A Detailed Exploration Behind the Plant-Based Community’s Affinity For Smoked Foods

Below is the first research paper I wrote for my graduate studies in food studies in the Spring of 2018. It was when I first rediscovered my affinity for neuroscience after taking an almost-a-decade detour in the culinary field.

A Detailed Exploration Behind the Plant-Based Community’s Affinity For Smoked Foods

Abstract: The evolutionary beginnings, flavor composition and expression of memories are driving forces in the attraction to smoked food in the plant-based community. Olfaction is the main determinant of flavor and dominates in the genetic composition of the sensory system. Trends experimenting with bold, novel flavors in Western palates further make plant-based smoked items sought after. The plant-based mentality is broken down into two governing theories of health and conscience. An analysis of a targeted smoked popcorn study emerged underlying themes of childhood, nature, familial ties, leisurely times of year, and associations with both meat and plant-based food. The unexpected mention of childhood specifically led to analyzing the young palate’s affinity to umami, sweet and salty tastes. The celebration of community and niche of plant-based cooking zeros in on how this connection helps facilitate exposure and availability of plant-based foods on the market for consumption.

1. Vegan Umami Course Conundrum

The technique of smoking is introduced on the afternoon session of day two during Vegan Umami Intensive. The student clientele ranges from recent converts to veganism to individuals who travel to New York City to attend the course from as far as Venezuela, Mexico, St. Maarten and Brazil, mainly with the desire to minimize the amount of animal protein they consume by garnering inspiration for their plant-based creations. The demonstration begins with the selection of wood chips varieties ranging from oak to hickory to apple wood. The item to be smoked come next, and can range from mushrooms, cashews, to carrots. Soon after the smoker is sealed, the room is met with wonderment as the smell of burning, aromatic wood wafts through the kitchen. The actual tasting of the smoked dishes often elicits a visceral reaction. The question lies with if the plant-based population is so deeply attracted to smoke-infused food items because of the flavor molecules or because of the memories it evokes.

2. Introductory Notes

From festivals to grocery store deli sections, the prevalence of smoked food items is a common site (Preece 306-307). Most of these options are geared towards satisfying omnivorous palates but the plant-based market is ever expanding. The addicting, smoked under notes traditionally reserved to bacon and sausage, are being showcased in smoked plant proteins and plant-centric recipes calling for ingredients such as smoked paprika, smoked salt, smoked tea, or liquid smoke.

The mystery of the allure of this particular flavor component cannot be unlocked without exploring the origin of smoked foods as an initiative to preserve food for early mankind. Flavor molecule depiction has to be equally be taken into account. The plant-based mentality will be discussed to unearth the philosophies that go beyond palate preferences. Finally the role memories play when it comes to selecting smoked foods items will be uprooted.

3. Smoked Popcorn Thought Collection

To gain insider insight, fifty-one anonymous surveys were conducted to gauge the taste preferences of a targeted, largely self-identified, plant-based audience. Participants were asked to analyze a sample of smoked popcorn and to state if they considered a large portion of their diet to be plant-based (Appendix A). The participants were then asked to write what thoughts they identified with the taste of the smoked popcorn sample. An analysis of the results showed an emergence of the following themes: 1) nature, 2) smoke flavor, 3) flavor of meat, 4) plant-based smoked products, 5) leisurely times of year, 6) childhood, and 7) familial gatherings.

4. Mother Nature and the Neanderthal Meal Plan

Plant-based survey respondents expressed an overwhelming association of the smoked popcorn with nature and more specifically, an actual physical fire— be it a campfire in the woods, or a bonfire on the beach. Participants reminisced about specific instances such as “camping by the fire with my son’s boy scout troop”, or summertime river trips. The correlation of food being prepared over the glowing embers of a burning fire as a sought-out way to provide nourishment dates back to 1.7 millions years ago.

