Another smoke wood question

[Charlie J]

I have a firend who is going to be cutting down one of his pear trees and he said I could have it if I wanted.

Is pear tree a smoke wood? Has anybody ever used it?

Thanks!!

 

[Kirk Boorman]

Yeah, pear wood is fine, although I've never used it myself so I can't comment on its flavor. Most any tree that produces edible fruit or nuts can be used. Check out Chris' thoughts on smoke woods here.

 

[Paul H]

Charlie, I've got some pear wood seasoning right now. I hear it's kind of on the mild side. Been sitting in the back of my pickup truck for about 4 months. I suppose I could use the smaller pieces now.

 

[adam clyde]

kruger gave me some pear wood a while back. it's awesome. mild and good.

 

[Greg M. (cheapcharlie)]

...didn't want to start a new thread on a dead horse, so I'll ask here...lol!

The city has just trimmed all the local trees and piled up the cuttings. I can take what I want, but the pieces are all mixed. Is there any way to tell the difference between chestnut, poplar, ornamental maple and conifer?

I pretty much know the poplar cause of the smooth bark, but the rest...?

 

[Dale Perry]

There are a few woods that I can pick out like cherry. But I probably wouldnt chance going thru a pile and guessing. Maybe because I have access to all I want, and if I didnt, I would go take a look. lol

 

[Greg M. (cheapcharlie)]

Thanks Dale. I guess I'll just wait until I see them trimming a chestnut and then get a log or two.

I read in another forum ornamental variaties of cherry and maple are ok to use. Can anyone confirm this?

 

[Brian Lanius]

Ornamental varieties of a given species are fine. Maple might not be the most revered smokewood but it will work. One caveat being that we are using the common names for trees here. Common names tend to be regionalized. It is quite possible that people in North America and people in South Korea use the same common name for two completly different trees.

 

[Carl H.]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Greg M. (cheapcharlie):
Is there any way to tell the difference between chestnut, poplar, ornamental maple and conifer?

I pretty much know the poplar cause of the smooth bark, but the rest...? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Young stems of maple might have smooth bark as well.

Of all of those trees, the only one I would use for smoking is maple. Conifers all smell like a Christmas tree. Definitely avoid those.

There is an easy way to pick maple out from the rest if you have twigs or branches. On maples the leaves, twigs, buds and branches sprout out in pairs, on opposite sides of the stem. Look HERE for more info.

 

[Greg M. (cheapcharlie)]

Thanks for the link Carl. Maybe now I can figure which is which.

Also, why wouldn't you use the chestnut? From what I've read, that should be my first choice.

 

[Carl H.]

To speak definitively on "chestnut" it would be necessary to know exactly what species is being referred to. There are several North American trees that name is used for and I have no idea what you might encounter in South Korea.

The tree you are referring to might be fine but, just to be safe, I didn't address it because of the uncertainty.