ABSTRACT
The generation of smoke in many commercial operations can be quite sophisticated. The resulting smoke is then either drawn or pushed into the actual smoking chamber and permitted to interact with the food in question. Smoke production or generation temperature, using the smoldering technique, can vary over a fairly wide range, dependent upon available air. The more air that is present the lower resulting smoke temperature. In the wet smoke or condensate smoke method, sawdust and superheated steam containing varying amounts of heated air are blended, causing sawdust pyrolysis. A cyclonic separator is used to yield smoke and charred sawdust Production of smoke via carbonization requires specialized equipment in that sawdust is pressed together in a tubular casing by means of a tapered screw. The actual smoke temperature can vary quite widely dependent upon the method of generation and the ambient temperature surrounding the food item being smoked. In certain countries the product called liquid smoke has become quite popular.
