on which government is doing the taxing. To the US states, tobacco taxes are revenue. For the Federal government, they are a policy measure.
    - coldtea 9y ago
      >That's not the right behavior to be encouraging at the macro public health level, though. The goal of the taxes is to discourage use, by making the cost outrageous And why's that the government's business exactly? In a country that they actually offer free public healthcare, I'd understand it (sick people incur costs), but in the US and other such places, it's mostly the state playing nanny (even more so than the tax money).

I_am_tiberius 9y ago

Does this concern Lapsang Souchong (tea) as well?

borne0 9y ago

I can see this being a real marketing thing for smoked salmon, makes me want to try it out in my smoker.

ricardobeat 9y ago

> the researchers smoked tomato flakes, coconut oil and water using either filtered or unfiltered smoke. Then, they added the smoked tomato flakes to cream cheese and used the water to brine some chicken Not that this disqualifies the results, but what an odd choice of tests.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
jerrysievert 9y ago
> Not that this disqualifies the results, but what an odd choice of tests. I would disagree: grilled tomatoes are a mainstay of a simple taste profile - very easy to distinguish acrid or "extra" flavors. Coconut oil has a very high smoke point, and thus should pick up any flavor from the smoke without bringing anything to the plate itself - very easy to test flavors. Water, well, if you've not had a cocktail with smoked ice, I'm afraid I can't help you :) The point is that these choices provided more neutral mediums for the collection of smoke, as opposed to, say, trying to smoke meat or cheese, where the base ingredients may have just a little bit of different flavor. as an aside, I have a chicken in the smoker right now, with a load of cherry wood, but would love to eliminate a few of those carcinogens.
- ianai 9y ago
  I would experiment with liquid smoke in marinades and long, ‘wet’ cooking times (rotisserie if possible). But I’m a vegan now, so I just get to put the liquid smoke directly into my seitan ;) Definitely buy the most liquid smoke you can reasonably store and use. A gallon or a quart has been maybe 10% the cost of similar volumes purchased in smaller bottles. Also, I’m considering deleting my comment thanks to the downvotes. I’m guessing it’s because I revealed I’m a vegan, despite the fact that I made valid cooking suggestions for meat. Nothing about anything I said was judgemental.
  - jerrysievert 9y ago
    I didn't downvote you, nor do I have any issue with you being a vegan, but will just point out that I personally don't care for liquid smoke - mostly because I find it boring compared to the woods I would normally use to smoke food with.

djrogers 9y ago

It is well known in the BBQ world that not all smoke is good smoke. In fact, one of the secrets/talents a great pit master must have is the ability to manage a fire to minimize or eliminate the plume of white smoke - that’s the stuff that tastes like ashes. The thin blue smoke from a properly tended hardwood fire is more flavorful and contains fewer carcinogens - it’s a big key to great Q. It’d be a huge advancement to casual/home BBQ if these filters have a similar effect- although I’m sure many popular styles of smoker would need to be completely redesigned to support the addition of a filter...

userbinator 9y ago
The thin blue smoke from a properly tended hardwood fire is more flavorful and contains fewer carcinogens Do you have any references for that? In the automotive world, blue smoke is worse than white smoke.
- tyingq 9y ago
  Seems unrelated. White smoke is usually antifreeze (head gasket blowout) and blue smoke is burning oil (more serious engine damage).
  - toomanybeersies 9y ago
    Burning coolant generally signals a worse problem that burning oil. A cracked head gasket is a bad thing to have, it get a lot worse quite quickly. Burning oil is fairly normal for an older car, it generally means your piston rings are getting a bit worn, perfectly normal for a 20+ year old car. The solution is generally to use a heavier oil.
    - tyingq 9y ago
      Not my experience. Replacing head gaskets isn't cheap, but it's cheaper than a rebore and new rings. Thicker oil is a very short term band aid.
  - toothbrush 9y ago

JoshMnem 9y ago

It looks like a smoked food company hired a researcher to investigate the health effects of smoked food. Surprise -- smoked food is tastier and less harmful than you thought! Unfortunately, the actual research can't be examined during the PR campaign.

azernik 9y ago
Did you even read the link? It's about how smoked food is carcinogenic, and that a specific new technique (that isn't widely used yet) can reduce that problem.