Coldsmoking Digital Cookery School

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...

Sourcing wood for smoking food can be a very simple and rewarding task, especially after fresh autumn or spring winds suddenly make oodles of wood available. Most of the wood I’ve used for cold smoking has been sourced from pruning’s in one way or another. The best time for collecting wood is in the winter or ve ry early spring before the sap rises. The sap will add moisture and add time to the drying process. This can be avoided simply by choosing when to prune.  Having said that, I have had some great success with woods harvested in the summer, it just takes longer to dry out than wood harvested in the winter. A few years ago I bumped into a cheerful band of tree surgeon in a café on the A10 in North London. They had a load of fantastic oak logs on their truck which had just cut down in one of the local municipal parks. I asked him if I could have a few logs and they were more than pleased to help load them into the car. It didn’t even cost me a cup of tea. Once you know whic...

If you like this post please visit Facebook and like our page - Thanks. It’s true that the simplest things in life are sometimes the best, and Oak smoked air dried Duck breasts are no exception. I had the pleasure of preparing 4 of these wonderful duck breasts recently with the aim of bathing these little darlings in some lovely, traditional 0ak cold smoke. Well, what can I say! 18 hours in a salt/herb cure and after what seemed an infinite wait air drying in muslin, I finally had the pleasure of opening one of the treasures after drying it for 10 days. The suspense was killing me. Opening the package was just like birthdays and Christmas all rolled into one. A gastronomic delight to fill the senses! I have to say I was surprised at what I found. I was not disappointed! The Duck breasts had firmed up really well and had darkened considerably. The fat had also lost a lot of moisture and had yellowed on the surface. It even smelled of charcuterie which was reassuring to say t...