Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Briquet Charcoal

BRIQUET CHARCOAL


This is an update of an article that I published years ago.
Note that briquet and briquette are correct alternate spellings.
This blog uses the former, since that is Kingsford's choice.


In the U.S., briquet charcoal is more commonly used than lump charcoal for grilling steak and other food.  Lump charcoal is 100% wood and is almost always hardwood, like hickory, mesquite and oak.  On the other hand, briquet charcoal is not 100% wood and is made usually with soft wood, so myths and confusion has arisen about the uses and ingredients of briquet charcoal.  This blog explains the basics of briquet charcoal.

Kingsford Brand Charcoal Briquets are the best selling briquets in the US, so Kingsford briquet charcoal will be explained.

KINGSFORD INGREDIENTS

According to a Kingsford form letter sent in August, 2000, Kingsford contains the following ingredients:
      • wood char
      • mineral char
      • mineral carbon
      • limestone
      • starch
      • sodium borate
      • sodium nitrate
      • sawdust
PURPOSE OF INGREDIENTS

There so many ingredients because the addition of each requires another to offset its negative affect.  For example, in order to make the briquets easier to light, sodium nitrate is added.  Then limestone is added so that, when the briquettes burn, they have the typical light-ash color.

The purpose of each ingredient is as follows:
      • wood char:  for heat
      • mineral char: for heat
      • mineral carbon:  for heat
      • limestone:   for the light-ash color
      • starch:   for binding the ingredients
      • sodium borate (borax):  for separating from briquet mold 
      • sodium nitrate:  for speeding ignition 
      • sawdust:  for speeding ignition 
NO HARDWOOD

Most briquets are made of scraps of soft wood that are byproducts from wood and paper processing.  They include scraps such as tree branches, tree bark, and sawdust.  The most commonly used woods are fir, cedar, alder and other soft woods that are plentiful in the regions where the briquets are manufactured.

Some newer briquet charcoal contains hardwood specks, such as hickory and mesquite.  However, these hardwood ingredients are in addition to the basic ingredients, including the soft woods, and are used to provide a hardwood aroma.

NO PETROLEUM PRODUCTS

Some claim that Kingsford briquets have an unpleasant odor, especially when they are first lit.  This has led many to conclude that the briquets may contain petroleum products.

However, an investigation has been determined that neither Kingsford nor any other known commercial brand contains any petroleum products.

USE OF BRIQUET AND LUMP CHARCOAL


Briquet and lump charcoal have different ingredients and different uses.

Briquet charcoal burns at a lower temperature than lump charcoal, and, if properly lit, it imparts no additional layer of flavor to grilled steak or other food.  Therefore, briquets should be used when no distinct smoky flavor is desired, so it is ideal for grilling hamburgers, hot dogs and similar food.

Lump charcoal burns at a higher temperature than briquet charcoal, and, if properly lit, it imparts a distinct smoky layer of flavor to grilled stead and other food.  Therefore, lump charcoal should be used when a distinct smoky flavor is desired, so it is ideal for grilling high-quality steak and other meats.    

No charcoal should be lit with liquid lighter fluid, since it may impart a strong petroleum smell which will ruin the taste of any grilled steak or other food.  Instead, charcoal should be lit with a chimney.

HISTORY OF BRIQUET CHARCOAL

Around 1915, Henry Ford was using large amounts of wood to manufacture automobiles.  Ford operated a sawmill in the forests around Iron Mountain, Michigan to make the wooden parts, so there were piles of wood scraps.

Ford learned of a process, which had been developed and patented by Orin F. Stafford, which involved chipping wood into small pieces, converting them into charcoal, grinding the charcoal into powder, adding a binder and compressing the mix into the now-familiar, pillow-shaped briquets.

By 1921, a charcoal-making plant was in full operation.

According to the Kingsford website in 2000:
E. G. Kingsford, a lumberman who owned one of Ford's earliest automobile sales agencies and was distantly related, briefly served as manager of the briquette operation.  A company town was built nearby and named Kingsford.  In 1951, an investment group bought the plant, renamed the business the Kingsford Chemical Company, and took over operations.  Its successor, The Kingsford Products Company, was acquired by The Clorox Company of Oakland, California, in 1973.
Today, KINGSFORD charcoal is manufactured from wood charcoal, anthracite coal, mineral charcoal, starch, sodium nitrate, limestone, sawdust, and borax. The wood and other high-carbon materials are heated in special ovens with little or no air.  This process removes water, nitrogen and other elements, leaving almost pure carbon.
The briquettes do not contain petroleum or any petroleum by-products.  KINGSFORD charcoal briquettes with mesquite contain the same high-quality ingredients as KINGSFORD, but with the addition of real mesquite wood throughout.
Manufacturing briquettes begins with preparing the wood charcoal using one of the following methods:

Retort processing -- Waste wood is processed through a large furnace with multiple hearths (called a retort) in a controlled-oxygen atmosphere.  The wood is progressively charred as it drops from one hearth to the next.
Kiln processing -- The waste wood is cut into slabs and stacked in batches in a kiln that chars the wood in a controlled-oxygen atmosphere.
Once the wood charcoal is prepared, it is crushed and combined with the other ingredients, formed into pillow-shaped briquettes and dried. The advantage of using charcoal over wood is that charcoal burns hotter with less smoke. [Editor's note:  This last sentence is true only when briquets are compared with softwood, but briquets do not burn nearly as hot as lump charcoal.]
RELATED INFORMATION 

For related information, see:
CONCLUSION

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Friday, December 23, 2011

Terminology:  "Never Ever 3"

SUMMARY OF "NEVER EVER 3" STEAK?

