During the smoking process, various aliphatic and aromatic compounds such as alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, phenols, acids, etc. condense and deposit on the surface of the product and penetrate into the inner layer near the surface, so that the smoked product forms a unique color, fragrance and a certain degree of preservation.
Phenols and aldehydes in smoke are the main components of the unique fragrance of smoked products. Phenols that penetrate into subcutaneous fat can prevent fat oxidation. Phenols, aldehydes and acids also have an inhibitory effect on the growth of microorganisms. The antiseptic effect of smoke is generally limited to the surface layer of food. Therefore, the preservation effect of smoked products such as fish is also partly derived from the drying effect of hot smoke and hot air during smoking and the dehydration effect of salting treatment before smoking.