Archaeologists have pieced together evidence of cookouts in ancient caves with the unearthing of remaining animal bones and butchery marks (Silverton 20-21). Curiously enough, there was a solid emphasis on exposing plant-based substances to the flame in prehistoric times. Today’s participants listed their enjoyment of throwing plant items like corn, Mexican chilies, and eggplant onto an open flame, but Neanderthal dental remains range from seeds, grasses, dates and smoke particles. Burnt remains unveil a gathering mentality of almonds, pistachios, acorns, wild lentils, and seeds of wild grasses (Silvertown 26-27).

Millions of years ago, the smoked fire approach was actually thought to be preferred when consuming vegetation. Certain raw, uncultivated vegetables varieties were considered poisonous (Silverton 99), and so smoked plant-based food items were instinctually deemed as the preferential preparation to offer sustenance over the raw state that they were found in nature.

With the introduction of fire, mankind was now able make foodstuffs like plants more digestible and bioavailable, while inactivating many toxins (Silvertown 22). The powerful influence of smoked food items that allowed for the survival of mankind, and ultimately allowed tribes to diverge by setting up camp and establishing their own settlements (Silvertown 32-33) can be evolutionarily a powerful precursor why the plant-based community seeks out a modern day reincarnation of the methodology.

5. Smoke Flavor Development

A main purpose of smoke was as one of the original and most effective ways to preserve and dry out a surplus supply of meat and fish. Human survival is largely accredited to smoke and fire since in virtually all cultures it created a food surplus transforming “nomads into clusters of homebodies” (Ruhlman 18-19).   

“During the actual smoking process, tarry deposits from smoke settle on product and these are made of antiseptic nature, and along with salt already absorbed, tend to inhibit the development of the spoilage bacteria, which left to their own devices, would cause the fish or flesh to putrify” (Erlandson 9).

Because of the relatively modern invention of refrigeration, smoke is indeed an archaic means to preserve food items (Erlandon 103). And yet, fifty out of fifty-one participants noted the familiarity of the flavor profile, with but one participant stating that they “don’t like the smell” and found it “unusual”. Since preservation is no longer relevant in Westernized modern society, it is safe to conclude that contemporary smoking is a bold assertion in color enhancement and flavor development (Ruhlman 73). Many participants emphasized the appeal of the smokiness in their review of the popcorn sample, stating that they “love the flavor”, and thought it was “very delicious”, and  “yummy”. Therefore it is important to explore how the physical taste of the smoked food item is translated into an overwhelmingly, pleasantly perceived sensation.

The smoked flavor process starts off with the selection of a particular breed of wood chip. Oak and hickory from hardwood trees produce well-rounded smoked products while soft, resinous bark will impart an unpalatable bitter flavor onto food products (Erlandson 23). The type of wood selected can purposefully showcase a regional connection and a developed taste for local tradition albeit it American-sourced apple wood or hickory or the beech or juniper bark and branches characteristic of Germany terrain (Rulhman 74).

The undeniable link to nature becomes even stronger with the inclusion of  pride found in utilizing the bark of specific localities. Participants repeatedly pinpointed specific locations that they identified with smoke flavor ranging from “eating charred corn off the grill in the summer in coastal Massachusetts” to “smoked delicious meats during vacations in Poland”. In these instances, wood from the surrounding trees are physically burned and transformed into a smoke flavor perceived on one’s palate.

Whereas the flavoring action of wood and smoke was just but a serendipitous side effect of drying food to be preserved over an open fire (Coultate 251-252), nowadays, Westerners have a borderline obsession with the delicious, smoke flavor sensation exploding with umami notes (Hort and Taylor 204).

“In the United States, people are experimenting with bolder, more aggressive flavors and seeking new taste experiences.  People are looking for flavors that are louder, brighter, deeper and more complex, Chef Chris Schlesinger of East Coast Grill in New York City reports” (Hort and Taylor 217).

Joanne Hort and Andrew Taylor use the example of pairing bitter greens with well-received smoke or umami-rich ingredients to create a modified profile that would appeal to consumers’ taste preferences (217).

6. Plant-Based Mentality

The mission for adventurous, bold experimentation effortlessly complements the current plant-centric movement. Thirty-three out of fifty-one survey participants noted an interest in adopting a more plant-based lifestyle.   In a survey conducted to one thousand vegetarians, the most popular reasons for choosing a vegetarian diet were moral convictions and the ground for a healthier diet (Preece 304). None of the top five responses included a preference to how plant-based foods taste over meat products.

