>>21420202 (OP)The process of smoking meat dries out moisture, which concentrates meat flavor, and also renders fat which coats the meat proteins (if hot smoked). When actually smoked (not the fake shit most grocery meats/cheeses are injected with) you gain the flavor of the wood it was smoked with.
Protip: if the product fails to specify the wood type, it was injected with chemical smoke. Wood type is very crucial to flavor. Chemical (aka liquid smoke) flavors are no where near what actual wood smoke tastes like or has aromatics of.
Smoked salmon tends to be done correctly due to it's high price (or at least that has been my experience). Bacon is the biggest offender for being fake, and sausage depends on who makes it. "Smoked" cheese often times tends to be fake as well, because smoking the cheese will brown it somewhat, and that's not good for them visual-wise, so they short cut it with chems.
I personally am a big fan of smoke flavor, and I can't taste the fake chem shit they invented to "replicate" smoke.
>>21420206I don't think you can be addicted to something you can't taste/smell. Sure you can taste salt, but we don't have a nitrate sensor on the tongue. And I've personally made stuff with nitrates on purpose mind you for attempting my own meat molds, I at least can't differentiate nitrate from salt in meats.
