Liquid smoke

Last updated
Liquid smoke
Liquid Smoke Spoonful.jpg
Names
Other names
wood vinegar, pyroligneous acid, smoke flavor, smoke flavouring(s), natural condensed smoke
Properties
AppearanceYellow to red liquid
Odor acrid smoky
miscible
Solubility in ethanol miscible
Solubility in propylene glycol miscible
Solubility in oils immiscible
Related compounds
Related compounds
 Pyroligneous acid
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
A bottle of hickory liquid smoke sauce Figaro Liquid Smoke small.jpg
A bottle of hickory liquid smoke sauce

Liquid smoke is a water-soluble yellow to red liquid [1] used as a flavoring as a substitute for cooking with wood smoke while retaining a similar flavor. It can be used to flavor any meat or vegetable. It is available as pure condensed smoke from various types of wood, and as derivative formulas containing additives.

Contents

History

Pyrolysis or thermal decomposition of wood in a low oxygen manner originated prehistorically to produce charcoal. Condensates of the vapors eventually were made and found useful as preservatives. For centuries, water-based condensates of wood smoke were popularly called "wood vinegar", presumably due to its use as food vinegar. Pliny the Elder recorded in one of his ten volumes of Natural History the use of wood vinegar as an embalming agent, declaring it superior to other treatments he used. In 1658, Johann Rudolf Glauber outlined the methods to produce wood vinegar during charcoal making. [2] Further, he described the use of the water insoluble tar fraction as a wood preservative and documented the freezing of the wood vinegar to concentrate it. Use of the term "pyroligneous acid" for wood vinegar emerged by 1788.

In the United States, in 1895, E. H. Wright inaugurated the era of commercial distribution of pyroligneous acid under a new name, liquid smoke. [3] Among Wright's innovations were the standardization of the product, marketing and distribution. Wright's Liquid Smoke, since 1997 owned by B&G Foods, and its modern-day successors have always been the subject of controversy about their contents and production, but in 1913, Wright prevailed in a federal misbranding case. Case judge Van Valkenburg wrote: [4]

The Government, in trying to show that this is not smoke produced by combustion, has shown that it is produced in exactly the same kind of way that is stated on that label. The fact is that they have produced something here which they say has something of the flavor and properties similar to the curative properties of smoke; they get it out of wood and they get it by distillation and it turns out to be a substance like, if not exactly identical with pyroligneous acid. Well, nobody could be deceived into thinking it was specifically what the indictment charges they are being deceived with. It is a thing which is produced in such a manner from the art and methods employed in it, that the application of the term "smoke" to it seems to me to be apt or applicable instead of deceptive, and it does not deceive in the sense this statute implies.

Historically, all pyroligneous acid products, Wright's product and many other condensates have been made as byproducts of charcoal manufacturing, which was of greater value. Chemicals such as methanol, acetic acid and acetone have been isolated from these condensates and sold. With the advent of lower cost fossil fuel sources, today these and other wood derived chemicals retain only small niches. Today there are many manufacturing locations around the world, most of which pyrolyze wood primarily to generate condensates which are further processed to make hundreds of derivative products. These are now referred to less as liquid smoke products, and instead as smoke flavorings, smoke flavors, and natural condensed smoke.

Production

The condensed products from the destructive distillation of wood are called "liquid smoke" or "pyroligneous acid". There are no standards of identity, prescribed production methods, or tests which distinguish between liquid smoke and pyroligneous acid; they can be considered to be the same. However, the numerous variables that are manipulated during pyrolysis do lead to a wide range of compositions of the condensates. [5] In addition, implementation of many further processing steps by concentration, dilution, distillation, extraction, and use of food additives has led to the many hundreds of different products on the market worldwide.

Wood, particularly hardwood, is by far the most widely used biomass pyrolyzed to make liquid smoke. Commercial products are made using both batch and continuous methods. Commercial products are made using a range of reactors from rotary calciners, [6] heated screws, [7] batch charcoal kilns, [8] to fast pyrolysis reactors. [9] The process type and conditions of processing lead to greater variances between the condensates than the differences between the common wood types that are in use. [10] Variables such as feed rate, vapor residence time, particle size, oxygen infiltration, and temperature can have substantial effects on yield and composition of the condensates. Wide ranges of chemical composition are reported throughout the literature and unless the process and conditions are cited, there is limited utility of such results. Commercial manufacturers strive to control their manufacturing variables in order to standardize product compositions.

