Can we scatter the charcoal ash in the garden? The answer is surprising and shocking.

Charcoal used for grilling can be made traditionally from wood alone, while briquettes usually contain a lot of additives. Charcoal burners used to be a common sight in our forests. Those practicing this traditional occupation made charcoal, and this craft flourished in the 19th century, particularly near blast furnaces, because high-quality steel production required charcoal. Today, we mostly encounter this material when we want to grill. The best types of wood for making charcoal are hornbeam, beech, ash, and cherry. Charcoal burners essentially create pure charcoal from wood in a very refined manner. A smaller pit is sufficient for burning roughly 80 cubic meters of wood; they cover the generous 3-meter-high pile of wood with soil and then light it on top. It is slowly burned for 8–12 days, then left to rest for a day. Essentially, the wood is kept at its ignition point in an oxygen-poor environment during this period to remove organic materials, thus creating pure charcoal. We ...