Strangest Ingredient

[kiethton]

Whilst eating at a certain chain of restaurant 'think farmers in autumn' I was casually browsing the ingredients list on the BBQ sauce bottle, one of the ingredients = 'smoke extract'

What the hell is smoke extract? how do you even bottle the stuff?

Anybody else noted any other random ingredient in every day food?

[Simpo Two]

A friend of mine is a chemist who makes flavours. One of his jobs was to make a BBQ flavour. Apart from blowing the lab up in the process, I believe he was successful. So it's not so much of a leap form there to 'smoke'! ATEOTD it is probably just an e-number.

[pokethepope]

The Jimmy tv farmer boke did on one of his tv programmes. On a commercial scale it may just be a chemical recipe but he did it this way:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hdYXGf-gRY

[SVX]

A quick google yields some interesting results - but as I understand it, smoke flavours are part of a group of chemicals called PAHs Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, which are Carcinogenic in nature (what isn't ) but there seems to be quite the debate by our friends in Brussels about the amounts in things like BBQ sauce... Worth a read if you are interested.

[phumy]

Vietnamese bbq restaurant; goat penis, lady goat breast or dog, thats strange enough for me. Must say though i doubt there were too many e numbers but might have has some MSG chucked in.

[OzzyR1]

I do actually have a bottle of liquid smoke at home, can add quite a decent flavour as part of a marinade when you can't be bothered to break out the barbie or it isn't the weather.

Also good for homemade BBQ sauce.

It's this stuff in fact, very potent, a little goes an awfully long way:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stubbs-Hickory-Liquid-Smok...

Nice flavour though.

Edited by OzzyR1 on Wednesday 2nd November 17:13

[Mr Beaumont]

Got loads in the warehouse in work, it even sells reasobally well.
Although it is one of the products i'd be a bit stumped if a chef asked what to do with it!

[Shaolin]

Isn't there some traditional French chicken dish that should have a little addition of the chef's merde?

[redtwin]

Haven't used it in ages, but when I last had some I would use a drop or two on burgers that were being fried on the hob.

I wouldn't buy any any now. My taste buds have changed a bit since I was a kid.

[EarlOfHazard]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iebNdCSqWmc