Water is added either during condensation or after to cause separation of three fractions. [11] Once water is added, the aqueous phase becomes the largest and most useful fraction. It contains wood-derived chemical compounds of higher chemical polarity such as those found in carboxylic acid, aldehyde, and phenol chemical classes. Many compounds together are responsible for the flavor, browning, antioxidant, and antimicrobial effects of smoke and liquid smoke. The smallest condensed fraction is the lowest-polarity upper phase which a mix of phytosterols and other oily, waxy substances. The lower phase is commonly referred to as tar. It is an intermediate-polarity mixture of phenolic polymers, secondary and tertiary reaction products, [12] some of the water-soluble polar compounds partitioned in the amount of which is governed by individual partition coefficients, water and the bulk of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Wood tar has been used as a preservative, water repellent, and antiseptic. Tar from birch was produced as a commodity product on large scale in northern Europe. Today commercial liquid smoke products are still prepared from this phase. [13] Liquid smoke condensates are made commercially for the global meat industry in the U.S. and Europe and are regulated by governments. Liquid smoke is still referred to as wood vinegar, and is made and used indigenously in places including Japan, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brazil, and Southeast Asia. [14]

Use

Food

The application of liquid smoke to food has grown to encompass a wide variety of methods [15] employing thousands of commercial formulations worldwide. Liquid smoke is used extensively by topical application to replace direct wood-smoking of food. In addition to flavor, reaction color, anti-microbial, and texture effects are obtained by topical addition followed by thermal processing. Dipping products in diluted solutions or soaking them in brines containing liquid smoke followed by heating was done long before the modern industrial era using Wright's liquid smoke and pyroligneous acid precursors. Allen [16] patented a method of regenerating smoke using air atomization, which is still the leading technology for using condensed smoke products to treat processed meat, cheese, fish, and other foods in batch smokehouses.

As the meat-processing industry has consolidated, continuous processes have evolved, and direct applications of solutions of liquid smoke via showering or drenching systems installed on continuous lines are the usual methods of application. In North America, there are more than thirty-five processed-meat plants utilizing bulk tanks to receive tankers of liquid smoke for topical application as an alternative to direct wood smoking. Topical application by impregnation of fibrous, [17] laminated, [18] and plastic casings is also used; [19] meat products are stuffed into these casings and thermally processed.

The use of natural condensed smoke preparations internally in food is another way to impart smoke flavor, used when other technical functions of smoke do not need to be expressed in a finished food. This can be done directly by adding into blenders with meat or other foods, or injecting whole muscle meat. The smoke flavors can also be incorporated into sauces such as barbeque or dry seasonings. Aqueous smoke solutions can also be extracted into oil, spray-dried using maltodextrin carriers, or plated onto foods and food ingredients such as malt flour, yeast, or salt.

Non-food

Extensive references to beneficial uses of pyroligneous acid in plants for seed germination, pest control, microbial control, plant structural enhancements are reported. [20] Livestock benefits such as antimicrobial preservation of feed, [21] nutrient digestibility, [22] and other claims are found. Scientific agricultural studies can be found in peer-reviewed journals, [23] but many agricultural benefits such as soil quality improvement, better seed germination, and healthier foliage are widely promoted without attribution.[ citation needed ] Broad claims of medical benefits to humans in digestive ailments, dental infections, liver, heart, skin ailments, ears, eyes are found,[ citation needed ] but the literature is devoid of accepted scientific studies for such testimonial claims in humans.

Safety

The first government-sanctioned assessment of liquid smoke was undertaken by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1981. [24] The committee commissioned by the FDA to evaluate information on the products concluded there was no evidence demonstrating the products were a hazard to the public the way they were being used. Today, these products stand as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) in the United States and may be used at levels necessary to produce the intended technical effects. Manufacturing plants where liquid smoke is made are regulated and inspected by the FDA.

The European Union established procedures for the safety assessment and the authorization of smoke flavorings used or intended for use in or on foods in 2003. [25] The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) was charged with evaluating information on primary condensate smoke flavorings. Information on twelve products from ten applicants were evaluated by EFSA. Opinions were published on all twelve. [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] The products considered were what each applicant considered their own primary product prior to any further processing or derivatization.

