Smoked food’s got so sophisticated

Forget smoked salmon – now you can buy smoked olive oil, tomatoes and even water

Smoked food is hot for summer 2015, but forget the eighties treat that was smoked salmon. Now it’s all about smoked beetroot, smoked water and even smoked egg yolk.

Sarah edwards, director of trends at The Food People, says smoky flavours are a massive trend at the moment — not just here in Britain but around the world.

She says: ‘different cuisine influences are fanning these flames, notably the Nordic food movement t aking us back t o natural cooking methods such as wood fires, the Asian influence of charcoal methods of cooking, and the huge barbecue revival, predominantly in an American style, with slow- cooked pulled meats and full-on smoky flavours.’

The restaurant scene was the first to catch on. martin Wishart, the michelin- starred chef at Loch Lomond, serves gratin of violet artichokes with smoked egg yolk, while Bobo Social in London’s Charlotte Street burns si ngle species wood including cherry, english plum and hickory to ensure perfectly smoked meat.

others serve smoked carrot puree, smoked mayonnaise or smoked cherry tomato relish.

meanwhile, the supermarkets are catching on, offering an everincreasing array of smoked products. Here’s our round-up of the best …

CHOSEN BY YOU OAK SMOKED TEAR ’N’ SHARE BREAD £1.40, Asda.

Smoked bread at Asda? Why not? This store-baked loaf is designed to share. Serve it warm with taramasalata, a Greek salad, and a lovely bottle of chilled rosé.

XXI CENTURY SMOKED OLIVE OIL

£9.99 for 250ml, M&S. THIS Andalucian olive oil has been cold smoked over oak and would be fabulous with charred red peppers and anchovies.

HALEN MON OAK SMOKED WATER

£3.95 for 150ml, Ocado. Smoked in Anglesey by the people who make the Halen môn Welsh sea salt, this water can be used to pep up casseroles, sauces, stocks and soups. or try it as a marinade, adding a note of wood smoke to your cooking. Heston’s bought it to use at his Fat duck restaurant in Bray.

OAK-SMOKED VINTAGE ORGANIC GODMINSTER CHEDDAR

£26 for 1kg, delis nationwide, Selfridges, or Godminster.com. So MANY ‘ smoked’ cheeses are simply injected or washed with smoke flavour nowadays, but this i s the real thing — and it’s roof-of- the- mouth-blowingly brilliant.

SMOKY SHREDDED BEETROOT

£1.25 for 180g, Tesco WHEN this was introduced at Tesco l ast year, i t became one of their fastest-growing products. Really good piled onto a burger or scattered on salads.

MALDON SMOKED SEA SALT

£1.50 for 125g, Sainsbury’s. my HUSBAND bought this once by mistake — but i t was a serendipitous error, because the salt is delicious and adds a new flavour dimension. ordinary salt seems rather drab in comparison now.

UNEARTHED SEMI-DRIED SMOKED TOMATOES

£3.49 for 183g, Waitrose SOAKED over oak chippings in West Sussex, these tomatoes come in a lemon and zataar dressing, giving them a deep, rich tang. Great in salads, sandwiches or to liven up a pedestrian pasta sauce.