Tosa Binchotan Charcoal

Tosa binchotan charcoal is contemporary. Indeed, its regular production began only a hundred years ago. The ubamegashi and arakashi oaks present in the mountainside forests are owned by the state or by private persons who grant the concession for given periods and areas and thus avoid disastrous deforestation. The production of binchotan requires 20 days. Wood taken from the mountains is cut into 170 cm sections. It is then placed in an oven made of earth and bricks: the "bai". This kiln is 360 cm high, 340 cm wide and 400 cm deep. The fresh wood is placed there and the fire is on. The oven door is closed, reducing the oxygen supply. The combustion is almost zero, the green wood will dry and dehydrate slowly, for 10 days. Then, the fire is activated by always limiting the supply of oxygen. The combustion is done at low temperature. This step is called carbonization and will last about 10 days. The oven temperature then reaches up to 1300 ° C and higher.
After the last 10 days, the oven door is open. Air enters and fuels combustion. This primordial step takes the name of activation or "kamadashi". The temperature at the entrance of the oven easily displays 600 to 700 ° C.
It will then take twelve hours of work to empty the incandescent furnace with special poles. The binchotan charcoalcoal is then born, almost pure carbon. By striking it, it expresses a metallic sound, even crystalline. Its density is such that it is very heavy in the hand and almost as strong as steel.
Binchotan is commonly called white charcoal because of the whitish color of its surface. This is due to rapid cooling as soon as it leaves the oven because it is covered with a clear grayish mixture of earth and sand and ash. This method stops its incandescence.

What are the strengths of binchotan ?
It is extremely dense and porous, its combustion is very slow and thus allows a use of several hours, it heats up at very high temperatures, it does not produce smoke or an unpleasant odor, it is of considerable hardness, it can be used several times unlike all other coals. Used in cooking, it gives food subtle and delicious flavors and fragrances thanks to its powerful infrared radiation. It is very popular for eels and grilled fish on the barbecue, for duck and beef ... It is a pledge of quality proven and showcased in the famous and high quality grill restaurants in Japan.
It cooks food in direct contact on its surface. The cooking is instant, and the food is not burned.