Smoked Water Dining Craze Spreading Like Wildfire?
After debuting at a food festival, a new food craze is gaining notoriety and making appearances at top restaurants on both sides of the Atlantic.
English culinary expert Heston Blumenthal, who is the vision behind a top U.K. top restaurant the Fat Duck, has long been thought of a pioneer in the gastric arts. He recently teamed up with the Anglesey Sea Salt company in Wales to develop a new method to bring a smokey flavor without artificial flavoring.
Their combined efforts produced what's known as smoked water. Smoked water, as its name implies, is water that is left to sit and absorb smoke that is produced in an oak smoker.
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The company first introduced their new creation at the Abergavenny Food Festival, a multi-day food festival in Wales that features top chefs, tastings, panels, and culinary classes.
David Lea-Wilson, director at Anglesey Sea Salt, revealed that he did not expect smoked water to take off, but after it first came out, he was shocked at its immediate popularity.
"This was tried as a curiosity but has really caught on, we have been very busy with orders and it has even seen us take an extra part time staff member on to meet the demand," Lea-Wilson told The Daily Post.
He stated that smoked water can be used in cocktails or while cooking. The smoked water is absorbed into the food, which produces a natural smokey flavor.
There are rumors that food manufacturers are looking into using the product instead of liquid smoke, because there are no chemicals or artificial flavors.
Lea-Wilson said in order to make the smoked water it has to spend four days in the company's oak smoker, but he added that he can't give all the "details on the process or others will be doing it."
