Smoking Fruits

[cbarre02]

Just was wondering if anyone has tried smoking fruits. I was thinking about it the other day, and wondered if it would be a success or not. Though woods would be the traditional smoking medium, I was also thinking flavor via herbs. It is not something that I have seen or even tried. Jut a thought and wondered if any one else has tried it.

Also if you store chocolate in an airtight container with a piece of cool charcoal, would it take on a smoky flavor? I know that it works with robust spices, so I assume that you could do it also with charcoal. But then I might not taste so hot, who knows?

[twodogs]

a tomato is a fruit, and yes it does quite well in a smoker.

i like the idea of smoking other fruits as well; like an apple, for the smoke would certainly mimic the flavors of bacon and well bacon and apples are like peas and carrots.

the idea of spice, tea or coffee smoking is equally intriguing. what about coffee and cinamon smoked figs or tea smoked pears for savory or sweet preperations.

oh, and what about cold smoking white chocolate with spices?

thanks for the brain twist

cheers

[ronnie_suburban]

I have smoked tomatoes on my smoker and they were great. I think smaller ones (e.g. romas) work better than larger ones. After I smoked them, I split them in half lengthwise and cooked them down further on a rack in a 250F oven for about an hour. I then served them as a garnish with grilled steaks and they were great.

Can't say I came up with it on my own...I was served something very similar at NaHa (here in Chicago) which blew me away and I was compelled to try it myself.

=R=

[Andrew Fenton]

Ah, my thought on seeing the topic was "banana peels."

Actually, smoked banana might be pretty good. If I had a smoker- soon, soon, my preciousss- I would definitely try that.

[woodburner]

I have smoked tomatoes on my smoker and they were great. I think smaller ones (e.g. romas) work better than larger ones. After I smoked them, I split them in half lengthwise and cooked them down further on a rack in a 250F oven for about an hour. I then served them as a garnish with grilled steaks and they were great.

Can't say I came up with it on my own...I was served something very similar at NaHa (here in Chicago) which blew me away and I was compelled to try it myself.

=R=

Hey Ronnie,

Slip a deviled egg, into that smoked roma mater shell.

woodburner

[cbarre02]

I really don't think that cold smoking would work, as there is some heat in cold smoking. I am sure that it would be a mess, and chocolate needs to go at least overnight to absorb aromas.

[Michael Laiskonis]

A local chef gained nominal 'fame' for a smoked chocolate mousse quite a few years back. I remember hearing the details of the process, but have since forgotten, but I do recall not really caring for the dish at the time...

I do think there are some exciting possibilities; perhaps I can play a bit this week.

Any requests?

[Ladybug]

Smoked peaches sound good to me.

[fifi]

This is an interesting idea. I am thinking about mango strips, maybe dusted with ancho chile powder before smoking. Grilled pineapple is a staple. I wonder if it would benefit from the same chile powder and smoke treatment. I may have to try this the next time I fire up the smoker.

[twodogs]

smoked apple or other fruit soup or jelly

spice smoked sugar for dusting fruits or doughnuts

herb and spice smoked oeuf's a la nage with fruit barbeque sauce

can bacon and eggs be a fruit based dessert? capture the flavor of bacon in smoked fruit then slice thin and laquer with glucose and bake. eggs are limitless from a custard to the false impression of eggs i believe pedro subijano did a panna cotta with two halves of candied kumquat set in the dish such that sunnyside "eggs" were made.

cheers

[Carolyn Tillie]

Reading the topic header, I'm shocked to have not read any comments like...

"Yeah, but do you use a bong or paper, dude?"

[cbarre02]

I think that cherries would hold their own against the smoke (even though its not cherry season, at least not in Michigan). I think that they have a distinct enough flavor and enough acid, so I don't think that they will not get "lost" in the smoke. Also I was thinking about infusing smoke flavor in to caramel, and possibly making an ice cream with it. Caramel has some smoke notes already present in it, so maybe smoke would just bring them out more.

Thyme smoked pineapple or banana I think would also work, and the smoked pineapple I think could be paired well with chocolate. Nuts could also be alternative, smoked pecans with bourbon (as many bourbon already has smokiness in it).

What about the idea of smoking with vanilla pods, that have been striped of their beans?

[ronnie_suburban]

Hey Ronnie,

Slip a deviled egg, into that smoked roma mater shell. 

woodburner

Are you serious woodburner? I am intrigued. Wish it weren't 5 degree F here today This is the first Sunday in the last 4 on which I'm not going to fire up the smoker...

=R=

[jsolomon]

I think I would have to be more interested in smoked mushrooms...

But the deviled eggs in smoked tomato shells sounds tres delish.

[woodburner]

Hey Ronnie,

Slip a deviled egg, into that smoked roma mater shell. 

woodburner

Are you serious woodburner?

=R=

Maybe I should call my first wife to the witness stand, and we could ask her if I'm serious.

Marcella Hazan, in her book Marcella's Kitchen offers us,

Pomodori Perini Farciti, Plum tomatoes stuffed with eggs, anchovies and capers.

