Charcoal

CHARCOAL BRIQUETTES are the workhorse of backyard barbecues, but some brands contain coal dust, furniture trimmings, borax, and petroleum binders. (If you must use briquettes, try to find pure wood briquettes, which are sold at natural foods stores.)

LUMP CHARCOAL, also known as CHARWOOD, is made from whole logs that are burned in a kiln, then broken into chunks, but otherwise left in their natural state, with no binders or fillers. Most charcoal grill aficionados prefer the purity of lump charcoal.