{"id":739,"date":"2020-03-03T10:25:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-03T15:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.smokinlicious.com\/blog\/?p=739"},"modified":"2021-11-12T12:43:24","modified_gmt":"2021-11-12T17:43:24","slug":"will-cherry-hardwood-sweeten-everything-it-touches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smokinlicious.com\/blog\/will-cherry-hardwood-sweeten-everything-it-touches\/","title":{"rendered":"CHERRY WOOD FOR SMOKING WILL IT SWEETEN?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Cherry<\/a>

Cherry wood for smoking will bring out the sweetness in anything in the smoker!<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Listen<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/www.smokinlicious.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/WILL-CHERRY-SWEETEN-EVERYTHING-IT-TOUCHES-FULL-AUDIO.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

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W<\/span>ILL CHERRY HARDWOOD SWEETEN EVERYTHING IT TOUCHES?<\/strong>-Without question, Cherry is one of the most popular woods for wood-fired cooking<\/strong>, particularly when it comes to hot smoking using traditional smoking equipment.\u00a0 Despite information SmokinLicious\u00ae<\/strong><\/a> has provided on this hardwood species (Put a Cherry on It blog <\/a>& Cherry Wood Question blog<\/a>), there are still many questions posed and many misunderstandings about this wood.\u00a0 My intention here is to speak on the cherry varieties in North America<\/strong> and ensure that you can make an informed decision when selecting this hardwood for cooking.<\/p>\n

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Cherry Wood for Smoking- A Few Varieties<\/h2>\n

I think the one key question is always on the varieties of cherry that people have access to<\/strong>, whether it\u2019s in their own yard or a neighbor\u2019s, or they come across a \u201cfirewood\u201d seller along the roadside or an ad online or in print.\u00a0 A good place to start is with a primer on exactly what types of cherry would be common in this scenario and if all of them are suitable for using in cooking.<\/p>\n

B<\/span>lack Cherry or Prunus serotine Ehrhart<\/em> is the most prevalent variety of cherry in North America likely due to its ability to grow in rich bottomlands and moist hillsides as well as drier climates.\u00a0 It is the primary variety used for commercial purposes in the Northeast.\u00a0 Other common names are Wild Black Cherry, Rum Cherry, and Mountain Black Cherry.\u00a0 Black cherry grows from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick west to Southern Quebec and Ontario into Michigan and eastern Minnesota; south to Iowa, extreme eastern Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas, then east to central Florida.\u00a0 You can even find small areas in Georgia, Texas, and Alabama.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s be clear, though.\u00a0 There can be great differences in the wood from state to state.<\/strong>\u00a0 Remember, Black Cherry has a high commercial purpose, meaning, it is harvested for cabinetry, paneling, trim work, etc.\u00a0 To make the wood into those products it must be very dry.\u00a0 Keep that in mind when you see prepackaged cherry under the name Black Cherry as the extremely low moisture level will make this hardwood burn more rapidly.<\/strong><\/p>\n

P<\/span>runus pensylvanica L.f. with the common names Pin Cherry, Fire Cherry, Bird Cherry, Wild Red Cherry, and Pigeon Cherry is a variety that does not tend to grow as large as the black cherry mainly due to its role as a cover for wasteland and protector of soil beds.\u00a0 Usually once larger trees establish themselves, this cherry variety will be crowded out.\u00a0 It is a wood commonly harvested in New York and Pennsylvania during timber harvesting (SmokinLicious\u00ae<\/strong><\/a> sources this variety) so it is plentiful in these areas.\u00a0 Because this variety is not as readily found as Black Cherry, it does not have as popular a selling point for the grade lumber to produce the home construction items listed above.\u00a0 If you can locate this variety of cherry, you\u2019ll be pleasantly surprised at its performance as a cooking wood.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cherry Wood for Smoking- A Common Misconception<\/h2>\n

Now, briefly, let me touch on the ornamental cherry trees<\/a> that usually are encountered within neighborhoods and are the trees most people inquire about for trimming and using in their equipment.\u00a0 All cherry trees are part of the genus Prunus<\/em>.\u00a0 Most of what is sold as ornamental are the Prunus serotine<\/em> variety.<\/strong>\u00a0 Don\u2019t be fooled into thinking that cherry means anything cooked with that wood will have a cherry-like flavor!\u00a0 Nothing can be further from the truth.\u00a0 The wood itself will have variation in aroma as you may readily find when you burn wood in a fireplace; burn a fireplace frequently enough and you can pick up the aromatics that come from cherry versus maple versus ash, etc.<\/p>\n

F<\/span>lavor from the wood is directly influenced by the other ingredients incorporated and exposed to the heat.\u00a0 It will NOT produce a cherry flavor even if you had plain meat in the cooking chamber with the wood.<\/p>\n

In fact, I dare you to find two people who would describe the flavor of a food item cooked over cherry hardwood with the same description.<\/p>\n

If you get a hold of an ornamental cherry tree or you take trimmings from a tree, here are my cautions:<\/p>\n