Bruce67

Ok... Elderberry vinegar sorted for this year. 10 litres on the go and a spare 900g of elderberries in the freezer. So, I have ground up the seaweed. Some general observations. First, the obvious - what looks like a lot grinds down to next to nothing - although the flavour at the end is intense. So start with what looks like a lot. Second, apart from the really soft gloopy ones, they have plenty of structure and a large surface area to volume ratio, so I think I can stack them much higher than I did. As long as they are turned every hour or so, will take on plenty of smoke. So more an active daytime rather than overnight smoke. Third, I use the oven-proof black plastic trays from ready-meals. I think they would fall through the gaps on the racks. Fourth, if using dried seaweed (rather than fresh), need to get it rehydrated enough to take on the smoke, but not too much to get the mucilage/gloop. So I will get it damped up the day before next time, going slowly enough. Fifth, I dried it too hot/fast this time in the oven. No damage, but slightly toasted. I will use a food drier next time I think. Sixth, it's quite hard to get down to an even flake/dust in a good kitchen quality spice grinder. Especially the harder/thicker one like bladder wrack. Would need sieving and then returning the thicker parts to the grinder. These bits may grind down better eventually in a spice/herb mix - I have a couple of blends I have used in the past. Seventh, I need to label better! hard to separate a couple once smoked and dried. Taste test to come. Next time I want to try a bit of peat smoke in it too.

Hi Reesyd I have some purple dulse, carrageen, kelp and bladder wrack. They all smell quite different once smoked and dried. Need to grind them on the weekend. The elderberry vinegar has had priority this week!

The seaweed samples are now dried off - just need to grind them down and look at the difference between them - ran out of time. But I did get the first batch of elderberries harvested and in cider vinegar - aiming for 5l of cider vinegar and 5l of red vinegar. Last year I only made a few litres and didn't have enough!

Thanks for the various welcomes. I was out of stock of smoked salt so set up to do some (Maldon and some cheap coarse sea salt from a budget store), and found I was out of smoked seaweed too. I've used it in various seasoning mixes. I have done some seaweed before, but not systematically - so have had four different seaweed samples in. I found in the past that smoking them while damp/wet worked better. I need to dry them off now and then grind them down, so it will be a few days. I'll come back and describe the results when that is done.

Hi, I was born in UK (lived here until 11), grew up in NZ (until mid-20’s), lived in Quebec (until early forties), back in the UK (the wonderful North East) for close to 20 years – food influences are multiple. I've been a cold smoker on and off for about 25 years. Started in Canada with a True North Electric Smoker box - thin metal with three shelves and a drip tray. In Quebec in winter it needed blankets to stop the food at the top freezing overnight. I still use the same box but now with a ProQ dust smoker. I'll smoke just about anything - including lots of seasonings. I have a 2-burner top-down or top-up medium size Weber BBQ which is used to finish some cold smoked foods. Also I have been using sous-vide cooking on and off over last 5 years and have combined the two on occasion. At various times over last 40 years have also been a semi-pro vegetable and fruit producer, amateur brewer, country/fruit winemaker, current forager, maker of terrines & pâtés, as well as pickle, jam/relish/chutney maker, a bit of rough and ready bread making, and have catered a couple of events for 60-80 people. Mixing smoked, cured and uncured meats, or smoked and unsmoked fish/shellfish, etc., and also finding the right fruits, vegetables, relish, pickle or jelly to go with the terrines, fish, meats or cheeses I respect and enjoy the tradition, craft, science and the alchemy behind natural, traditionally processed and conserved foods as well as the idea we can make it up as we go along! And then find the perfect combination. So, cold smoking is a central part of food for me whether as a featured item, a seasoning, or an extra twist. Looking forward to seeing what's on the forum - tips, techniques, recipes, and especially inspiration.