“There is a sense that personalized and healthy food that connects specific metabolic needs with individual taste preferences is certainly a goal for innovations to come (Hort and Taylor 217).”

In the cookbook Baconish, Leinana Two Moons reassures her audience that deprivation of “that smoky, crispy savory deliciousness that is the essence of bacon” is no longer an issue (175).

“I’m going to let you in on a secret here: vegans love to eat delicious bacon, too.  Not because vegans miss eating pigs, but because there is something undeniably satisfying about the combination of salty, smoky and crispy, which is what bacon is really all about (Two Moons 177)”.

The victory for the plant-based community lies with the fact that they can recreate the flavor, why keeping their conscience and hopefully their arteries clear.  The participant responses reveal a powerful flavor comparison with umami-rich, high- protein foods like barbeque meat, smoked cheeses, bacon, sausage and brisket. Smoke is in fact one of the prominent aspects of barbeque, so applying it to a meatless lens breeds familiarity (Fox 1).

7. Childhood and Hyper-Palatability

Participants unexpectedly included several references to childhood, reminiscing of their “childhood homes”, “childhood mornings”, “campfires on river trips as kid”, and a “smoked barbeque chicken memory as kid” after munching on the supplied popcorn sample.

Studies show that babies develop a liking to sweet and umami flavors just one week post-partum, while rejecting other taste profiles like bitter and sour. Salt preference is the next in line to be attuned with a positive affinity in babies, kicking in between 6 months and 2 years of age (Martin 22).

Before the smoking process occurs, ingredients like “brown sugar, molasses, rum, white pepper, cloves and bay leaves” are added to the salty brine making it a hyper-palatable food (Erlandson 16). Smoked foods therefore possess all three sought out flavors in early development with their deep umami, salinity and sweetness compositions, hence the strong memory references linked to flavor in early childhood.

8. Olfaction Domination

The interpretation of the reaction to smoke unveils that the dominant sense of flavor is in fact smell (Martin 148). The flavor of smoked food actually lies in the vapor of the odor.  A human genome dedicates four hundred out of twenty-five thousand genes dedicated to smell.  The aroma of a food item is essential to flavor perception (Hort and Taylor 169). Tying in back the recurring nature element, olfaction is also the only sense with receptors exposed to the environment (Martin 1).  Homo sapiens can detect approximately five main tastes, but have evolved to detect thousands of different odors (Martin 1). Perhaps this is why most participants noted a specific memory where a strong physical fire was present. This is where the smell of the smoke would be the strongest, hence making the flavor perception vivid and memorable. Memories listed ranged from “grilled hot dogs and burgers on Fourth of July with family as a kid” to “my friends Dari and Kevin have a smoker at their house and the brisket they make during Friday night barbeque and brisket nights is incredible”.

“There is a universal correlation between odor familiarity and pleasantness. The more familiar a person thinks an odor is, the more likeable it is judged. “ (Martin 8)

The answer for the attraction to smoke just might be the aroma. Not only is flavor  dominated by olfaction, but evolution also favored the development of olfaction genes. The incredible notion of odors being well received because of previous pleasant encounters adds to the summation that the nose is the silent critic when it comes to interpreting a waft of smoke. The final piece of the puzzle lies in what it actually takes to interpret smoke as a pleasant memory in the first place.

9. Memories As Reward Centers

Humans possess a schema of taste retrieval that has been encoded and determines an individual’s preference for a certain food item (Martin 75). The recurring theme of family and leisure kept steeping itself into participants’ responses.  Partly, this is because:

“Firing up the smoker is an all-day affair, a great excuse to get together with some friends, cook up favorites and experiment with new ideas.  It’s a slow, food-of-love type of cooking that involves hours upon hours.  Nearly always riddled with trade secrets and personal peculiarities, it makes for a fantastic day of communing over good eats out in the back yard (Engels 1)”.

