Steve wrote:Based on incomplete knowledge of the ingredients list one can only hypothesise about what the cause of the phantom yellow ash is.
I quite agree. If you don't know what's causing an ash to be yellow, or for that matter white, it's completely unfair to comment or judge either way.
Steve wrote:However, one can take other factors into account, such as the ash colour being unique when compared against reputable products and whilst there is nothing to say this is a bad thing, if one finds the smell unpleasant in comparison to other products and the burn time is longer than other products that use charcoal dust and starch then there is enough to draw a logical conclusion that these briquettes contain something different.
Again, I quite agree. If the ash is yellow and other ash is white, it's probably because the briquettes contain something different. But please note, as well as 'reputable' briquettes creating white ash, so do all of the 'unreputable' ones.
As I suspect that pretty much all briquettes are made up of different things this has absolutely no impact whatsoever.
What evidence do you have that the thing causing the yellow colour is any more or less dangerous than any other briquette additive?
Steve wrote:At this point logic becomes less important and it becomes more about personal taste. If they smell bad to an individual then it is perfectly reasonable to reject them.
Logic is never unimportant, but that doesn't mean I don't have a lot of sympathy with this view. Indeed,I agree. If yellow ash puts you off, then it puts you off.
De gustibus non est disputandum.Steve wrote:If one cannot find information about what may burn to produce yellow ash then their attitude to risk may dictate whether they choose to expose their food to said chemicals.
But all briquettes contain 'unnatural' ingredients (in other words something other than charcoal). Your point only holds up if you apply the same logic to white ash. I don't know if you know this, but mushy peas are naturally brown, They're only green because of food dye, put there because the manufacturers think that people will only think of peas being green. You know, in the same way they think of ash as white.
Maybe all briquettes should leave a yellow ash and they put a dodgy chemical in it to make it white for that reason - a chemical Weber leave out. I'm not saying that's the case, I'm just saying that
not knowing what causes the ash to be yellow isn't a factor in buying this product, because you also have no idea what makes other briquette's ash white.
And by the way, why have you automatically assumed it was a chemical?
But of course, as we've just read, we now know why it's yellow. Because of a 'natural' ingredient.
But of course that's all rubbish anyway; there's absolutely nothing natural about any form of charcoal - lump or briquettes. It's produced in a completely artificial way which is almost impossible to replicate in nature. Dog poo is a more 'natural' ingredient than lump charcoal...but I know what I'd rather burn.
Great discussion by the way - best wishes.
Steve W