Different types of firewood produce a wide variety of smells, fragrances and flavors, and some are clearly better than others. The smell of your firewood is especially important if you’re planning a cookout, barbecue or campfire, because the aroma of the wood will have a big impact on the ambiance and the flavor of your food (if you’re cooking). So, what is the best smelling firewood?
Some of the best smelling types of firewood are Hickory, Apple, Walnut, and Cedar. Which specific wood is best, will depend on your personal preferences. Just like you enjoy some foods more than others, you will like some firewood aromas better than others.
So, to narrow down the options and to discover what specific type of firewood scent you will find most appealing, read on to the firewood categories below. Please note that the below list of woods is not ranked. All 11 of these wood types are popular for their pleasant smells, but it will be up to you to choose your own favorite.
Firewood with a Classic Smoke Smell
In this category you will find the types of trees that produce fragrances and flavors most often associated with wood smoke. If you want a classic smelling wood fire, then you can’t beat the below options.
1. Hickory
If any firewood can be described as having the fragrance of “smoke” then it’s Hickory. It has an instantly recognizable campfire smell. In fact, liquid smoke flavoring that is used in cooking, is made from condensed Hickory wood smoke.
In addition to producing a rich and wonderful aroma, Hickory is one of the best fuel woods for fireplaces and wood stoves for it’s density and heat output. According to the University of Illinois a cord of Hickory wood will produce 28.6 million BTUs of heat. For reference, under 20 would be considered low heat output and 25 and over would be considered very high.
2. Oak
Here’s another definite classic. Oak is a common wood used for campfires, wood heating, smoking meat, building furniture, and more. It’s extremely versatile. When burning oak firewood, it gives off a mild “warm-summer-night” type of smell. Oak produces a milder (less intense) version of the earthy smoke smell you would get from Hickory firewood.
Like Hickory, Oak also has great heat output and will produce 24.4 million BTUs/cord of wood. Because of it’s strong heat output, and rich but mild smell, Oak is an exceptional choice of firewood for cooking and smoking meats.
3. Mesquite
Mesquite has a very unique scent and flavor that is pretty recognizable. It’s somewhat strong, and a little bit tangy. In fact, you probably already associate the word Mesquite with barbecue (perhaps you’ve had mesquite BBQ chips, which I am a big fan of). Those delicious Mesquite flavors come (at least partially) from the smoke of mesquite wood.
Now, I wouldn’t describe mesquite as a “typical” smoke smell. However, because it is so strongly associated with barbecue flavors and smells, I thought it still made since to include it in the category of classic smoke smells.
4. Alder
Alder wood produces a scent that is somewhat similar to Oak, but it is comparatively light and sweet smelling. Alder is classified as a hardwood, like Oak, Hickory and Mesquite. However, Alder is much softer and will burn more quickly.
As a result, Alder is great for aromatic campfires that you want to burn out relatively quickly (so you don’t have to wait up or forcibly put it out with water). If you’re cooking, you might use alder for cooking or smoking fish rather than heartier red meats.
Firewood with a Sweet Fruity Smell
This category includes a couple of the most popular (and best smelling) fruit woods. Just about any fruit tree you can think of, will produce a pleasant smell when burned. So, if you’re looking to try another fruit wood that’s not included on this list, there’s a good chance it will also smell good. The three below were selected because they are arguably the most aromatic, most popular and they come from fairly common tree species’.
5. Apple
Ever heard of applewood smoked bacon? If yes, then you’ve probably guessed how they make it. Apple wood is a popular choice for smoking meat, because it produces a light and sweet flavor. The fragrance of the smoke is similar, because the smell is mild and a little sweet.
Have you ever cooked apples? Maybe an apple pie? Or stewed apples for making apple sauce? If yes, then you can expect the smoke from apple wood to produce a similar smell. If this sounds wonderful to you, well, that’s because it is. Apple is also among the longest-burning types of firewood in America.
6. Cherry
Cherry firewood is famous for it’s unique and pleasant smell. The fragrance is a bit richer and more tangy compared to Apple. After smelling Cherry wood smoke once, you’ll be able to identify it immediately in the future. This is why Cherry is a popular choice for favorite campfire aromas.
It’s also interesting to mention that Cherry wood is popular for woodworking, due to it’s beautiful grains and rich blended red colors. Although a fire isn’t the same as woodworking, you can still enjoy the fact that in addition to great smells, Cherry wood is visually beautiful.
