Does food cooked in firewood taste different than that which is cooked in gas?
Does this apply to food in general or just proteins or a few items? Also, does the taste vary depending on the type of wood you use i.e. using bamboo as firewood?
Best Answer
"Taste better" is entirely opinion based and unanswerable with anything but opinion.
As to does it taste different, absolute. How different depends on application and technique. Different woods taste and cook differently. Some have high resin, some a harsh smoke, some a more gentle smoke. They burn at different temperatures and different moisture. Some may have toxins in there smoke. One would not use a green oily wood and expect something palatable. Smoking food is its own artform and people spend a lot of time trying to match correct woods to specific applications and even that is largely opinion.
Left out non-proteins: Certainly the same rules apply and it remains a matter of taste. Some foods grab more of the potential flavors, some less. One is not even limited to solids as soups could be done too. As bob1 points out, there are ways to reduce the differences in taste, like making sure the wood is burned down to coals with no visible smoke. I would also say you would want heat to be indirect and you may still have issues with differences in humidity, but you can certainly get at least close to oven flavors or the flavor of a gas grill if that is your goal.
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Does a gas stove make food taste better?
There is no difference in food taste when cooking using gas or electric. Gas burns pretty cleanly so is not going to leave a flavor residue you could detect.What is the bad effect of using wood as fuel in cooking food?
However, since many people still use traditional stoves, the burning of firewood continues to have a negative impact on health due to high emissions, such as respiratory and heart diseases, lung cancer, and eye irritations.Does cooking on a fire make food taste better?
Bonus: Wood-firing is more than just delicious \u2014 it's also a healthier way to cook. Fat drippings drop into the grill so the food doesn't \u201csit\u201d in them. Vegetables cook quickly to retain more nutrients and bigger flavors as the flame caramelizes them to create a slight sweetness along with the smokiness.Is it safe to cook food with wood?
Dried hardwoods, fruitwoods, and nut woods, are the best for cooking. Softwoods such as pine, redwood, fir, cedar and cypress are not ideal for cooking because they contain terpenes and sap. This gives the meat a bad flavor. Each wood produces a different flavor.Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Karolina Grabowska, Alberta Studios, Mathias Reding, SpotwizardLee