At Parallel Post we traditionally used the smoking process to inject flavor into different cuts of meat and varieties of fish. We’d play with the temperature, rubs and wood chips to offer flavor variations on the same protein. However, we recently started playing with other ingredients and now we experiment with just about anything—including fruits, such as pears and apples, and hardy cheeses, such as blue and cheddar. The smoky finish on cheese adds depth to our burger and balances out the sweet caramelized onions that we put on top. We roll the extra labor cost of smoking the cheese into the burger price, but we can upcharge when a specialty ingredient such as smoked fruit is used to enhance a menu item.