All twelve products were determined to be genotoxic positive by in vitro methods. However, when evaluated by in vivo methods ten were found to not be of concern by EFSA. The AM-01 product was judged inconclusive and FF-B was considered weakly genotoxic. Based upon the NOAEL determinations for each product and supplemental information supplied by some manufacturers, usage limits for most products have been established and are conveyed by manufacturers to users. Most of these primary products and their derivatives remain in commercial use. Only products which are the subjects of these evaluations are authorized to be used in commerce within the EU.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flavoring</span> Food additive used to change its aroma or taste

A flavoring, also known as flavor or flavorant, is a food additive used to improve the taste or smell of food. It changes the perceptual impression of food as determined primarily by the chemoreceptors of the gustatory and olfactory systems. Along with additives, other components like sugars determine the taste of food.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Food additive</span> Substances added to food

Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavor or enhance taste, appearance, or other sensory qualities. Some additives have been used for centuries as part of an effort to preserve food, for example vinegar (pickling), salt (salting), smoke (smoking), sugar (crystallization), etc. This allows for longer-lasting foods such as bacon, sweets or wines. With the advent of ultra-processed foods in the second half of the twentieth century, many additives have been introduced, of both natural and artificial origin. Food additives also include substances that may be introduced to food indirectly in the manufacturing process, through packaging, or during storage or transport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ham</span> Pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking

Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking. As a processed meat, the term ham includes both whole cuts of meat and ones that have been mechanically formed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vinegar</span> Liquid consisting mainly of acetic acid and water

Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains from 5% to 18% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to ethanol using yeast and ethanol to acetic acid using acetic acid bacteria. Many types of vinegar are made, depending on source materials. The product is now mainly used in the culinary arts as a flavorful, acidic cooking ingredient or in pickling. Various types are used as condiments or garnishes, including balsamic vinegar and malt vinegar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marination</span> Process of soaking foods in a seasoned, often acidic, liquid before cooking

Marinating is the process of soaking foods in a seasoned, often acidic, liquid before cooking. The origin of the word alludes to the use of brine in the pickling process, which led to the technique of adding flavor by immersion in liquid. The liquid in question, the marinade, can be either acidic or enzymatic, or have a neutral pH. In addition to these ingredients, a marinade often contains oils, herbs, and spices to further flavor the food items.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smoking (cooking)</span> Exposing food to smoke to flavor or preserve it

Smoking is the process of flavoring, browning, cooking, or preserving food by exposing it to smoke from burning or smoldering material, most often wood. Meat, fish, and lapsang souchong tea are often smoked.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salami</span> Cured sausage, fermented and air-dried meat

Salami is a cured sausage consisting of fermented and air-dried meat, typically pork. Historically, salami was popular among southern, eastern, and central European peasants because it can be stored at room temperature for up to 45 days once cut, supplementing a potentially meager or inconsistent supply of fresh meat. Countries and regions across Europe make their own traditional varieties of salami.

Rancidification is the process of complete or incomplete autoxidation or hydrolysis of fats and oils when exposed to air, light, moisture, or bacterial action, producing short-chain aldehydes, ketones and free fatty acids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vanillin</span> Chemical compound

Vanillin is an organic compound with the molecular formula C8H8O3. It is a phenolic aldehyde. Its functional groups include aldehyde, hydroxyl, and ether. It is the primary component of the extract of the vanilla bean. Synthetic vanillin is now used more often than natural vanilla extract as a flavoring in foods, beverages, and pharmaceuticals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maillard reaction</span> Chemical reaction that gives browned food flavor

The Maillard reaction is a chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars to create melanoidins, the compounds which give browned food its distinctive flavor. Seared steaks, fried dumplings, cookies and other kinds of biscuits, breads, toasted marshmallows, and many other foods undergo this reaction. It is named after French chemist Louis Camille Maillard, who first described it in 1912 while attempting to reproduce biological protein synthesis. The reaction is a form of non-enzymatic browning which typically proceeds rapidly from around 140 to 165 °C. Many recipes call for an oven temperature high enough to ensure that a Maillard reaction occurs. At higher temperatures, caramelization and subsequently pyrolysis become more pronounced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polyphenol</span> Class of chemical compounds

Polyphenols are a large family of naturally occurring phenols. They are abundant in plants and structurally diverse. Polyphenols include phenolic acids, flavonoids, tannic acid, and ellagitannin, some of which have been used historically as dyes and for tanning garments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diacetyl</span> Chemical compound

