Not everything needs to go in the smoker. In looking at green vegetables, we have wanted to smoke them and have hesitated because of the possible side effects of the process. We were not sure if the heat, yes there is still some heat in cold smoking, would affect the color of the vegetables. Mind you, we did not actually try to smoke broccoli or asparagus, so we cannot answer that question definitively as of yet. Now that we are without a smoker on hand, we look for other ways to add smoke to ingredients. We have used wood shavings to make miniature smokers and burned rice with tea and dried fruits to generate smoke. We also have used powdered smoke in dry applications like spice rubs and pasta doughs. Until now, we had not tried using the smoke powder in moist environments. Well, except for the smoked eggs. In fact, we should have already made the leap to making smoked water for cooking. Apparently, we are a bit behind. To make smoked water for cooking, we add 2 percent salt and 0.15 percent smoke powder to water, which we then use to blanch vegetables. The first ingredient we cooked using this medium was fiddlehead ferns. The smoke and salt permeated the ferns, giving a depth of flavor which was balanced and not overly assertive. The process of cooking in smoked water or other liquid mediums allows for greater control in adding the flavor of smoke to ingredients. It also allows us to control the cooking process of the vegetables and other ingredients and become a bit more exact and refined in our ability to prepare food with a smoked flavor.
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