Peach wood killed by blight?

[Ron Hunter]

A few questions:
First; have any of you ever used peach as a smoke wood? How did you like it?

Second; a good friend is taking down a peach tree that was killed by blight. Being that it was diseased, can it be used it for smoking? Thanks

 

[Jerry N.]

peach would be a good wood. I've never had it, but most fruit trees are mild. Not sure how the disease manifested itself, but as long as you're looking at solid wood, I wouldn't hesitate to use it. Personally, I'd take a look at the trunk and if enough solid wood is there, that's about all I'd mess with. With a thick trunk, you can easily chop off the bark (which I would assume is where the damage or lingering whatever is from the disease).

 

[Cory Musser]

Peach is about my favorite wood to use...when I can find some that's any good. When I get my wood from the orchard most of the peach is pretty rotten. I wish I could find a supply of good solid peach. I love the way it smells when it burns. Real mild and sweet.

 

[Bryan S]

Peach wood is great as is any fruit wood. If you can eat the fruit or nuts from the tree it's safe to use for smoke wood. The blight affects the tree, not us. Blight wood is always burned to kill the blight in the tree and to help prevent the spreading of the blight to other trees. Here's a tip for fruit wood storage. Bugs love the stuff cause it's sweet. Keep it off the ground and keep it dry. A piece of fruit wood left on the ground will become useless in a short period of time. It will become spongy/punky really fast. I store all my wood in the garage.

 

[C. Howlett]

I'm a huge fan of fruit wood. I usually rely on the kindness of strangers with pruning saws and the frequent Pacific NW Pineapple Express windstorm to provide my needs.

I actually bought a bag of peach wood. Upon opening it, I found that it had spots that, well, MOVED.

Close inspection revealed some kind of beetle. I usually store my bbq supplies in the garage, but, as you might imagine, this bag stayed OUT. Over the summer, the beetles bored and gorged and then they were gone. I now bang the chunks on the ground to knock loose any dust, then I smoke away. It's great stuff.