Back in our cave-dwelling days, food smoking was used to preserve food and then our ancestors discovered just how great it makes food taste. Turan T. Turan has been a passionate smoker of food for many years, teaches courses all around UK and now crystallises his knowledge in Food Smoking: a Practical Guide. Within its covers he explains the basics of cold and hot smoking; delves into the principles of combustion and explains brining and dry salt curing. He also outlines how to source wood for smoking and provides plans for building a cold smoker and smoke generators. 192 pages, £11.95. Buy from our partner, the Centre for Alternative Technology.