Post by jonathan on Jul 25, 2009 11:41:56 GMT -5
My wife found some unheard-of-brand lump charcoal in a grocery store, possibly a Trader Joe's. It was billed as "gourmet" charcoal.
So she picked up a bag...
I couldn't swear what all sort of wood was in it, but a number of the chunks were scraps of tongue-and-groove wood flooring, and several pieces had part numbers stamped in them.
I don't object to recycling of scrap wood like this - after all, that's how Kingsford got their start - as long as it didn't start out with a polyurethane finish before it became charcoal, but the assortment of sizes was so great, it did not burn consistently, was more difficult to light, and lots of pieces fell through the charcoal grate, even before they had burned down.
I think I could learn to cook with any kind of charcoal - but in 20+ years of charcoal cooking, I have found regular Kingsford briquets to be very consistent, bag to bag and year to year. I'd have to have a good reason to switch and re-learn what to expect.
A side note that may interest some:
The Kingsford web site contains a little of their history - it was founded by a relative of Henry Ford, after he developed a process for using scrap wood from the Ford factory to make charcoal. But I learned from a friend who restored a 1921 Ford Model A that Ford generated relatively little waste wood to begin with.
The cars of the day still used adapted carriage-building techniques, and the bodies had a wood superstructure under the metal. Ford was nothing if not frugal - they gave their component suppliers very strict specifications how the parts were to be shipped. When a crateload of axles was received, the empty packing crates were sent to a disassembly line, and the useable components sent to the body works.
So she picked up a bag...
I couldn't swear what all sort of wood was in it, but a number of the chunks were scraps of tongue-and-groove wood flooring, and several pieces had part numbers stamped in them.
I don't object to recycling of scrap wood like this - after all, that's how Kingsford got their start - as long as it didn't start out with a polyurethane finish before it became charcoal, but the assortment of sizes was so great, it did not burn consistently, was more difficult to light, and lots of pieces fell through the charcoal grate, even before they had burned down.
I think I could learn to cook with any kind of charcoal - but in 20+ years of charcoal cooking, I have found regular Kingsford briquets to be very consistent, bag to bag and year to year. I'd have to have a good reason to switch and re-learn what to expect.
A side note that may interest some:
The Kingsford web site contains a little of their history - it was founded by a relative of Henry Ford, after he developed a process for using scrap wood from the Ford factory to make charcoal. But I learned from a friend who restored a 1921 Ford Model A that Ford generated relatively little waste wood to begin with.
The cars of the day still used adapted carriage-building techniques, and the bodies had a wood superstructure under the metal. Ford was nothing if not frugal - they gave their component suppliers very strict specifications how the parts were to be shipped. When a crateload of axles was received, the empty packing crates were sent to a disassembly line, and the useable components sent to the body works.
