Translated by Christian Kaberg

Akta Mat Sweden Issue 3 2015

52 äkta mat nr 3 2015

52 I äkta matI nr 3 2013 – Taken from Akta Mat (Sweden) Issue 3 2015

Translated by Christian Kaberg

Akta Mat Sweden Issue 3 2015

A bright idea led to an innovative and new way to cold smoke food. Akta Rok

has applied for patent for its unique method.

No smoke without souls of fire Have you tried smoked water? I am serious, SMOKED water! Lasse & Pia Schonemyr and their company Akta Rok (Pure Smoke) coincidentally invented a possible success of some magnitude. Sweden’s top chefs are amazed, even the smoked butter gets thumbs up.

AV JOACHIM STOKSTAD FOTO KLAS SJÖBERG

äkta mat nr 3 2015 I 53

Translated by Christian Kaberg

Akta Mat Sweden Issue 3 2015

Innovative cold smoked water

The smoked butter is still great seller, but also rapeseed oil, soy sauce and crème fraiche get comfortable “smoked notes” in the factory.

“The plant is built on location, some parts are purchased on Swedish Gumtree, others manufactured by the local blacksmith”

"The smoky taste will be really discreet, precisely just perceptible”

On a windy autumn evening in 2011, Lasse and Pia were about to cold smoke butter at home on the lot at Ingaro outside Stockholm - for delivery to World Championship Chef, Mathias Dahlgren at Grand Hôtel following day. It went horribly wrong.

- The wind was so fierce that we couldn’t get the smoke to go where we wanted, it was a crisis, to say the least. But when we stood there in the icy cold and the wind tore at Pia’s hair, I caught sight of a superannuated old machine on the site. It gave me an idea, says Lasse.

A flash of genius that proved to work so well that it is now fully operational and patent pending. The machine was an old compressed air pump. With its help, it pumps the smoke of a furnace woodchip log through long tubes until it reaches the smoke chamber. On the way you pass the smoke first through a water filter that removes particles, then cool it down.

The facility is housed in a large container and somewhat reminiscent of Professor Balthazar workshop - it shows that it is hand-built on site, by someone who knows what they want to achieve.

The Schönemyr really knows what they want, both of catering background, even though they have never visited any cold smoking facility

Pia comes from a family where almost everyone has a PhD. "In my family, we have not had a single academic," said Lasse, laughing. He calls himself "practitioner". So, he is probably the only ever without an engineering degree to spend five years as an inventor in the Chalmers Innovation in Gothenburg. It was, moreover insights from there that led to the interest for cold smoking.

They began with the cold smoked butter, prompting Mathias Dahlgren so become so delighted that he still has a standing weekly delivery. Subsequently, it has continued with organic rapeseed oil, soy sauce, mustard, chili sauce, sour cream, and most recently water, all smoked. The water came about by chance. Lasse had cleaned a smoking oven with water and forgot to open a faucet. When he later discovered he could not help but taste

We strongly believe in the water, with its diversity and usability. Take the trigger spray from the ironing board and spray a bit over the salad or the fish, just before serving. Or use it as brine and marinate meat, chicken or fish. It gets incredibly good, says Pia. A good example of the latter is salmon.

Smoked Water marinated gives the taste of smoked salmon, but with the fresh salmon's freshness and consistency. Traditionally smoked salmon has a completely different texture than fresh. One would have smoked water directly into the same vacuum packaging salmon before as it is sold in.

Translated by Christian Kaberg

Akta Mat Sweden Issue 3 2015

The water is cold smoked for four days to achieve its unique, delicate, smoky flavour. Perfect to marinate food - or ice cubes for

cocktails.

To cold smoke takes time and is labour intensive.

You can even pickle vegetables in smoked water. But even their other products are selling well and only the chefs’ imagination is the limit. Some melt the butter over lobster tails, others use it as a spread on sourdough bread, explains Pia.

Crucial to family business success, which now includes chefs like Danyel Couet (F12), Jim Löfdal (Frantzén), Stefano Catenacci (Operakällaren), Sayan Isaksson (Esperanto) and Magnus Ek (Oaxen) to those who extol Pure Smoked products, is the taste. It is palatably discreet.

Too heavily smoked products are not good, you should just sense the smoky taste. It should be like an elegant complement to the palate, says Lasse and let us taste their entire collection.

It's nothing but pleasant, subtle sensations. Try to fry an egg in cold-smoked butter, which we test after the visit to the factory in Salt Lake Boo – the subtle smoky flavour is only just perceptible. The salad dressing does not feel smoked, is just one dimension richer.

Well, you get a cold, smoking discreet charm. At this writing, Akta Rok (Pure Smoke) only sell their products through wholesalers to restaurants, but you can find them in some deli counters (Sweden only) and soon an online shop will be up and running.

We are so small that we would never be able to sell centrally across the country, although we are about to expand,

enabling us to double our production, says Lasse.

It is however time consuming to cold smoke. The water takes the entire four days. Fat, which easily attracts flavour, is faster. The oil requires twelve hours, butter four. But smoking still requires regular maintenance, so it is labour intensive.

Almost all fixtures and equipment, from the container to the giant butter whisk and laboratory equipment, was purchased second-hand, often via Gumtree. And if necessary, modified.

Tumbling of sawdust of alder, apple and cherry in Gotland beer wort, although their own idea as to give the smoke a character of its own, takes place in an ordinary cement mixer. Right on!

The fact that we have done everything ourselves, and purchased second hand, meant low cash investment. This means that the goal to achieve a commercial sustainability, feels achievable. I hope that, at best, we will even make a small profit this year, says Lasse.

Both Lasse and Pia think that they are "living their dream".

This is so fun! The response from the chefs, and the fact that products even been presented at Bocuse d'Or 2013 - is a huge kick!

Read more on www.aktarok.se

Wood chips of alder, apple and cherry tumbled with

Gotland beer wort for flavour.