In summary, "Never Ever 3" steak means a steak from cattle which:
  • Have never received any antibiotics;
  • Have never received any growth promotants; and
  • Have never received any animal by-products.

DETAILS OF "NEVER EVER 3" STEAK

The details of the "Never Ever 3" program are regulated by the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service, Audit Review and Compliance Branch, which are summarized here.

These requirements are much stricter than the USDA's "natural" definition. For example, a steak would qualify as natural if the cattle that produced it had been administered antibiotics for medical reasons, but that steak would not qualify for the NE3 program. A second example is that a steak would qualify as natural if the cattle that produced it had been administered non-hormone growth promotants, but that steak would not qualify for the NE3 program.

The USDA's website contains more information here. FSIS provides the following definition of the word "natural""

NATURAL vs. ORGANIC vs. NEVER EVER 3

Natural, Organic and Never Ever 3 have very different meanings. Click here for our blog on "Organic Steak". In addition, the Food and Marketing Institute has an excellent summary of the differences between the terms.

In summary, the three terms have very different meanings, with some steak qualifying for one or two but not all three, while some qualify for two but others qualify for none.

CONCLUSION
SteakPerfection welcomes your comments.  Please share them below.  SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

A short link to this blog is http://bit.ly/rCPrJO

 

Terminology:  "Age-Verified"

This is an update of a blog first posted on January 22, 2011,
which is online at http://bit.ly/iiVPKD

AGE VERIFIED

The term "age verified" has a precise and important meaning in the beef cattle industry.  The term means that the age of the cattle has been tracked and verified.

This permits cattle purchasers to know the exact age of the cattle and beef purchasers to know the exact age when the cattle was processed.

IMPORTANCE OF AGE VERIFICATION

The term "age verified" became important in recent years, primarily because of the 1990's outbreak of "mad cow disease" (Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE).  BSE is a cattle disease that affects only older cattle and is a major health risk for humans who eat infected meat.

To eliminate the human risk of BSE, several countries adopted regulations to prohibit trade in cattle older than 20 months and to require that all cattle be age verified.

SIMILAR TERMS

There are several similar terms that are used in the industry that have similar but very different meanings. These include the following:
  • Source Verified
  • Traceable
  • Trackback
  • Brand
  • Vintage
  • Provenance Verified or Proven

Some of these terms, like Source Verified, Traceable and Trackback, mean only that the beef can be traced back to each farm and processor where the cattle was raised and the beef processed.

Other terms, like Vintance and Provenance Verified, mean that the beef is sold with information about the ranch/farm(s) where the cattle was born and raised (including the ranch's terrain and weather), the cattle breed, sex (e.g. steer or heifer), diet, health and care (including medications, vaccines and antibiotics), the processing plant, the beef's USDA Grade, its marbling score, etc.

It is important to remember that age verification concerns only one factor:  the age of the animal.  Similarly, source verification concerns only one factor:  where the animal and meat were raised and processed.

CONCLUSION
SteakPerfection welcomes your comments.  Please share them below.  SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

A short link to this blog is http://bit.ly/uGj7Rv
 

Terminology:  "Source-Verified"

SOURCE VERIFIED

The term "source verified" has a precise and important meaning in the beef cattle industry. The term means that the farm(s) and/or ranch(es) where the cattle were raised have been tracked and verified by an independent organization.

This permits cattle purchasers to know the exact places where the cattle have been.

IMPORTANCE OF SOURCE VERIFICATION

The term "source verified" became important in recent years, primarily because of the 1990's outbreak of "mad cow disease" (Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE). BSE is a cattle disease that affects only older cattle and is a major health risk for humans who eat infected meat.

To eliminate the human risk of BSE, several countries adopted regulations to prohibit trade in cattle that cannot be traced back to the farm(s) and ranch(es) where they were raised.

SIMILAR TERMS

There are several similar terms that are used in the industry that have similar but very different meanings. These include the following:
  • Age Verified
  • Traceable
  • Trackback
  • Brand
  • Vintage
  • Provenance Verified or Proven

Some of these terms, like Source Verified, Traceable and Trackback, mean only that the beef can be traced back to each farm and processor where the cattle was raised and the beef processed.

Other terms, like Vintage and Provenance Verified, mean that the beef is sold with information about the ranch/farm(s) where the cattle was born and raised (including the ranch's terrain and weather), the cattle breed, sex (e.g. steer or heifer), diet, health and care (including medications, vaccines and antibiotics), the age at slaughter, the processing plant, the beef's USDA Grade, its marbling score, etc.

