Smoker

A smoker is a device for cooking and preserving food with smoke produced by the smouldering of wood chips or sawdust. The smoke not only gives meat, fish, cheese, or vegetables an inimitable golden colour and deep aroma but also, combined with salting, refrigeration, or packaging, helps extend the keeping time.

Two main methods are distinguished. Hot smoking takes place at a high temperature (about 60–120 °C): the product is both smoked and cooked through, becomes ready to eat in a few hours, succulent and tender. Cold smoking is carried out with barely warm smoke (about 20–30 °C) over many hours or even days: thus are made delicate cold-smoked (pre-cured) sausages, ham, and fish that keep far longer. The aroma of smoking depends on the kind of wood: alder, beech, oak, and fruit trees give different shades of flavour (conifers are not used for smoking because of their resin). Smokers range from simple homemade ones from a barrel to industrial cabinets. Smoking is one of the oldest ways of treating food, deeply rooted in the Ukrainian culinary tradition too.