What can I tell people about smoking food with wild cherry wood when
they have been told there is arsenic in wild cherry wood? They want to know
if it is safe. Also, what about the issue of cyanogenic compounds? Is this a concern,
and if so, I assume it is a non-issue if the wood is aged a period of time?
Thank you for educating me about the SAFETY of using wild cherry wood
for smoking food.
Elizabeth AndressElizabeth L. Andress, Ph.D.
Professor and Extension Food Safety Specialist
Department of Foods and Nutrition
The University of Georgia
Our response:
Good Afternoon, Dr. Andress!
Thank you for the question regarding Wild Cherry wood! and for seeking
our opinion regarding use of the wood for smoking foods. Let’s see what new
information I can present to you that may be of value.
First, it is important to note that Smokinlicious Gourmet Wood Products
only manufacturers gourmet “cooking” wood from forest trees. We do not,
and will not, produce our products from orchard-based woods. Our reason
is simple – we do not believe in smoking foods over woods that have been
or have the potential to be sprayed or growth enhanced with chemicals.
As you’ve already indicated, trees produce prussic acid, better known as
hydrogen cyanide. We feel that humans can use woods produced in nature
when they have been left alone, unburden by the human hand in trying to
manage what sometimes is the normal cyclical pattern of nature. In the areas in which we purchase the heartwood for our gourmet wood production facility, the varieties of cherry (prunus pensylvanica L.f.) we commonly deal with are: Northern Pin Cherry, Fire Cherry, Wild Red Cherry, and Pigeon Cherry. Of course, predominately, we bring in Wild Red Cherry. Your portion of the country generally in known for production of
Southern Crab Apple, Narrow-Leaf Crab, Wild Crab, and Eastern Chokecherry. The main difference in these woods is that our forest trees tend to be on
the sweeter side versus the sour. For the most part, hydrogen cyanide is found mainly in the leaves and seeds of the cherry tree. Black Cherry bark is also commonly used in
herbal cough remedies.
The predominate opinion is that when used in small quantities, the hydrogen cyanide is a mute issue. Now let’s talk about the smoking application of wood. Cyanogenic compounds WOULD remain a factor for our production of cooking wood. This is due to the fact that we do not allow our gourmet woods to deplete their moisture content to a level that other wood product manufacturers may do
(what is commonly referred to as “seasoning of the wood”). For ideal
smoking of foods, wood needs to have a moisture level preferably at 20%
or higher. This results in the wood smoldering rather than burning at a
rapid rate. The resulting smoke from the plant material provides for
that wonderful flavor. Because smoking is done at low temperatures for
longer periods of time, the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH’s) found in
wood moelcules are not stimulated as they normally would be when
cooking, say, a steak over a hot flame. Thus, the health risk associated with
PAH’s and smoked foods is not considered an issue.
Our main concerns regarding woods used for cooking and smoking foods is
to always ensure a bark-free product. Bark does not hold moisture but
rather is designed to rid the tree of wastes by absorbing them and locking them
into this area. In fact, this is the reason why bark-on woods burn so
much faster than bark-free wood pieces. This portion of the tree is
actually responsible for temperature flare-ups, tainted smells, “spotty”
appearance of the food’s skin, and increase in the production of ash.
Addtionally, once the temperature is increased during wood-fired
cooking, heterocyclic amines, or HCAs, are created due to the reaction of the
amino acides and creatine with the higher cooking temperature.
In a nutshell, a person is at greater risk of cyanide exposure in
treated wood products for home construction than they are when consuming BBQ.
Knowing the source of the wood being used in the cooking application is
vital to ensure that the necessary steps have been taken to prevent tree
disease and pest infestation spread, as well as to ensure that the wood
has not been exposed to any chemical/toxin treatments.
It is our hope, that one day soon, inspection of the wood products used
by restaurants, caterers, bbq competitors, and grocery stores who promote
smoked and natural-wood fired foods, will occur as normally as food
inspections. After all, I think we all can agree that what you cook the
food over is as an important as what food you are cooking!
Thanks again for your interest!