It is important to remember that source verification concerns only one factor: the farm(s) and ranch(es) where the cattle were raised. Similarly, age verification concerns only one factor: the age of the cattle at slaughter.

CONCLUSION
SteakPerfection welcomes your comments.  Please share them below.  SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

A short link to this blog is http://bit.ly/ujj9Iu

Terminology:  "Natural"

SUMMARY OF "NATURAL" STEAK?

In summary, "natural" steak is a steak which:
  • Contains no artificial ingredients;
  • Contains no added color;
  • Is minimally processed so as not to fundamentally alter the product; and
  • Has a label which explains the meaning of the word "natural".

DETAILS OF "NATURAL" STEAK

In order for a steak to be labelled "organic", the steak must comply with the requirements of the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).  The FSIS maintains a glossary of meat and poultry labeling terms and is the agency responsible for ensuring the truthfulness and accuracy in labeling of steak (as well as all meat and poultry products).

FSIS provides the following definition of the word "natural""

"A product containing no artificial ingredient or added color and is only minimally processed.  Minimal processing means that the product was processed in a manner that does not fundamentally alter the product.  The label must include a statement explaining the meaning of the term natural (such as "no artificial ingredients; minimally processed")."

UN-NATURAL STEAK

The word "natural" has a fundamental flaw, when applied to "natural", because it implies that any steak which does not comply with the "natural" definition must therefore be "un-natural".

In fact, many steaks that are sold do not qualify for the natural label. These include, for example, any steak which:
  • Has been tenderized with needles (e.g. a Jaccard) or other mechanical means;
  • Has been tenderized with any un-natural, chemical means (see note, below); or
  • Has been injected with saline or any other solution.

Note that tenderizing a steak with natural means (such as dry-aging) does not disqualify a steak from the being labelled as natural.

NATURAL vs. ORGANIC

Natural and Organic have very different meanings. Click here for our blog on "Organic Steak". In addition, the Food and Marketing Institute has an excellent summary of the differences between the terms.

In summary, the two terms have very different meanings, with some steak qualifying for one but not the other, some qualifying for both, and a small proportion qualifying for neither.

CONCLUSION
SteakPerfection welcomes your comments.  Please share them below.  SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

A short link to this blog is http://bit.ly/rpFwed

Terminology:  "Organic"

This is an update of a blog first posted on January 18, 2011,
which is online at http://bit.ly/gSxULZ


SUMMARY OF "ORGANIC" STEAK?

In summary, an "organic" steak means a steak from cattle that has been certified, by an independent agency, as meeting three requirements:
  • The cattle were fed only 100% organic feed;
  • The cattle were not treated with any routine antibiotics; and
  • The cattle were not treated with any hormones.

DETAILS OF "ORGANIC" STEAK

In order for a steak to be labelled "organic", the steak must comply with a long list of specific requirements.

With regard to the diet of the cattle from which the steak is produced, none of the grasses or grains may be treated with any non-organic pesticide, any non-organic insecticide, any non-organic herbicide, and most non-organic fertilizers.

In addition, none of the cattle's diet may have been subject to chemical ripening, irradiation, genetically modified ingredients or processes, artificial sweeteners, artificial food colors and artificial flavoring.

With regard to the cattle themselves, they may not be treated with routine antibiotics. However, antibiotics may be used in order to treat a specific medical condition.

The cattle may not be given any artificial growth hormones.  However, cattle may be given artificial growth enhancements that are not hormones.

Because of the strict requirements, less than 1% of the steaks sold domestically qualify for the organic label.  Because the supply is so limited, and because there is considerable demand for organic steak, the price of an organic steak is much higher than the price of a comparable conventional steak.

NON-ORGANIC CATTLE

The common term used for non-organic cattle or steak is "conventional" cattle or steak.  In this sense, conventional refers to the method by which the great majority of domestic beef cattle are raised, from which the vast majority of steak is produced.

A more precise term for non-organic cattle or steak is "non-organic cattle or steak".

LEGAL REQUIREMENTS

The word "organic" is defined by federal law.  The word is codified in the "Organic Food Production Act of 1990, 7 USC § 6501-22".  The Regulations are set forth in "7 CFR Part 205".  The program is regulated by the USDA's "National Organic Program".

There are approximately "90 certification agencies" which have been accredited (approved) by the USDA.

COMPARING ORGANIC WITH NON-ORGANIC STEAK

There is no difference in the palatability (i.e. the taste, texture or juiciness) between organic and non-organic steak.

Some claim that there are health and environmental benefits of organic steak compared with non-organic steak.  Some claim that there are no measurable differences, and some claim that there are health and environmental risks associated with organic steak.

As noted above, the price of a organic steak is higher than a comparable non-organic steak.

CONCLUSION
SteakPerfection welcomes your comments.  Please share them below.  SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

A short link to this blog is http://bit.ly/tS95Qc