"Paull" > wrote in message
...
> Is there a big difference if lump charcoal comes from pine wood?
> I know that you shouldn't use pine for smoking but how about
> for lump charcoal?
>
> We've had some pretty big forest fires in New Mexico and now
> someone is harvesting those charded and dead pine trees
> and processing them into lump charcoal. Are they safe to
> use, will the taste be different or does it matter since it now
> charcoal and not wood?
>
>
> --
> Paull -

I dunno for sure, Paul. But I suspect that a lot of the nasty
terpene-based compounds that give pine wood that nasty smell may not have
all burned out. I would not be at all surprised if it still smelled funky.

Also, charcoal isn't just burned wood. Charcoal is made in an oxygen poor
environment, not in forest fires.