Chapter 358: Chapter 218: Inuit Snow Hut (Part 3)

He touched the inner wall of the igloo with his hand and continued to explain, "Snow itself is a poor conductor of heat and has good insulation properties."

"However, under the continuous onslaught of sub-zero winds outside, the cold will still seep in continuously, causing the internal temperature to fluctuate drastically."

"Cold smoking isn’t just about having smoke."

"First, it’s about the efficiency of adhesion of the preservative substances, the unseen phenols, aldehydes, and acids in the smoke. These substances need to effectively adhere to the surface of the meat and penetrate inside."

"This requires a relatively stable environment with a temperature slightly above freezing. If the temperature is too low, a layer of fine ice crystals will form on the surface of the meat, greatly hindering the adhesion and penetration of smoke."

"Smoking for tens of hours might be less effective than smoking for a few hours in a stable temperature."

"If the temperature drops drastically, the saturated humidity in the air decreases, causing the water vapor in the smoke to condense into a layer of water film on the cold surface of the meat."

"This water film not only washes away the smoky flavors that have adhered but, worse, it forms a moist anaerobic environment, which is a breeding ground for some deadly bacteria!"

"Cold smoking in unstable low temperatures might not yield delicious smoked meat but rather a bacterial culture medium wrapped with smoke flavor."

"So, a perfect cold smoking must occur within a highly stable temperature range."

"Only then can the food gradually dehydrate while evenly absorbing the smoke substances, creating that rich flavor profile."

"Therefore, to achieve perfect cold smoking, one must create a ’thermostatic chamber’ capable of resisting drastic environmental changes. And that’s what we’re going to do next."

As he said this, he began the next step, which most embodied the engineering, the professionally designed part—building the inner wall.

Using the same method but with smaller snow bricks, he started constructing a parallel, lower inner wall along the wall base on the inside of the hemispherical igloo.

He built very carefully, ensuring there was a uniform gap of about fifteen centimeters between the inner and outer walls. He did not top off this inner wall but built it into a circular ring.

"Now comes the core solution to all the problems we just discussed, the double-wall structure."

He pointed at the gap between the inner and outer walls and said, "The real insulation secret isn’t the snow, it’s the still air trapped by the snow."

"Air is a poor conductor of heat, and an almost completely still layer of air is the most efficient insulating layer."

"It’s like the insulation in the walls of our modern buildings; it will greatly slow down the rate at which the severe cold from outside penetrates inside, minimizing the risk of rapid temperature drop that we were just worried about."

"I haven’t built it very high because smoke enters from the bottom and primarily circulates in the lower part of the smoke room, which is where I hang the core food area."

"I only need to ensure the temperature in this core area is highly stable, preventing ice formation on the meat surface and preventing water vapor condensation."

"Building the inner wall too high not only wastes energy and materials but might also affect the smooth discharge of smoke in the upper part."

"With the protection of this air wall, the temperature of the lower part of this smoke room can remain stably within the ideal range of a few degrees above zero most suitable for cold smoking."

"This allows perfect moisture control, enabling efficient adhesion of smoke substances and avoiding all risks."

This white hemispherical building stood quietly among the snow and wind, with only an arched entrance and a reserved chimney opening.

From the outside, it appeared to be an ordinary igloo, but from the inside, this ingenious double-wall structure had already upgraded it into a professional food processing facility.

In terms of aesthetics, it resembled a probe from another planet, filled with a geometric sci-fi beauty, immediately creating an absolutely calm working space for him.

The next step is the chimney.

He laid a few of the longest snow bricks side by side on the ice surface, extending from the center of the U-shaped snow wall bottom out two meters.

Then, he used that Damascus Hunting Knife to gradually scrape and shape a semi-circular groove in the middle of these snow bricks.

This process, although slower than using specialized tools, achieved perfect results under his precise control.

"Now we need to solve a core issue: how to prevent the chimney from melting due to residual heat in the smoke."

"We need water, and preferably warm water."

He turned and quickly walked back to the shelter, with warmth rushing towards him, and directly went to the fireplace to fetch the iron pot that had been simmering with hot water. He then returned to the snowy construction site.

The excellent thermal conductivity of the iron pot was, at this moment, a minor inconvenience, as he could feel the heat rapidly escaping, prompting him to hurry.

He steadily placed the iron pot on the snow, put on nitrile gloves, and tested the water temperature with his hand; it was still warm.

"Using warm water to make the Ice Glaze not only allows the water to better penetrate the pores of the snow bricks, forming a stronger bond but also prevents my hands from freezing instantly during the operation."

Then, he dipped his hand into the warm water and began to quickly and evenly apply it along the inner wall of the entire chimney groove.

The warm water, when in contact with the sub-zero snow bricks, almost instantly formed a thin layer of ice on their surface. He applied several layers repeatedly, with each layer becoming thicker and smoother.