Market to host charcoal demo

Real charcoal or lump charcoal is a product of very old technology, but it is regaining notoriety with backyard grill users for its superior qualities. For some it’s the fact that charcoal is a completely natural product without the binders, borax and occasional petroleum additives that make briquettes burn.

For others, the higher cooking temperatures, better temperature regulation, less ash and faster lighting are selling points. Whatever the reason, natural hardwood charcoal is being “re-discovered.”

The art and science of making charcoal is also being revived. Enterprising individuals with access to waste wood, excess firewood or treetops may find a business opportunity in making and selling locally produced charcoal.

A charcoal kiln can be as simple as a dirt oven. It can also be made with a 50-gallon drum, an upside down chicken feed hopper or a manufactured “professional grade” commercial-type charcoal kiln.

During a charcoal making demonstration – set for Saturday, Aug. 2 at the Madison County Farmers Market – demonstrators will use a modified chicken feed hopper designed to moderate the burn such that it distills the wood to its raw carbon form. This is accomplished through a low oxygen burn that not only drives all the moisture away but also ignites a chemical reaction exuding gasses and tar resulting in nearly pure carbon.

Charcoal making used to be a huge industry. In the early 1800s, the American iron production depended on charcoal firing. In certain regions of the eastern United States, charcoal making was a full-time job with acres of woodland being cleared each day to fire local iron furnaces. Historically, charcoal has also been used for art pigment (and is still used this way) and as an emergency poison detoxification. It is also an efficient water filter and deodorizer.
Charcoal was also the choice fuel for blacksmiths around the country – it’s even been used to make roads!

The uses are many, the process is simple and the opportunities are numerous. Come to the Madison County Farmers Market at Hoover Ridge in the morning on Aug. 2 to see how charcoal is made and sample goods cooked using real charcoal to see the difference. Just follow the smoke!

(Guest columnist Adam K. Downing is a Madison County-based Forestry and Natural Resources extension agent. E-mail him at adowning@vt.edu.)