by London Irish » 19 Jun 2012, 14:37
**************************************Important Notice regards Iroko Wood*************************************
After discussing this subject with a dendrologist in South Africa, he has advised that there has been no study of the smoking of Iroko, althought the general opinion is that it's harmless, I'd advise not to use it. I apologise for suggesting using it in the first place.
This is what he wrote...
Unfortunately we are not aware of any definitive research on the topic, and need to reserve an opinion.
Iroko is a very well-known hardwood occurring in Angola and central Africa.
The botanical name is Milicia excelsa and it is in the family of the fig trees, hence it has a slightly milky sap when fresh.
We don’t have this tree in South Africa, thus we have never used it as a braaiwood and cannot comment on properties involving carcinogenic agents.
However, being of the fig family it sounds unlikely (though not impossible).
I have also heard that Chivas regal contains carcinogenic agents, but I seem to enjoy it nevertheless.