Participants highlighted “sitting by the fireplace on a cold, snowy day with family” and “breakfast with dad with sunny side eggs, bacon, French toast, and orange juice”. Evidence shows that safe, positive memories activate parts of the brain involved in “addiction, reward, feeling and motivation”, increasing levels of the pleasure-inducing dopamine (Martin 75).

The existence of the smoked food as a memory does not necessarily need to be activated with the presence of the exact food item as evidenced by the popcorn sample, and so plant-based food items can elicit a similar chemical effect since the same types of woods are used to infuse the items with the aroma leading the way in flavor interpretation. The last element rests with how to actually making plant-based food items an option for consumption.

10. Community As An Anchor

The plant-based community contently aims to celebrate the “unique and unmistakable flavor produced by slow-smoked food” with plant-derived ingredients such as “eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes” or “large solid things like corn, potatoes and entire heads of cabbage” (Engels 1). Even in a book dedicated to charcuterie, the author praises the transformation of smoked jalapenos into chipotles and addictive nature of fresh-smoked almonds (Ruhlman 94-95). Furthermore, the members of this niche are proud to display their non-meat dominated habits in conjoined alignment.

“They are impervious to the dangers of backsliding, feeling alone, feeling different and isolated, for even if family continue to eat flesh, there is always a friendly and supportive voice on a website or at a conference able and willing to comfort and give strength and added validation to the ethical choices (Preece 329)”.

As evidenced by the handful of non-plant-based participants, plant-based cuisine has reached an elevation where smoked flavored popcorn can satisfy an omnivorous palate.

“Even those who are not committed to a vegetarian lifestyle will now happily choose a vegetarian meal in a restaurant because vegetarian items are usually every bit as succulent and tasty as the flesh alternatives (Preece 306)”.

11. Concluding Thoughts

Where preservation once took precedence in smoke utilization, flavor now dominates, specifically in a market where bold, innovative cuisine is sought after. The essence of the attraction to smoke by the plant-based community branches out to the interpretation of flavor, which is wired to memories favoring familiarity. Olfaction takes the prize in the number of dedicated genes, associations with familiarity, exposure to the environment and the ultimate responsibility to interpretation a large amount of the flavor equation.

Childhood palates are attuned to favor umami-rich smoke flavors paired with sweet and salty under notes. Physical, deliberate controlled fires in nature around family and specifically in times of leisure, leave lasting impressions at an early age. The memories  resurface around the aromas of prepared smoked food and ultimately fire reward centers in the brain.

Plant-based individuals pride themselves on the celebration of meat-less or meat-limited plates because the familiar flavor of the smoke is satisfying and allows them to uphold their beliefs in line with eating with a conscience and in a health-supportive manner while consuming novel smoked innovations.

Bibliography:

Coultate, T.P.  FOOD, The Chemistry of Its Components. Royal Society of Chemistry Paperbacks, 1996.

Engels, Jonathon.  “Smokers Are Not Just for Meat: Smoking Tips for Veggies and More!” One Green Planet, 21 May 2015. 25 April 2018.

Erlandson.  Home Smoking And Curing: How You Can Smoke-Cure, Salt And Preserve Fish, Meat And Game.  Ebury Press London, 1997.

Fox, Tyler.  “Smoked Tofu Burnt Ends A Healthy, Vegan Alternative to Traditional KC Barbecue.” Chow Town, Kansas City, 1 September, 2014.  25 April 2018.

Hort, Joanne and Taylor, Andrew.  Modifying Flavour In Food.  Woodhead Publishing Unlimited, 2007.

Martin, G. Neil.  The Neuropsychology of Smell and Taste.  Psychology Press, 2013.

Preece, Rod.  Sins of the Flesh: A History of Vegetarian Thought.  UBS Press, 2008.

Ruhlman, Michael.  Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing.  W. W. Norton, 2005.

Silvertown, Jonathan.  Dinner with Darwin.  The University of Chicago Press, 2017.

Two Moons, Leinana.  Baconish: Sultry and Smoky Plant-Based Recipes from BLTs to Bacon Mac & Cheese.  Vegan Heritage Press, LLC, 2016.