Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Hello everyone

I am new, and also new to Veganism. I have been vegetarian for several years and am slowly working towards vegansim (I am loathe to waste that which I already have in my freezer such as Quorn, as I cannot stand food to be wasted)

Anyway, I digress!

Would any of you lovely folks be able to advise on a good brand of Liquid Smoke? I am in the UK and we don't have it here so am reliant on Amazon/google to order. I am confused by the options and don't want to end up buying BBQ sauce instead of bonafide liquid smoke

Thanks so much in advance - your answer will help me make eggplant bacon which looks AWESOME!

Claire x

Wright's brand is ubiquitous in U.S. grocery stores; it's the only one I've ever used, and it does the job just fine.

good luck on your eggplant bacon and your new-found veganism!

I use this one: http://www.amazon.com/Colgin-Natural-Mesquite-Liquid-Smoke/dp/B000SBPCE0/ref=sr_1_2?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1318521558&sr=1-2

It comes in Hickory as well, but IMO liquid smoke is pretty much the same everywhere. And it's not even essential in most recipes.

Woodland is the brand of liquid smoke I buy in Canada. I have tried both mesquite smoke and hickory smoke and I greatly prefer hickory.

I tend to find a small bottle of liquid smoke to be rather expensive. I paid 5.00 for mine; however, it is used in such small quantities that a bottle lasts a very long time. I had to remind myself of that over the weekend when I went grocery shopping and picked up a new bottle! It's true you can leave it out of recipes that call for it, but it adds such a unique flavour I think it's worth it.

I've used a couple brands and if they're made from the same kind of wood they taste pretty much the same. Definitely read the ingredients list; you want something like "Water, Natural smoke flavour" and not much else. I have a bottle of Colgin's Hickory smoke right now; it wouldn't be my first choice because it has some unnecessary additives like caramel colour and molasses, but even then it tastes pretty much the same.

A barbecue sauce would tend to have tomato paste, vinegar, sugar, and maybe molasses high on the list.

Thanks so much for your help, it's invaluable

It seems I am limited in choice in UK. American candy (online retailer) are all out of drifts, amazon had Stubbs or I can get American Herb Company from
American Candy http://www.americansweets.co.uk/index.a ... ion=search

Whilst looking at this site I noted thy shipping is expensive although not as expensive as amazon if I go for a bigger basket of goods and spend over £50 and get it shipped for free!

So with that in mind, would you guys say the American herb company smoke is ok? And if I were to be looking at bulking out my cart to getting £50 with US items such as canned pumpkin would you be able to advise if Libbys Canned Pumpkin is ok?

Thanks again :)

As someone mentioned, as long as the liquid smoke seems to have very few ingredients namely smoke flavoring, it should be fine. and if its called "liquid smoke" there really is no fake out ingredient here in the states that it could be instead. so id think its safe. also Libbys canned pumpkin is the go to pumpkin in a can for american thanksgivings, so yes, that is the one you want.

Where are you in the UK? I have seen it on sale in London and in Nottingham - if you aren't near either of those places you might be able to get a local PPKer to send you some. Come to the UK forum in the Square!!!

Can't find ingredients list for it and don't know the brand. If the company's customer service people can provide an ingredients list, that'd be ideal, but it's probably fine.

That is expensive... the last bottle I bought cost under $2.

Thanks so much for all of the tips, honestly invaluable. Have now posted in The Square for advice on local suppliers, as I am seriously looking at (Inc postage) £6 a bottle, which is about $8-10?! crazy!

Thanks for the pumpkin tip too, shall def get Libbys

Wishing you all the best

Claire

Colgin Hickory is the only one I've seen in stores in my area (Midwest US.)

I use the Colgin one too, since it's the only one I could find at the fancy imported foods place in my hometown. I got the hickory and mesquite. They were pretty expensive, probably about $10 each, but that's the case for all imported stuff here. But I bought them a year and a half ago and I've still got some of the hickory left, so it's not really that bad a deal.

Until you get it, I've made the eggplant bacon with smoked paprika and had yummy results.

Fab fab fab, I have smoked paprika and am LONGING to make this, so tomorrow night smoky bacon goodness shall be mine!!

oh, maybe you could help me then;

My brother is going to visit the US and I want him to get me a bottle of liquid smoke (I've never seen them over here...); now I don't have any idea what brand would be great (and vegan, anyway, I can't let my brother figure that out, because he won't) and yeah, I need a fool-proof description where to get and how to find it (honestly - last time I sent my brother to get a zucchini he brought an eggplant and told me "there was a sign that said it WAS a zucchini, so it must be one"...).

Thanks for your help :)

It should be near Barbeque sauces in grocery stores. Here it's usually on the top shelf in a smallish glass bottle. Brand seems to vary by region. I've never seen liquid smoke that WASN'T vegan so I don't see how it wouldn't be. Really he could go up to someone who works at the store and ask them to help him find liquid smoke, and they should be able to.

Does anyone know where you can get liquid smoke in NYC? It's kinda crazy, I asked at Whole Foods, Westerly, Trader Joes, and Gary Nulls. They all looked at me like I had 12 heads.

For Australians, we can't generally get at grocery stores - but often ethnic groceries and spice shops have them. I've seen it at David Jones food hall before, specialty cooking shops, The Green Edge shop/online also sells them, and if you're in Queensland - the Vegetarian Society of Queensland has the best, most natural liquid smoke I've ever had.

I'm going to bump this thread instead of starting another one.

I haven't been able to find liquid smoke before and I don't want to pay for shipping to buy it from Amazon. Where on earth do they put it in grocery stores? Google tells me they're by hot sauces. Is that accurate?

Hot sauces, soy sauces, just sauces. The health foods store I go to puts it in the same place with general sauces which includes Braggs.

I think it's usually on the condiments aisle, near the ketchup and mustard. Have you asked at your local store? If they have it, they will tell you where it is.

For more esoteric ingredients, sometimes they don't always know they even stock it! Except perhaps the stockers. But I've worked at a grocery store before, and had someone asked me where it was, I'd never have known. (Now I would, though!)

Anyway, I usually see it by sauces or marinades. Look by all the condiments as well.

when i buy it in the US i often have to scavenger-hunt it. in my mother's town it's near the pickles (inexplicably), in my gramma's town it's by the BBQ sauce and ketchup. One time i found some in the spice aisle.

yeah, i've usually found it near the spices