Cold smoking

[RobinC]

I thought that historically that smoking was used as a method to preserve food used in conjunction with curing and drying. Can't pretend to know a lot about in that regard

[Impeed]

Dean
Sounds like a wonderful cheese to smoke. Although 750 grams would be a several inches thick bit of cheese.
Usually I cut mine into 1.5 inch square bricks ...lots of surface area for that smokey goodness to seep into.
Then after a cold smoke dry the pieces on some kitchen towel as they do sweat a little then wrap in cling film and straight back into the fridge. Leave 3 days to a week and the smoke has penetrated and mellowed right to the middle..
Did a goats cheese for a friend ...not a cheese I actually like but asked for a report when they try it .

Also wouldn't over smoke the chedder as it will be quite full flavoured to start with ...maybe a beech or apple or cherry would be nice. Maybe a 2-3 hour with a pro-q CSG. Lobbed a bunch of mixed dried herbs in the last batch..Gave the wood dust a half hour in the oven at 100 centigrade to dry it properly and was a brilliant smoke. Lit the CSG with a kitchen blow torch and off it went.

[wade]

The best cheeses that I have found for smoking are the hard plain cheeses - e.g. the various cheddars, Red Leicester etc. What you need is a good flavoured cheese but not one that is over strong - I tend to mostly smoke "full flavoured" cheddar although I do smoke other cheeses too. Whole Brie or Camembert smoke quite well but need to be pricked first to let the smoke penetrate and must be kept quite cool (<20C). Mild Stilton is also very good.
The smoke and cheese flavours need to meld and complement each other and so if you try to smoke a cheese that is too mild (bland) all you will get is a mouthful of rubbery smoke when you eat it. The "full flavoured" cheeses have sufficient acidity and sweetness that the flavour is enhanced by the smoke. If you go for a cheese that is too strong they already have very complex flavour layers and you can find that the smoke simply sits there on top of them all and is not always that pleasant.
After smoking always leave the cheese wrapped in film in the fridge for a few days before eating to let the smoke penetrate and the flavours blend. After that it is ready for eating - however the smoke will do little to extend its shelf life and so it should still be stored in the same way as unsmoked cheese. The hard cheeses will freeze very well though and so if prepared in bulk it can be stored for months in the freezer.

Yes Chris, cold smoking was originally used for preserving foods before refrigeration was available - and it still is but these days it is often done simply for the distinctive smoked flavour. It is not just the smoke that preserves the food though, it is also the dehydration that takes place. For all cold smoked meats or fish salting or brining is an important part of the cold smoking process to initially reduce moisture content. The smoking period then also further reduces the moisture content. If "fully" smoked fish or meat will keep in a cool place for many months however to achieve this it needs to have a level of dehydration that most people would find unpalatable. With meat it is more acceptable as you end up with something like Palma ham, salami or chorizo however with fish you would end up with something akin to Bombay Duck. For the type of smoking we are talking about here (e.g. traditional smoked salmon) the shelf life of the food will be considerably extended however as it still has significant moisture content it will still needs to be refrigerated.

Hot smoking really only imparts that lovely smoky flavour to the food as it cooks and, although it may extend the shelf life slightly, the food should be treated as any other cooked meat or fish after it has been smoked. Hot smoked meat and fish freeze well so this would be a good way to preserve it if you are smoking in bulk.

[Chris__M]

Yes Chris, cold smoking was originally used for preserving foods before refrigeration was available - and it still is but these days it is often done simply for the distinctive smoked flavour. It is not just the smoke that preserves the food though, it is also the dehydration that takes place. For all cold smoked meats or fish salting or brining is an important part of the cold smoking process to initially reduce moisture content.

Cheers, that's what I thought. The friend is one of the guys working on my garden, so I have just ordered a copy of Erlandson's "Home Smoking and Curing" as a little present for him. I'm also tempted to buy him a ProQ Cold Smoker, as he works with hard woods a lot (oak etc.) and would have no problem coming up with clean wood dust.

[deanfetzer]

Thanks Wade and Impeed for your useful posts - that's exactly the sort of info on cheese smoking I was looking for! Will get that cheddar and let you know how it turns out!

And Impeed, I hadn't thought about drying out the dust beforehand, but I guess it's not a bad idea, considering the natural humidity in the UK. I'm really liking the Pro-Q CSG - it does a great job!

Dean