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Cold smoke cheese temperature for cheddar, fish, and bacon

Updated: 23 October 2026

You can put cheddar, salmon, and bacon in the same cold smoke, and they do not follow one rule. Cheese can stay cold and still be the thing you eat. Fish needs a cure first. Bacon is still cooked afterwards. A cold smoke generator does not make any of those foods safe on its own. The hardware rows sit on the [cold smoke generator comparison](/hub/grill-accessories/cold-smoke-generator). Peter F. set this out on 20 October 2026 from ProQ’s UK pages, GOV.UK, and Food Standards Scotland. This is not a lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

You can put cheddar, salmon, and bacon in the same cold smoke, and they do not follow one rule. Cheese can stay cold and still be the thing you eat. Fish needs a cure first. Bacon is still cooked afterwards.

Our top picks

QWORK QWORK 12 inch pellet tube

Best overall

QWORK QWORK 12 inch pellet tube
6.6/10about £8.99
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ProQ ProQ Original maze

Rank 2

ProQ ProQ Original maze
7.8/10about £34.99
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DOBADN DOBADN hose pump

Alternative

DOBADN DOBADN hose pump
6.2/10about £46.99
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On this page
  1. 1.Cheddar without melting it
  2. 2.Why 21°C and 30°C both appear
  3. 3.Salmon and the official limits
  4. 4.Bacon is still cooked

Cheddar without melting it

ProQ’s cheddar method uses about 500 g of mature cheddar, in pieces of about 1 inch (roughly 25 mm), with the generator at least 30 cm below the cheese, for about two to three hours. They say not to attempt it above 30°C. Wrap it and rest it in the fridge overnight, or longer. Oak is the wood they suggest. Soft cheeses are smoked whole. Shutting the vents too far pushes the taste towards something creosote-like. The candle and the warm-box pause are on how to use a cold smoke generator.

Why 21°C and 30°C both appear

On the cheddar recipe the ceiling is 30°C. On the cold-smoking page the working line is usually below 21°C, and food comes out if the chamber rises above it. A cheese session at 25°C is still under the cheddar ceiling and already over the pause for meat and fish. Moving the food to the fridge protects the session. It does not cure the fish or cook the bacon.
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Salmon and the official limits

Cure pork and salmon before you smoke them. Cheese, butter, nuts, salt, and garlic do not need a cure. This page will not give you a salt ratio. GOV.UK’s freezing guidance, for businesses placing fish on the market, says cold-smoked fish which does not reach 60°C at the core for one minute needs −20°C for 24 hours or −35°C for 15 hours. That is not a home licence to skip the freeze, and a domestic freezer may not match a commercial one. Food Standards Scotland say freezing is not a Listeria control, and cold smoking is not a reliable kill step. Pregnant women, and people with a weakened immune system, should avoid ready-to-eat cold-smoked fish. Homemade salmon eaten without cooking is still that food.

Bacon is still cooked

Bacon and sausages are cooked before you eat them. ProQ’s recipe is a multi-day cure and a hang, then an optional smoke, then the fridge, used within five days or frozen, and cooked. Cold smoke flavours the bacon. It does not replace a pan, an oven, or a hot grill. The five-day note is for that recipe. A hose such as the DOBADN moves the fire out from under the cheese, compared on electric cold smoke generator vs maze. It does not change the 30°C ceiling or the 21°C pause.

Common questions

What temperature keeps cheddar from melting?
ProQ’s cheddar page says not to attempt the smoke above 30°C. They also place the generator at least 30 cm below the cheese, for about 500 g of mature cheddar in pieces of about 1 inch, over about two to three hours. Their other cold-smoking pages still talk about staying below 21°C and pausing above it. For cheddar, 30°C is the ceiling they print. For meat and fish, 21°C is the pause. A thermometer tells those apart.
How long do I smoke cheese?
ProQ’s figure for that cheddar method is about two to three hours, then a rest in the fridge, wrapped, overnight or longer. Oak is the wood they suggest, and soft cheeses on the same page are smoked whole. Shutting the vents too far is the mistake they link to a creosote-like taste. Leave a way for smoke to escape.
Do I cure salmon first?
ProQ say salmon is cured before it is cold smoked. Cheese, butter, nuts, salt, and garlic are the foods they list as not needing a cure. This page does not print a salt ratio. If the cure is still an open question, stop before the smoke. The generator adds flavour. It does not replace the cure, and Food Standards Scotland say cold smoking is not a reliable kill step.
Do I still freeze fish I will eat without cooking?
GOV.UK’s parasite freeze, −20°C for 24 hours or −35°C for 15 hours, is written for food businesses selling cold-smoked fish that never reaches 60°C at the core for one minute. Home cooking does not turn that business rule into a recipe, and it does not licence you to skip it. Food Standards Scotland add that freezing does not control Listeria. If you eat the salmon without cooking it, it is still ready-to-eat cold-smoked fish.
Can I eat the bacon straight from the smoker?
ProQ say bacon and sausages are cooked before eating. Their bacon method is a multi-day cure and a hang, an optional smoke, then the fridge, use within five days or freeze, and cook. The smoke is optional flavour on top of that cure. It is not the cook. Eating it from the rack skips the step their own recipe keeps. A successful maze burn is not a food-safety result.
Who should avoid ready-to-eat cold-smoked salmon?
GOV.UK’s Listeria advice says pregnant women and people with a weakened immune system should avoid ready-to-eat cold-smoked fish. A salmon you cold-smoked at home and then sliced without cooking is still that kind of food. A ProQ maze, a clean hose, or a careful 21°C chamber does not take you off that advice. This page will not call homemade smoked salmon a safer exception.

Related pages

Cold smoke generator buying guide

Cold smoke generator

Best cold smoke generator UK: who should skip a row

How to use a cold smoke generator: candle and vents

Electric cold smoke generator vs maze: heat and burn

Sources

Public UK sources used for this comparison. Listing prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures for these ASINs. Retrieved 21 October 2026.

  1. ProQ: cold smoke generator (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  2. ProQ: CSG expert guide (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  3. ProQ: cold-smoked cheese (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  4. ProQ: home-cured bacon (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  5. Sous Chef: home smokers (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  6. GOV.UK: freezing fish and fishery products (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  7. GOV.UK: Listeria (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  8. NHS: carbon monoxide poisoning (retrieved 21 October 2026)