Smoking is the process of curing, cooking, or seasoning food by exposing it for long periods of time to the smoke from a wood fire. "Hot smoking" is a several-hours-long process that can be used to fully cook raw meats or fish, while "cold smoking" is an hours- or days-long process that is generally used to preserve or flavour foods (usually meats or fish, but sometimes cheeses, vegetables, fruits, and even beer).