The Wood

While certainly the types of cheese (or anything else) you place in a cold smoker is important, equally important is the wood you use for smoking! After all, that is the point in smoking it in the first place, and different woods imbue different flavors.

There are several important points to consider when choosing a good smoking wood, and of course the very first thing to note is safety!

• All wood used to smoke any food, regardless if you are performing hot or cold smoking, must be safe and not contain any poisons (ex: rhododendron)

• All wood used in smoking must not have been exposed to oils, pesticides, or other dangerous chemicals

• All wood used to smoke should be low in creosote producing elements (ex: Pine is not a good wood for smoking!)

Creosote buildup in a chimney pipe… we don’t want it in our chimney OR on our cheese!

Creosote is the bane of a good smoked food item. All wood when burned (or slowly smoldered as in the case of smoking) will produce some creosote. It is up to the person smoking the items to be aware of this and control the amount of creosote that the foods will be exposed to.