Best Firewood Based on Aroma

[woodbooga]

I split my firewood in my dooryard, about 15 feet from the kitchen ell where our stove is.

One of my favorite fringe benefits of heating and cooking with wood is the smell of the woodsmoke emanating from the chimney. The evergreen goodness of an early season pine fire. The rootbeer aroma of birch for a mid-November blaze. The smell of cherry and other fruitwoods later in the season. Even smoke from a deep winter burning of red oak, ash, rock maple, or beech have a certain charm.

What's your favorite?

 

[Laird]

Sassafras

Nothing unpleasant about sassafras except it's burn time.

 

[dingeryote]

I hate Sassafrass. The stuff constantly tries to take over my farm field.

So when I throw a chunk on the fire and smell it burning, I kinda chuckle a little.

Burning blueberry cane trimmings has a nice aroma as well.

Lopped into 2' lengths the stuff makes for good starter wood.


Merry Christmas!
Dingeryote

 

[Joshlaugh]

I like cherry. Cutting it, splitting and burning. It smells great all around.

 

[Grace Tree]

I like sugar maple if it's dry when it's burnt. Locust has a unique smell that's good in small doses. Men are ruled by their olfactory system. A while back I was driving down my street and I saw my neighbor with his wood splitter holding up a split piece and taking a good long sniff. When he saw me he knew he'd been busted and we had a good laugh. I don't think I'll ever see a woman doing that.
Phil

 

[385xp9106]

black berch an apple an cherry are the best smeeling wood to cut..water popple an oak smeel like crap

 

[woodbooga]

I like cherry. Cutting it, splitting and burning. It smells great all around.

I didn't even think of green aroma at time of splitting. In which case popple, red oak, and a few others enter the mix.

I like the unique odor or red oak when splitting. Not exactly universally-beloved like fresh-cut grass or coffee in the morning. Kind of the dendro-olfactory equivalent of licquorice, Moxie, or the music of the Greatful Dead. Acquired tastes that, once gotten, you just love. 2-cycle exhaust and the smell of the attic of an antique hose fall into this category for me.

 

[WVwoodsman]

My two favorites are oak (red & white) and cherry.

 

[willsaw4beer]

This is a tough one to call, I'd like to say cherry. But oaks, sugar maple, and black birch(good ol wintergreen smell) all smell good too. Not that I burn any softwoods but the Christmas tree smells pretty good too...

 

[whiting-5]

being from the desert when we moved to tn. i will never forget coming up the mountain at night and smelling fires burning mostly oak it was awsome!!! hickory close second ... now when my bbq smoker is loaded with hickory and loaded with babyback ribs and pork butts after couple of hours that is truly heaven.

 

[sawinredneck]

I like the smell of Walnut when burning.
I love the smell of Oak when splitting. When it's just right, it smells like a good bourbon, mmmmmmmm, love spliting that stuff!!

 

[Paso One]

I guess its whats avaialble in your area. Some of the favourites mentioned above I've never smelt them burning. Birch #1 Ash # 2 Oak # 3

 

[acer saccharum]

Cherry and white oak are some of my favorites. I think white oak and red oak smell completely different and I dislike red oak. Black birch has that nice peppermint aroma also.


Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays to all

 

[OilHead]

Cedar. Fast & E-Z to cut . Both my neighbors commented on how good it was smelling around here.

 

[wdchuck]

ash, elm(dry,dry,dry), cherry.

 

[stihl sawing]

Pecan has a nice aroma when burned, Also like the smell of hickory.

 

[Woodcutteranon]

I love the smell of Elm...with the bark still on. Does anyone ever notice the wiff of babypowder when you throw an elm log on the fire?

 

[bluequill56]

Cherry and hickory are my favorites. But NOTHING beats the smell of cooking ribs over a combination of apple, cherry, hickory and white oak.

 

[Austin1]

Okay don't laugh at me I like the smell of Poplar& Aspen burning! I don't like the smell of it when wet and I am splitting it. Green pine of course smells great when splitting I even put A chunk of it in my truck to get rid of that wet dog smell.

 

[Brushwacker]

I enjoy the smell of a majority of the wood I split . I've let cherry season a year before splitting and like its aroma as well or better then most. To me it smells sweet. But I have other favorites to : sassafrass,white oak,red cedar...
Burning wood,I have a fondness for the smell of pines and firs which capture my memories of 2 winters in the beautful mountains in northeastern WA and living in a 12x12' cabin without electric.