Is this oak?

[TheMidnightRider]

I cut down a tree earlier this week, and its leaves appeared to be oak, but I'm not to experienced with trees. I cut it open, and while it was a beautiful wood, im wondering if this is what oak is supposed to look like. Here is my best description (sorry no digital camera):

Grey bark, about 1/4 in thick and smooth (young tree)
Just inside the bark, it is a very light color, very sort of wiggly texture(for lack of a better word)
cross section it is light towards the outside and fades to a dark red in the center.

I was pretty convinced by the leaves, but I had always thought oak was a dark brown wood.

Thanks all who answer.

[Tater]

Well I bet if ya used google you could find what a white oak tree looked like the wood also.

[golden pond]

Well there's two common oaks, ones white, the other red.

[TheMidnightRider]

guess i was wrong with the brown thing, huh?

thanks for your replies, sorry bout the stupid qestion, figured i ougta get a second opinion rather than getting dead from thewrong wood.

[junkyard dawg]

well, your not likely to get dead from the using some other wood, but you might not like the flavor you get.

[The Chemist]

Oak furniture is often stained dark brown, but the wood, especially from white oak is quite light. Go by the leaves. Be aware, also, that oaks hybridize freely, so the leaves may not look "just like" anything!! Just look for the "ballpark".

[level Joe]

It can be very hard to tell the difference between red and white oak, almost impossible after it’s finished.
I’ve seen white oak that is a darker color than red. I don’t know where the names came from (maybe the bark?) but it aint from the color of the wood.

[Spierdolony]

My "bible" Wikipedia has a page with alright pictures on it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

If that isn't comprehensive enough then google it offcourse.

But for a more precise opinion just take a sample the leaves and bark to a local nursury or ask someone with training in aboriculture like a tree surgeon.

better yet use it anyway with only a couple bottles worth of produce and see what happens.

You may get lucky and find a new flavour that you like.

After all the majority of scientific discoveries were accidents.

[stil_chillin]

If you compare the leaves of a red and a whiteoak i believe the red oak will have pointed edges and the white oak will have rounded edges

[golden pond]

White oak bark is grey in color and thin in thickness, red oak bark is close to being black and is thick and quite course.

[AllanD]

Depending on what part of the country you are in there are several possible Oak species...

SFAIK White Oak is the only north american species useful for making barrels., but I could be wrong....

Yellow Oak (aka "Chestnut Oak", from the shape of the leaves) is probably too tannic.

Red Oak and Black oak... well I can say from my experience in using both of them for firewood is that I wouldn't want to drink anything that came into contact with either red or black oak as both smell literally like urine
as they are drying, (black oak smells like the worst "Behind the liquor store ghetto alleyway" you are likely to encounter when it is freshly cut
and the smell returns if it is wetted) while OTOH White oak actually smells pretty good, a woody, vanilla aroma....

as for the Southern and California Species of Live oak? never met one
so I couldn't say... some idea of the general geographic region you live in would allow narrowing the possibilities...

AllanD