Coffee roasting class turned my kitchen into a smoke detector symphony

I tried roasting green beans in a cast iron pan on my stove last Saturday. Within 3 minutes the smoke alarm in my apartment went off, then the one in the hallway joined in. I had to open all the windows and stand outside for 10 minutes before they stopped. Has anyone else managed to roast without setting off every alarm in the building?

3 comments

3 Comments

blair_chen813d ago

Read a thing online from a coffee nerd blog that said dark roasts produce more smoke because the oils come out more. So if you're trying to get those dark French roast beans, you're pretty much guaranteed to fog up the whole place. The trick they mentioned was using a heat gun instead of a pan, way less smoke because you're not trapping the heat against the metal. Also that post said to check your bean moisture level, wetter beans steam more which makes them pop and smoke like crazy. Might be worth looking into a cheap popcorn popper too, those have good airflow so the smoke doesn't just sit there.

keith2744d ago

Oh man, I feel your pain on this one. My first try at pan roasting had my smoke detector going off so fast I thought I started a grease fire. Did you try cracking a window before you started, or turning on your stove vent? In my experience, that little bit of air flow helps some but honestly, it still sets off the detector in my kitchen about half the time. I ended up just taking the battery out of the one closest to the stove when I roast now, just remember to put it back after. Your mileage may vary, but that's the only way I've found to keep the whole building from knowing what I'm up to.

the_claire3d agoMost Upvoted

Hold on, is this really that big of a deal? I pan roast stuff all the time and my smoke detector barely cares, maybe a quick beep if I open the oven too fast. Seems like you might be cooking way hotter than needed or skipping a little oil in the pan. Might be worth checking your oven temp with a separate thermometer before you start pulling batteries.