Cheese

[jon515]

 I asked the same question in another forum, but I'm curious about why does cheese take so long when vacuum sealed take so long not to taste like charcoal?  Is there a way to speed up the process?  Thanks,

Jon

[tskeeter]

I don't know the real answer, but I suspect it related to the relatively low moisture content of cheese, compared to many other things we smoke.

Moist, soft cheeses, such as Brie or mozzarella age and the smoke flavor mellows faster than drier cheeses, such as sharp cheddar.

High moisture content meats, such as poultry, seem to absorb smoke flavors faster than other meats, so we apply smoke for a shorter period of time than we do for pork or beef.

[Habanero Smoker]

I don't have an answer either, but as tskeeter pointed out, hard and semi-hard cheeses have lower moister content. I've never tried to smoke soft cheeses.

Smoke doesn't penetrate the food that deep, and most of it is collected on the surface of the food; as long as there moisture present. I always thought that for smoke to attach itself, and penetrate food it requires a chemical reaction that needs water. The low moisture in addition to the hard surface, it may take that long period for the compounds in the smoke to develop that more flavorful smoke taste. So it needs to be "aged" for awhile. Like any chemical reaction, generally a chemical reaction occurs faster at higher temperatures, but in this case you are dealing with perishable food, so it wouldn't be advisable to store it above 40°F for any length of time.