Woods to Avoid When Cooking in Wood Fired Oven
Not all wood is fit to use in a wood fired oven and not all firewoods contribute to the savory blends of wood fired cooking flavor.
Cooking in a wood fired oven is a healthy choice so don’t negate that by using firewood that is dangerous to your health. Laminated woods, pressure treated and painted woods, or any wood that has chemicals are never to be used in a wood fired oven.
Why does this matter?
These woods have hazardous chemicals that can be toxic. Also, avoid woods that have high sap content, like pine. Sap produces soot and creosote which coats the oven floor and is bad for humans. This is especially important when using various woods in commercial wood fired pizza ovens.
Best Wood for Pizza Oven
Now that you know the types of wood that you don’t want to use, you may be asking “what is the best fuel for pizza ovens”?
The best woods for cooking are seasoned and dried hardwoods. Hardwoods, which usually contain broad leaves on the trees, are a better option than softwoods, which usually have needles and cones.
One reason hardwoods are better for cooking in a pizza oven is that they are cleaner and last longer than softwoods. The best examples of hardwood are maple, oak, ash, hickory, walnut, birch, and beech.
That’s not all…
If you love the aromatic effect wood has on your food then fruitwood is highly recommended and can greatly affect your meal. Fruitwood, as the name implies, comes from several fruit-bearing trees.
Fruitwood includes apple, plum, almond, pear, hickory, maple, pecan, mesquite, chestnut, avocado, alder, apricot, nectarine, and cherry wood. These woods can really add to the flavor of your next dinner!
If you want to learn about the different types of wood and recipes to go with them, skip to Flavored Wood for Pizza Oven.
