Smoke flavor has been used for thousands of years to
enhance and modify the flavor of foods as well as to preserve
meats- This page presents some of the most important flavor
constituents present in smoke flavoring.
Important Smoke Constituents - include many phenolic flavor
chemicals derived from the pyrolisis of lignin in the wood, as
well as items such as Maltol and various cyclopentenolones derived
from cellulose pyrolysis. The lignin derived constituents such as
Syringol are the heart of the smoke flavor while the
cyclopentenolones provide a "burnt sugar" like note. In smoked
meats, the phenolics act as preservatives which help to prevent
spoilage.
Chromatogram of Liquid Smoke
Flavor
From Cellulose Pyrolysis:
Acetic Acid
Formic acid
Maltol
Methyl cyclopenenolone
Ethylcyclpentenolone
Dimethylcyclopentenolones
Furfural
5-Hydroxymethylfurfural
From Lignin Pyrolysis:
Phenol
ortho, meta and para Cresols
Guaiacol
4-Methylguaiacol
4-Ethylguaiacol
4-Propylguaiacol
Pyrocatechol
Trimethylphenols
Vanillin
4-(2-Propio)-vanillone
4-(1-Propio)-vanillone
Acetovanillone
2,4,5-Trimethylbenzaldehyde
4-Hydroxyacetophenone
Eugenol
cis & trans-Isoeugenol
2,6-Dimethoxyphenol (Syringol)
4-Methylsyringol
4-Ethylsyringol
4-Propylsyringol
4-Acetosyringol
4-(2-Propio)-syringol
4-(1-Propio)-syringol
cis & trans-4-(1-Propenyl)-syringol
4-(2-Propenyl)-syringol
Syringaldehyde
For an extensive analysis of water based liquid smoke flavoring see the following
references:
1. Guillen, Maria D. and Maria L. Ibargoitia, J. Agric. Food Chem., 1998, 46,
pp. 1276-1285.
2. Guillen, Maria D., Maria J. Manzanos and Lourdes Zabala, J. Agric.
Food Chem., 1995, 43, pp. 463-468.
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