7. Pear
The smell of Pear wood is similar to Apple in many ways. It is mildly sweet and light. The main difference between the two is the fruit scent. With Apple, the smoke smells mildly of Apples (go figure). But with Pear, the smoke smells mildly of Pear. Otherwise, these two types of wood are quite similar in their fragrance. If you are planning to use the wood for cooking or smoking, Apple is a bit more popular and is generally easier to find.
Firewood with a Rich Nutty Smell
We’ve covered the classics and the fruity smells, and now we’re entering new territory. In this section you’ll find firewood that comes from nut trees. These tend to be dense hardwoods with a deeper earthy aromas.
8. Walnut
What an all around wonderful wood. Walnuts are delicious, the board wood is arguably the most prized species of wood among woodworkers, and it is an exceptional firewood. It has excellent heat output, at about 22.2 million BTUs/cord, and a very pleasant smoke aroma.
Similar to Hickory, Walnut produces a deeper earthy smell. But the scent of burning Walnut also has a distinct, yet subtle, sweetness to it. Think about how the flavor of a Walnut is mild and earthy, but with a slightly sweet twang to it. The smell of Walnut smoke resembles that sensation.
9. Pecan (Hickory)
First thing’s first, a Pecan tree is technically a type of Hickory tree. If you want to get scientific, Pecan is a part of the genus Carya, which is the Hickory genus. This is where this gets interesting, because although Pecan is technically a Hickory tree, it is often considered to have it’s own unique aroma.
This distinction is most noticeable when it comes to cooking and smoking meats, because Pecan wood is typically considered to have a more intense sweet flavor, compared to the more classic Hickory smell.
Firewood with a Crisp Fresh Smell
Alright, now we’re going to cover a couple types of firewood that you may have been expecting to see since the beginning. Both of these trees are conifers, and they both have a strong and pleasant smell that is used or mimicked commercially (e.g. air fresheners, moth balls, etc.).
10. Cedar (Juniper)
I’m from the Midwest United States, where we have Eastern Red Cedar. This type of Cedar is also called an aromatic Cedar, and it produces the best smelling campfire smoke I’ve ever experienced. It is light, sweet, rich, and makes you feel fresh just by having smelled it.
Cedar has also been used for building and woodworking in the past, so if you’ve ever seen a piece of old furniture that (for some reason) smells amazing, there’s a decent chance it was made of Cedar.
11. Pine
Arguably the most widely recognized firewood smell, Pine produces a crisp and sweet aroma that reminds you of Christmas time. Pine is a relatively light softwood, and tends to burn quickly like Cedar and Alder. Along with the great fresh smell, this makes pine an excellent firewood for campfires in the summer, spring or fall (e.g. when it’s warm enough to sit outside without getting too cold).
Bad Smelling Firewood to Avoid
In addition to the 11 wonderful smelling woods mentioned above, you’ll want to keep an eye out for the 4 types of woods below, which can smell absolutely disgusting!
1. Buckeye
The Buckeye is a relatively common tree in the Midwestern United States. It is an attractive tree that produces interesting seeds, which are known as buckeyes (any Ohio State fans out there?). Despite it’s popularity, it is poor firewood due to it’s atrocious smell. Probably the best way to describe the aroma, is the smell of road kill.
2. Ailanthus
Ailanthus trees are native to Asia. The Ailanthus tree is an invasive species that is now also prevalent in parts of North America, and it is terrible for firewood. Ailanthus and Buckeye actually smell relatively similar when burned. My Dad once described the smell of these two trees as being somewhere between the smell of a skunk and a rotting animal. Not very pleasant.
3. Elm
Elm firewood doesn’t inherently smell bad. But here’s the problem, Elm wood has a habit of absorbing the smell of whatever it’s growing around. If you cut down an Elm tree that was growing near a septic line, then burning it will literally smell like crap. As a result, you’ve got to keep an eye on where the Elm is coming from before burning it.
4. Silver Maple
Silver Maple is on here for the same reason as Elm. Silver Maple takes on the smell of what it is growing around. Silver Maple wood doesn’t always smell bad and it can make decent firewood, but before adding it into your firewood pile, take a minute to think about where it’s growing.
The Smell Test Challenge
There you have it, 11 incredibly fragrant and wonderful smelling types of firewood (plus 4 to avoid). Keep in mind that the best smelling firewood is dependent on your own personal preferences. My personal favorite is probably Cedar firewood, but Hickory, Cherry, Walnut, and the others are great as well.
The Challenge: I’d encourage you to do a little experimenting. Try to test at least one type of wood from each of the 4 categories mentioned above, and rate them 1-10 (for your personal preference). If you have access to plenty of wood, then I’d suggest starting with the following: Hickory, Apple, Walnut, and Cedar.
That’s all for now, have fun with the challenge!