Diacetyl ( dy-yuh-SEE-tuhl; IUPAC systematic name: butanedione or butane-2,3-dione) is an organic compound with the chemical formula (CH3CO)2. It is a yellow liquid with an intensely buttery flavor. It is a vicinal diketone (two C=O groups, side-by-side). Diacetyl occurs naturally in alcoholic beverages and is added as a flavoring to some foods to impart its buttery flavor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chipotle</span> Smoke-dried jalapeño

A chipotle, or chilpotle, is a smoke-dried ripe jalapeño chili pepper used for seasoning. It is a chili used primarily in Mexican and Mexican-inspired cuisines, such as Tex-Mex and Southwestern United States dishes. It comes in different forms, such as chipotles en adobo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dry distillation</span> Heating of solids to produce gases

Dry distillation is the heating of solid materials to produce gaseous products. The method may involve pyrolysis or thermolysis, or it may not.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smoked meat</span> Type of prepared meat

Smoked meat is the result of a method of preparing red meat, white meat, and seafood which originated in the Paleolithic Era. Smoking adds flavor, improves the appearance of meat through the Maillard reaction, and when combined with curing it preserves the meat. When meat is cured then cold-smoked, the smoke adds phenols and other chemicals that have an antimicrobial effect on the meat. Hot smoking has less impact on preservation and is primarily used for taste and to slow-cook the meat. Interest in barbecue and smoking is on the rise worldwide.

Pyroligneous acid, also called wood vinegar or wood acid, is a dark liquid produced by the destructive distillation of wood and other plant materials.

Hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) products are foodstuffs obtained by protein hydrolysis and are used as ingredients to create a bouillon (broth) taste without the vegetables, bones, simmering, or other standard elements of creating bouillon from scratch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of food preparation</span> Art form and applied science to make food ingredients palatable and fit to eat

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the preparation of food:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smoked fish</span> Fish that has been cured by smoking

Smoked fish is fish that has been cured by smoking. Foods have been smoked by humans throughout history. Originally this was done as a preservative. In more recent times fish is readily preserved by refrigeration and freezing and the smoking of fish is generally done for the unique taste and flavour imparted by the smoking process.

