Cold smoking

[Black Hand]

Ultimately, the point is to smoke the food for preservation

I don't think so. The point is to dry the food to preserve it, and that is accelerated by heat, and when first developed, the only two methods were either by heat from fire or by sunlight.

The salt ******* or prevents the bacteria from forming in warmer months before the meat is dry enough to prevent bacterial growth. The smoke keeps insects at bay during the drying process, and as an added bonus, flavors the meat.

Freeze drying is simply removing the moisture at a temp too low to allow bacterial grown AND was developed after being observed, and during winter freezing temps, no flies to infect the meat with maggots.


LD

Smoke contains compounds that ******, inhibit or kill bacteria: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoked_meat https://seagrant.uaf.edu/bookstore/pubs/item.php?id=11347 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0740002001904113

Salt reduces moisture content and increases salinity, both of which inhibit or kill bacteria & fungi. Salt also dehydrates bacterial cells and fungal hyphae, killing them.

Freeze-drying removes water in a vacuum which reduces moisture to the point where bacteria & fungi can't survive.

Heat isn't necessary to dry meat - hanging in a cool/cold, dry place with a breeze will dry meat quite well. Take the meat dried on the steppes or the Andean mummies.

 

[Black Hand]

Water Activity http://www.foodsafetysite.com/educators/competencies/general/bacteria/bac5.html http://www.seriouseats.com/2017/07...strawberry-fruit-jam-pectin-sugar-how-to.html

 

[nhmoose]

To LD not BH

Lot's of freeze drying done in the 17th and 18th century Eh?

 

[coloradoclyde]

I was taught that the (aw) should be 3% or lower when dehydrating

 

[Billnpatti]

Yes I know, I've made them out of gas grills and 55 gallon oil drums in the past as well as wooden ones with a small stove under them....I just wanted something for the yard....This would be even better, but is way to extravagant for me.

I think this could be built with lumber reclaimed from old pallets. The boards in this smoke house look to be about the same length as one might get from a pallet that you can get for free.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Years ago, I would have agreed with you. But today in my area, Pallets are junk. All cheaply made from the poorest of dunage lumber and assembled with glued ring shanks or staples...Impossible to salvage. Many of the good old sturdy oak pallets are being replaced with plastic ones, or composite ones.

 

[NeilMacleod]

Most woods are toxic unfortunately, and the crap they call wood for building homes, scary!

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Why yes, it was noted that clothing that froze would then dry. This was a rather astounding phenomenon. This was later applied to food, but failed...until they added the vacuum.

LD

 

[Loyalist Dave]

The point is to dry the food to preserve it, and that is accelerated by heat,

Never wrote that heat was necessary to dry meat.

LD

 

[coloradoclyde]

the crap they call wood for building homes, scary!

TRUE!........ :thumbsup:

 

[coloradoclyde]

Why yes, it was noted that clothing that froze would then dry.

LD

Yep!...The Amish hang cloths out all winter....Even below freezing the sun and wind are strong.

 

[Black Hand]

The point is to dry the food to preserve it, and that is accelerated by heat,

Never wrote that heat was necessary to dry meat.

LD

Fair enough.

There is a line beyond where the food is being cooked rather than dried. Once cooked, long-term storage is compromised without freezing (or drying, as one sees with Chinese Pork Floss) .

 

[NeilMacleod]

Why yes, it was noted that clothing that froze would then dry.

LD

Yep!...The Amish hang cloths out all winter....Even below freezing the sun and wind are strong.

I even used to put my laundry out in winter, takes a couple days to dry when theirs wind, longer if not, the results are nice oxygenated clothing

 

[nhmoose]

Has lot's to do with freeze drying food. :hijacked:

 

[coloradoclyde]

Has lot's to do with freeze drying food. :hijacked:

,
And freeze drying has nothing to do with cold smoking.....But, any conversation is better than no conversation.... :grin:

 

[nhmoose]

Point well taken :v

 

[satx78247]

THANK YOU.

Also, HAPPY NEW YEAR.

yours, satx

 

[zimmerstutzen]

Thought I read that natives in the Andes Mtns used freeze drying to preserve foods for thousands of years.

 

[Black Hand]

They perhaps had both freezing and drying occurring, but it was not what we know as freeze-drying today. When I was freeze-drying product, the materials were frozen at -80C (-112F) and the vacuum was at a fraction of 1ATM...

 

[coloradoclyde]

So.. The key factor here is altitude....Moisture, pressure, temperature and oxygen all decrease with altitude...
This is why mountains have tree lines....and then dead zones.

Simply put, the higher the drier.