The scents of wood smoke and burnt sugar remind many people of times spent around a campfire singeing marshmallows for s'mores.
Few people ever move beyond cooking marshmallows on a stick over a fire.
The renewed interest in firewood cooking dovetails with broader trends - a desire to eat more local foods, to know where food comes from and to move away from processed foods.
It is touching a nerve. People are tired of being divorced from their food. Turning on an electric or gas stove doesn't have the same level of satisfaction or the social life as around the fire.
This style of cooking cannot be rushed. The food tastes better cooked slowly - a lesson learned by anyone who has tasted a blackened marshmallow with a springy centre. It creates an opportunity to gather together, tell stories, sip a beer or a glass of wine and savour the experience.
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