Have you ever wondered how different areas in our country can cook the same food but have it come out tasting differently? When they smoke these foods, the secret is in the smoking chips that they use. I didn't know that there were several different kinds of smoke chips that can be used. I know about hickory and mesquite. The only one that we have ever used use is hickory.

There are also chips that come from these types of wood: cherry, maple, oak, ash, and alder. Some of these types of trees I have heard of, but I didn't know that you could use them to smoke food with. If you would go to different places in different parts of this country, these cities or towns will have different kinds of trees growing, so most of them will learn which ones go better with whatever kinds of food that they are cooking.

Some of these chips come soaked so that all you have to do is put them in your smoker, or put them under your coils if you are going to use a regular grill. Hickory wood is usually the best for wood chips because you will end up with the best benefit of the smoke. It has a sweet strong aroma that can also be used with other wood chips like pear or plum. Hickory chips are particularly good with ribs and pork.

Another one that is very common is mesquite because its aroma is sweet and strong with the flavor of bacon. This is perfect for when you are cooking meats such as beef, ham, or pork. Alder chips are another one. It also produces a nice delicate flavor, but this one is mildly sweet. This one would be great for smoking foods such as fish, poultry, and game birds.

If you can't find these chips soaked you can do this yourself. You can soak them in just about anything, but when you are done with this you need to put in them in a smokers box.

Here are just a few of the flavors that you can soak these chips in. You can use whiskey, beer, wine, or even just water. If you want to use them in your grill you can use them by putting them on a sheet of aluminum foil. Like I said before, place them under your coals. This will help your fire go hotter and will help your foods come out the way you want them to.