Coldsmoking Digital Cookery School

Wood is wood isnt it??  well, in a way yes, but the way wood behaves when it burns largely depends on the size of the pieces. There are a few other factors which influence the way the wood behaves when it's burning like the moisture content and the species of wood. I'll cover these other factors in another blog post. Wood burns when it is heated beyond a point known as the fire point which is normally around 300 celcius. However this can change depending on the size of the pieces and moisture content. When wood is in a fine dust form it can be explosive and there are examples of wood mills exploding due to the dust being ignited by a spark resulting in a dust explosion . Now, were not looking to put our smoked food into orbit but it's nice to know that we are dealing with something that has a lot of stored energy which we can employed to flavour and enhance our food. The only time we really need to take account of the form the wood takes is when we want it t...

Turan has been smoking and preserving foods for many years. his ethos is to make these artisan subjects accessible to everyone. He hosts bespoke one day food smoking courses and Meat Curing & Charcuterie courses with the theme of low impact living.  The golden thread running through all his work is accessibility, simplification and safety. Turan's easy teaching style and his ability to simplify and communicate these subjects in an understandable and relaxed way has lead to many excellent reviews from previous guests. Turan has written many food articles for magazines and has also written two books on food smoking. Curing, Smoking and Drying food the latest was published in May 2015. Turan's previous career saw him serving as a senior officer in the London Fire Brigade. Turan retired in May 2014 after serving as an operational officer for more than 30 years. He served in all ranks up to temporary borough commander with over 200 staf...

Our sausage making classes have got off the an amazing start this year with both classes selling out really quickly. Our format for running these classes have made them more of a practical workshop where ideas for new recipes get bounced around between our guests. We'd love to see you and have dates available throughout the year.   We keep the class size to eight people so as to make the experience a more personal affair. This also works on a practical level so the hands-on experience of actually making sausages is something you can really get your teeth into (so to speak).   We use fresh ingredients from our traditional butchers in Newport Pagnell and we have a variety of fresh herbs, spices and seasonings you can use when constructing your unique sausage.We always use the best quality pork shoulder as this has just the right balance between lean and fat to make the perfect sausage.   We start the class with a little theory where we look at wha...

Back in our cave-dwelling days, food smoking was used to preserve food and then our ancestors discovered just how great it makes food taste. Turan has been a passionate smoker of food for many years, teaches courses all around UK and now crystallises his knowledge in food smoking; a practical guide. Within its covers he explains the basics of cold and hot smoking; delves into the principles of combustion (he's a career fireman in another part of his life so he should know!) and explains brining and dry salt curing. He outlines how to source wood for smoking and provides plans for building a cold smoker and smoke generators. He simplifies and demystifies the process of smoking food to enable you to produce wonderful smoked food in a sustainable, eco-friendly way. Enjoy! If you would like to purchase a signed copy of the book please visit smokedust.co.uk and drop Turan an email with your name or who you would like the book signed to. turan@coldsmoking.co.uk

Our relationship with food is like no other I know. When we experience a craving it can quite literally change our whole physiology. We just have to have it, whatever it takes. Sight, smell and even the sound of food being prepared can take us on a journey. When our senses are stimulated it can make our mouths water, our stomachs gurgle and, unconsciously, it even activates our nervous system, preparing our bodies for that impending culinary delight. (If you want to know more about food smoking you can visit our youtube channel Coldsmoking Digital Cookery School for lots of resources to get you started)   For me, smoked food one such delight. Whether it’s hot or cold doesn’t really matter, just that wonderful scent of wood smoke triggers something primitive within me. It has to be said there is little archaeological evidence to suggest the exact origins of food smoking but as huntergatherers, our ancestors would have hung their meat high up, out of reach from prowling animals on t...

Calm down dear, it’s only a raw piece of Salmon that’s been cured and smoked with some old piece of wood from I don’t know where… And so about now you run a mile.   Home smoked Salmon is a wonderful thing tasting like nothing you’d ever buy from the shops, but before embarking on making your own home smoking quest it’s worth knowing the basic principles of storage, handling, curing and smoking and you’ll live to enjoy your smoked food for another day.    When buying fresh Salmon make sure it is fresh and that it has been kept refrigerated. It should have fresh smell about it somewhat counter intuitively not a strong fishy smell. Now, get it home quickly or keep it refrigerated on the way home with some frozen peas. Ideally one should aim to get fresh salmon in your fridge within 15 minutes.  Handling the fish is important too. Don’t over handle or bend the Salmon as this will separate and pull apart the flakes of flesh allowing in bacteria and too much salt...

Well, What can I say. I know it's winter and it's pretty colt outside one could be excused for being a little soft for not wanting to go outside in all weathers. Bring on The Smoking Gun from Polyscience and hey presto you're smoking food indoors. This small Gun allows the budding food smoker the luxuary of smoking small quantities of fish, cheese and nuts indoors. The gun comes with two tubs of dust. Apple and Hickory. They are a little small and the refills are a little pricey but this hand held, battery operated smoker produces enough smoke to give a light smokey touch to many dishes. The Gun comes with handy rubber tube which allows your smoke to be directed into a cling filmed bowl or container so you don't upset the smoke alarm fairy. Batteries are included in the package and it only takes 2 minutes to set up. If you're a real foodi and you like your kitchen gadjets then this is for you. If on the other hand you are a food smoking purist then this is not goi...

No matter how many food smoking courses I host I'm always bowled over by the sheer enthusiasm and gusto of all my guests. That's all fantastic however, I can't help being surprised at people's reactions to how little smoke I actually use to smoke food. There's a common misconception that one has to use lots of smoke to impart a smokey flavour to your food when you smoke it. This isn't the case and anyone who's enjoyed the warmth from a smokey bonfire will attest. You can smell the smoke on your clothes long after the fire has gone.  Wood smoke is a very complex and pungent compound of many different chemicals with lots of flavour and aroma compounds mixed in.  Wood is essentially cellulose, Hemi-cellulose and Lignin. Cellulose and hemi-cellulose contain sugar monomers and Lignin is a very complex carbon based chemical compound which accounts for between 30% and 40% of the dry weight of wood. When combusted Lignin produces the main flavour and aroma compou...

I specialise in creating smoked Salmon and smoked Cheese in my own smoke houses. I've been doing this for years and really enjoy passing this wonderful skill onto people who share my interest in food. I regularly host food smoking courses and currently have my summer dates up on the website. In addition to my own courses I also host food smoking courses for other high end cookery schools around the country. Why not join me on one of my summer dates. My courses start at 10am and run through to 4pm. There's lots of tasting and discussion on the different foods one can smoke and we spend a little time sampling various smoke aromas. We include lunch which is usually homemade soup in winter spring and autumn and salads throughout the summer. Delegates on the course can take photos and notes and go away with a 27 page guide on smoking food at home.  It's interesting to see people's surprise when they find out just how little smoke you need to influence the flavour of th...