She uses freshly halved, hollowed out, Roma tomatoes and stuffs them with a deviled egg. I also smoke my own Roma's and decided to try her recipe out with my own twist.

Smoke the Roma's for a few hours. The Plum tomato makes a perfect cradle for the deviled egg.

woodburner

[ronnie_suburban]

Hey Ronnie,

Slip a deviled egg, into that smoked roma mater shell. 

woodburner

Are you serious woodburner?

=R=

Maybe I should call my first wife to the witness stand, and we could ask her if I'm serious.

Marcella Hazan, in her book Marcella's Kitchen offers us,

Pomodori Perini Farciti, Plum tomatoes stuffed with eggs, anchovies and capers.

She uses freshly halved, hollowed out, Roma tomatoes and stuffs them with a deviled egg. I also smoke my own Roma's and decided to try her recipe out with my own twist.

Smoke the Roma's for a few hours. The Plum tomato makes a perfect cradle for the deviled egg.

woodburner

Outstanding! After guajolote innovated putting rendered bacon fat into the devilled egg filling (and sprinkling crispy bacon atop them) , I thought I'd tasted the ultimate devilled egg. I can't wait to try this out and take them to the next level.

=R=

[jsolomon]

Reading the topic header, I'm shocked to have not read any comments like...

"Yeah, but do you use a bong or paper, dude?"

corn shucks.

[cbarre02]

Adria made "smoke" infused oil in his recipe for grilled vegetables (an assortment of warm vegetable gelees with the smoke oil). He took safflower oil (or some neutral oil), and placed a piece of charcoal in the oil for 24 hours. Then strained the liquid, and finally ran it through a coffee filter.

I have tried this, and it does work rather well. I made a "vinaigrette" with balsamic and an aggressive amount of black pepper. Then tossed it with berries and served it as a salad atop a warm chocolate cake, and sour raspberry-merlot reduction.

The smoke was nice with the berries, very light and only a back round "note". But I have to admit that it challenged the bold, deep flavor of the cake. To me smoke and dark chocolate, rival each other on the palate. Almost as if they want to take up the same space, but only one can successfully.

Now for the caramel. I have to admit I had no idea how I was going to infuse sugar with smoke. I ended up putting half burned smoking chips (still smoking slightly) and fresh bruised rosemary into an airtight container, keeping the ash and herb in a bowl off of the sugar. I let it set for about 30 hours, and the sugar did pick up the flavors. I then used the sugar to make a clear caramel, and it worked. The smoke went very nicely in to the caramel, and tasted... Very different. It was nice, almost a barbeque flavor, but not quite. I think next time I would try to infuse a bit more rosemary into the flavor, it seemed to get run over by the other two flavors. I also may go with a creamy caramel, the smoke left a bit of sharpness to the caramel, and I think that fat could round it a little.

I have not yet made the ice cream that I wanted to, but I will soon. We'll see.

Edited January 20, 2004 by cbarre02 (log)

[cbarre02]

Today I looked at a menu on Moto's web site, and they have "smoked" watermelon present. The parentheses make me wonder if the smoke is present by some non-traditional means, such as the smoke oil. First time I think that I have seen it on a menu

[nightscotsman]

Today I looked at a menu on Moto's web site, and they have "smoked" watermelon present. The parentheses make me wonder if the smoke is present by some non-traditional means, such as the smoke oil. First time I think that I have seen it on a menu

If I had to guess, I'd bet they are using smoked salt. Salt is an old condiment for watermelon in some parts of the country, and they could take it a bit farther with the smoke flavor. But like I said, I'm just guessing.

[ronnie_suburban]

Nice page Neil!

=R=

[ducphat30]

Cold smoking chocolate works rather well. The fat in the chocolate will absorb alot of the flavor. Try with white chocolate make it into a panna cotta. Served with pineapple that has been hit with cayenne and candied macadamia nuts, it is very good.

A natural fruit for smoking are apples. If you have the opportunity to have some control over the temperature the lower the heat the better. Crofton on Wells in Chicago does a great smoked apple chutney with pearl onions for a pork chop dish.

IMHO the smoked salts are nice for a finishing touch on a dish to give it a little twist, but the smoked oils and cold smoking both are great ways to infuse that flavor into your ingredient.

Just had a thought, wonder how the chocolate would be with cinnamon stix as the smoking "chip"?

[dls]

Actually, smoked banana might be pretty good. If I had a smoker- soon, soon, my preciousss- I would definitely try that.

I occasionally smoke bananas (unpeeled), split in 1/2 lengthwise with fresh rosemary sprigs in the smoker. Finish in a 400 degree oven with a light coating of maple syrup and ground pecan.

Another pretty good one is smoked whole lemons (peeled) for the juice only. One typical use is as a part of a lemon, garlic, and cream pasta sauce

[Kerry Beal]

Now that I've got a good way to cold smoke using the Big Green Egg - I think I need to play a bit with smoking some fruit. I guess apples are about the only thing seasonal right now - but what other fruits have folks been smoking lately?

[prasantrin]

Elissa from the blog 17 and Baking just did a post on smoked grapes. She used alder wood and rosemary sprigs, then made a rosemary smoked grape focaccia. Looked delicious.