Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstufe, a production of I Heart Radio. Hey
Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren vog obamb here. You've probably had liquid
Speaker 1: smoke in barbecue, sauces, ketchup and marinades. Maybe in ribs, wings, cheese,
Speaker 1: or vegetarian burger patties, And yes, if you're a fan
Speaker 1: of McDonald's beloved mc ribbed sandwich, it's part of what
Speaker 1: gives that cult favorite its flavor. A liquid smoke is,
Speaker 1: as it says on the label, a smoky liquid flavoring
Speaker 1: that can help cooks replicate in seconds the taste, if
Speaker 1: not texture, of having smoked a food for hours, a
Speaker 1: secret ingredient to some and a blasphemous sheet to others,
Speaker 1: like devoted barbecue enthusiasts. A liquid smoke is made from
Speaker 1: actual condensed smoke that goes through a purifying process, so
Speaker 1: a food made with it can taste pretty undiscernible from
Speaker 1: a food to which you know smokey smoke has been applied.
Speaker 1: Though the product we know today was invented by Ernest W.
Speaker 1: Wright in liquid smoke actually dates back to the seventeenth century,
Speaker 1: when wood vinegar was used as a flavoring agent and
Speaker 1: preservative for meats. All right. Meanwhile, was inspired to create
Speaker 1: liquid smoke from a memory he had as a child
Speaker 1: of dark liquid trickling down his stove pipe. He improved
Speaker 1: the process of condensing and collecting smoke in water and
Speaker 1: commercialized the process by the start of the twentieth century.
Speaker 1: By the nineteen sixties, liquid smoke was approved by the
Speaker 1: US Food and Drug Administration and stocked in most supermarkets
Speaker 1: across the continental United States on its own and in
Speaker 1: packaged sauces, deli meats, cheeses, snacks, and more. A bottle
Speaker 1: is shelf stable for up to two years, and you
Speaker 1: can incorporate it into an endless number of recipes, from
Speaker 1: dressings to dips two stews. Though a little goes a
Speaker 1: long way, and yes, it is made from real smoke.
Speaker 1: Producer will start by heating wood chips or sawdust until
Speaker 1: they start to smolder and smoke the stage right before
Speaker 1: they would produce actual fire, at which point the wood
Speaker 1: starts undergoing thermal decomposition, also known as pyrolysis. The exact
Speaker 1: chemical composition of the wood plus the amount of moisture
Speaker 1: it contains, are going to affect the temperature at which
Speaker 1: the wood starts breaking down and how much smoke it produces,
Speaker 1: and what compounds are in that smoke. The producer collects
Speaker 1: that smoke in a chamber that's relatively cool and contains water, vapor,
Speaker 1: and some of the stuff in the smoke will condense
Speaker 1: and collect into a water based liquid. Note that when
Speaker 1: you smoke a food over a fire, you're forcing the
Speaker 1: smoke condensed directly on the relatively cool food. The process
Speaker 1: is technically very similar, but when you're making liquid smoke,
Speaker 1: you're getting the smoke to collect on water instead of food.
Speaker 1: But you may have heard that smoke is bad for you,
Speaker 1: and it is. That's why. After it's collected, liquid smoke
Speaker 1: goes through a multi stage filtration process to remove compound
Speaker 1: that you don't want, such as known carcinogens like polycyclic
Speaker 1: aromatic hydrocarbons or pH What you're left with are a
Speaker 1: few groups of compounds that give liquid smoke its color, flavor,
Speaker 1: and functional properties like antimicrobial properties, all mixed into a
Speaker 1: watery base. Some brands bottle it and seladas is. Others
Speaker 1: flavor and color it with stuff like vinegar, salt, and sweeteners.
Speaker 1: For industrial food production, it might be further processed into
Speaker 1: an oil or a powder for easy addition to say
Speaker 1: barbecue flavored snap chips. Of course, no clever food flavoring
Speaker 1: is without its controversy, and liquid smoke is no different,
Speaker 1: and when applied to food, it's not exactly like the
Speaker 1: sensory experience of the food having been cooked by smoking.
Speaker 1: A liquid smoke tends to be a little less bitter
Speaker 1: or acrid, a little less powerful on the palate, and
Speaker 1: less penetrative unless you take steps to really get it
Speaker 1: in there. And of course, part of what you get
Speaker 1: when you smoke a food food is texture from that
Speaker 1: food havn't been exposed to low heat from the smoldering
Speaker 1: wood for probably a long time, which can break down
Speaker 1: tough connective tissue and make foods really tender. Liquid smoke
Speaker 1: won't do that. Though of course, you can cook food
Speaker 1: low and slow in say a Dutch oven or s
Speaker 1: Suvi bath for the texture, and add a touch of
Speaker 1: liquid smoke for the flavor, it still won't be exactly
Speaker 1: the same thing. Though. Today's episode is based on the
Speaker 1: article liquid smoke, Why You Either Love It or Hate
Speaker 1: It on how stuff works dot com, written by Jeremy Glass.
Speaker 1: Or more about liquid smoke check out my other podcast Savor.
Speaker 1: We did a whole episode on it back in November.
Speaker 1: Brain Stuff is production of by Heart Radio in partnership
Speaker 1: with house to works dot com, and it's produced by
Speaker 1: Tyler Clay. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit
Speaker 1: the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.