Cherry Smoke Wood and Cyanide


 
D

Dennis Collins

New member
A friend of mine gave me several logs worth of wonderful looking cherry wood which I cut up into fist sized chunks for use with my WSM. I haven't used any yet, but just this past weekend, a seasoned barbecuer told me never to use cherry because it had cyanide in it. I wasn't sure how to take this because it seemed way off base. Some Googling and a search here turned up a few articles but nothing definitive.

Was this guy just an alarmist? Does cherry wood have cyanide in other parts of the tree and not the wood? Does anyone have the final word on whether cherry is safe for smoking?
 
i must be dead. i have used cherry for everything for the last 3 years. sometimes mixed with hickory and or apple, but cherry is always used.
 
I use cherry alot never heard anything bad. My friend owns a tree service and likes to bbq also. I ask him but I know he uses it too.
 
Cherries are related to Bitter Almonds which contain the glycoside amygdalin which becomes Hydrogen Cyanide. So, one would expect cherry to also contain Cyanide.

Do not cook with CHERRY - ship it to me - I'll make the sacrifice
icon_wink.gif


BTW the almonds we eat are a mutant of the bitter almond which do NOT contain the glycoside amygdalin
 
I must have one foot in the grave also. I have no problem finding cherry trees in my are and use cherry on every cook. I don't use only cherry but 1-2 chunks make it into every cook.
 
Hmmm . . . looks like I'm going to die a wonderful death, I'm just getting ready to remove a brisket that I did with Red Oak and Cherry.

I think you're buddy is the recipient of some bad information.
 
Cherries are related to Bitter Almonds which contain the glycoside amygdalin which becomes Hydrogen Cyanide. So, one would expect cherry to also contain Cyanide.
Click to expand...

The reading I've done seems to agree with Rich. In fact, there are warnings about feeding cherry wood to animals. Most of the information related to birds (who probably gnaw on the wood). Again, I'm no expert, but from what I read, the cyanide is a product of digestion. It also seems to be mostly concentrated in the leaves and seeds and new growth. One article I read did talk about the bark.

This is not exclusive to cherry. There were a number of other trees that have this same chemical.

Personally (that means this is my opinion
icon_wink.gif
), I think the burning of the wood does not cause the chemicals in the wood to change to cyanide. I also feel that if it was a real issue, there would be a lot more information out there talking about the burning of these woods and I found none. It does seem to be a real issue for ingestion, especially small animals as there were a lot of Vet sites that had warnings as well as poison control sites.

The best site I found was this one.

Bottom line - I'm burning mine.
wsmsmile8gm.gif
 
Absent any in-depth research, I'd have to guess that's it's all a matter of amount. The body can metabolize small amounts of cyanide without harm. Apple seeds contain cyanide. Eat an apple and ingest a few seeds, no problem. Even if you collected and ingested a handful of apple seeds, you'd need to grind them up first if you expect to cause any noticeable reaction. Left alone, they would typically just pass intact through your system. So, I'd have to disagree with any "seasoned barbecuer" who told me not to use cherry wood for smoke. If it were a problem, we'd already have said goodbye to Keri C.
 
IMO, You can't read too much into this stuff. Look at how many times it has been published/reported that grilling food, over charcoal can cause Cancer. I use Cherry alot, and will continue to do so. Like anything moderation is the key.
icon_wink.gif
 
Cyanide is present is nearly all wood smoke. (Cyanide poisoning in the U.S. is mostly due to smoke inhalation.) It is present in apple seeds, as Doug notes, as well as the leaves of some trees (cherry being one) and in the pits of many stone fruits (cherry, apricot, bitter almond, et al.). I've never seen data that supports concern with cyanide and smoking foods; other chemicals, yes (nitrates, PAHs, e.g.), but not cyanide.
 
Seems to me that if we keep discussing it here, saying that is NOT a problem, some IDJIT will report that we are concerned about cyanide in BBQ.

And another Urban Legend gets reinforced
icon_wink.gif
 
Originally posted by dsitterson:
They say alcohol is bad for pregnant women. Glad I am not a pregnant women.
Click to expand...

Frequently, it had a great deal to do with their getting pregnant in the first place
icon_razz.gif
 
Funny, rich.

Similar, though, to your point above about urban legends. There is nothing to support the claim that all women must abstain from alcohol during pregancy. But this has been repeated as 'fact' for so long that it's become part of what people 'know' about the purported dangers of alcohol.

Even the Surgeon General and the U.K counterpart repeat the same fallacy. Though they both qualify the statement by correctly saying that there are no studies that support their assertions, they repeat the claim 'for women's own good'.

I've never understood why it is preferable (and acceptable) for govenment figures to infantalize people by avoiding or minimizing the truth.
 
No, but dsitterson did, right above your post. I was making a point about a fairly obvious allusion between it and your urban legend comment. Pretty clear.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top