References

  1. ↑ George A. Burdock (2010), "PYROLIGNEOUS ACID EXTRACT", Fenaroli's Handbook of Flavor Ingredients (6th ed.), Taylor & Francis, pp. 1775–1776, ISBN   978-1-4200-9077-2
  2. ↑ Glauber, Johann Rudolph (1658). Furni Novi Philosophici, Sive Descriptio Artis Destillatoriae Novae ... London: Joannem Janssonium.
  3. ↑ Unusual Stories of Unusual Men: Ernest H. Wright — Classification: "Condensed Smoke". The Rotarian. 1923. pp. 209–10, 240.
  4. ↑ U.S.Department of Agriculture Division of Publications Service and Regulatory Announcements, 1914. Item number 2828. Alleged misbranding of liquid smoke. U.S.v.E.H.Wright. F.&D.No 3410.I.S.No 14393-c. Washington: Government printing office. 1915. p. 59.
  5. ↑ Montazeri, Naim (January 2013). "Chemical characterization of commercial liquid smoke products". Food Science & Nutrition. 1 (1): 102–115. doi:10.1002/fsn3.9. PMC   3951573 . PMID   24804019.
  6. ↑ Melcer, Irving. "Air regulation in the pyrolysis of wood to produce liquid smoke for the treatment of food products". U.S.Pat.No.3,873,741.
  7. ↑ "Spirajoule".
  8. ↑ "Mokusaku Wood Vinegar".
  9. ↑ Underwood, Gary. "Method of using fast pyrolysis liquids as liquid smoke". U.S.Pat.No.4,876,108.
  10. ↑ Diebold, James (January 2000). A Review of the Chemical and Physical Mechanisms of the Storage Stability of Fast Pyrolysis Bio-Oils (PDF) (Report). National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). p. 5. NREL/SR-570-27613.
  11. ↑ Beglinger, Edward (February 1956). Hardwood-Distillation Industry (Report). United States Department of Agriculture Forest Products Industry. pp. 9–10. Report 738.
  12. ↑ Lopez, Diana (2009). "Average structural analysis of tar obtained from pyrolysis of wood". Bioresource Technology. 7 (101): 2458–65. doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2009.11.036. PMID   19962881.
  13. ↑ Dainius, Balys. "Method of producing from wood tar a liquid smoke product for use in food processing, and product of said method". U.S.Pat.No. 4, 154, 866.
  14. ↑ "Mokusaku Wood Vinegar".
  15. ↑ Schneck, James C. (1981). "Liquid Smoke Application to Cured Meat". Reciprocal Meat Conference Proceedings. 34.
  16. ↑ Allen, W.M. "Method of Smoking a Comestible Product". U.S.Pat.No.3,503,760.
  17. ↑ Chiu, Herman R. "Liquid smoke-impregnation of fibrous food casings". U.S.Pat.No.4,572,098.
  18. ↑ Schafer, Ekkehardt. "Food casing". U.S.Pat.No.6,200,613.
  19. ↑ Samuels, Brian R. "Film having a liquid absorbed therein". U.S.Pat.No.7,556,845.
  20. ↑ "Introduction to Wood Vinegar for Australian Agriculture". Byron Biochar. 5 May 2015.
  21. ↑ Tribble, Talmadge. "Antimicrobial treatment and preservation of animal feedstuffs". U.S.Pat.No.4,308,293.
  22. ↑ Choi, J.Y. (2009). "Effect of Wood Vinegar on the Performance, Nutrient Digestibility and Intestinal Microflora in Weanling Pigs". Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences. 22 (2): 267–274. doi: 10.5713/ajas.2009.80355 .,
  23. ↑ Berahim, Zulkarami (November 2011). "Effect of pyroligneous acid on growth, yield and quality improvement of rockmelon in soilless culture". Australian Journal of Crop Science. 5 (12): 1508–1514.
  24. ↑ Evaluation of the Health Aspects of Smoke Flavoring Solution and Smoked Yeast Flavoring as Food Ingredients (PDF). FASEB (Report). Life Sciences Research Office FASEB. 1981. SCOGS II-7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 November 2016.
  25. ↑ "Regulation (EC) No 2065/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council". Official Journal of the European Union. L 309: 1–8. 10 November 2003.
  26. ↑ "Risk assessment of the Scientific Panel on Food Additives, Flavourings, Processing Aids and Materials in contact with Food (AFC) on the Smoke Flavouring Primary Product – FF-B". EFSA Journal. 5 (6): 20r. 2007. doi: 10.2903/j.efsa.2007.20r .
  27. ↑ "Safety of smoke flavour Primary Product - Scansmoke PB 1110". The EFSA Journal. ON-1056: 1–23. 26 March 2009.
  28. ↑ "Safety of smoke flavour Primary Product – SmokEz C-10". The EFSA Journal. 1225: 1–28. 14 May 2009.
  29. ↑ "Safety of smoke flavour primary product - Scansmoke SEF7525". The EFSA Journal. 1224: 1–26. 14 May 2009.
  30. ↑ "Safety of smoke flavour Primary Product - Zesti Smoke Code 10". The EFSA Journal. ON-982: 1–24. 29 January 2009.
  31. ↑ "Safety of smoke flavour Primary Product - Unismoke". The EFSA Journal. ON-983 (1–20). 29 January 2009.
  32. ↑ "Scientific Opinion on safety of smoke flavour Primary Product – TRADISMOKE A MAX". EFSA Journal. 8 (1): 1394. 2010. doi: 10.2903/j.efsa.2009.1394 .
  33. ↑ "Safety of smoke flavour Primary Product - Smoke Concentrate 809045". The EFSA Journal. ON-981: 1–19. 29 January 2009.
  34. ↑ "Scientific Opinion on safety of smoke flavour Primary Product - Scansmoke R909". EFSA Journal. 8 (1): 1395. 2010. doi: 10.2903/j.efsa.2009.1395 .
  35. ↑ "Safety of smoke flavour Primary Product – SmokEz Enviro 23". The EFSA Journal. 1226: 1–24. 14 May 2009.
  36. ↑ "Scientific Opinion on Safety of smoke flavour Primary Product – AM 01". EFSA Journal. 8 (1): 1396. 2010. doi: 10.2903/j.efsa.2009.1396 .
  37. ↑ "Safety of smoke flavour Primary Product - Fumokomp". EFSA Journal. 7 (9): 1343. 2009. doi: 10.2903/j.efsa.2009.1343 .
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