Cedar Wood Cooking Sheets

Matt Lee and Ted Lee wrote about these hard–to–find grilling accessories in yesterday's New York Times magazine.

They noted that a few summers ago everyone was using big cedar planks to enhance the flavor of grilled foods but that the new new thing is six–inch square cedar paper (above) — cedar wood sliced thin and small and thus made pliable and suitable for cooking single portions.

You soak the sheet in water, then wrap whatever in it: a piece of salmon, a chunk of fresh mozzarella, a piece of pineapple or nectarine, almost anything.

You put the paper directly on your grill; the wood become charred and scorched so it can be used only once but no matter: you get a nice, smoky flavor in the food inside.

The authors noted that that Edward Lee (no relation to them), the chef at 610 Magnolia in Louisville, Kentucky, saw the cedar paper in use at a Tokyo restaurant four years ago and finally was able to obtain it in the U.S. from Korin Japanese Trading Company, "the cult restaurant supply store in Manhattan."

That's great, but what about all the people who happen to read about these cedar sheets and don't plan to be in New York City anytime soon — if ever?

Well, that's why you've got me, isn't it?

Order your cedar wood cooking sheets (100 sheets are $72) from Korin online here.