Fermenting water bath

[graytobacco]

Hey, so I’m a little confused. I’ve been reading and although I air cured my tobacco leaves I think I still need to ferment them if I’m going to smoke it. I already smoked it and it tasted good and hit well but will ferment if you guys thinks that’s best? I don’t have a kiln and am working on a minimal budget as a college kid who does this as a hobby. Are the leaves okay to smoke even though I didn’t ferment they don’t smell like ammonia and smell quite nice actually. Any ideas on how to quickly ferment these on a cheap budget? I was thinking maybe a water bath. Keep them in the jars and put them in a slow cooker and let them cook for about 4-6 hours. Has anyone had any experience with this and would it work? I found the method on a random growing site. Eventually when I get my own house in a couple of years with my own land I’ll build a kiln but right now I live my grandma and having the tobacco in pots is a comprise lol. No way she would let me build a kiln in her backyard.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

First, if you already like your tobacco, there's no need to do anything to it.

I have vague memory of leaving tobacco in jars in a slow cooker for 24 hours and being happy with the result, but I honestly don't recall it having a major impact beyond making more of a brown cavendish with a broader palate.

You wouldn't call it fermenting though. Fermenting engages enzymatic processes in the tobacco that happen at lower temperatures. 212° is a cooking or steaming process that causes complex chemical reactions. Sure, try it. You're not going to ruin it unless you're really particular.

 

[Knucklehead]

Is there any way to mellow out shredded tobacco ?

Muggs, Is you burley from the 2018 season? Has it been kilned? If the answers are yes and no, respectively, then you're just smoking the stuff way too soon. Bob Yes,the burley turn dark drown.smells wonderful.im smoking this straight, An it make me cough, an has an bitter after taste. I...

fairtradetobacco.com

Curing, Fermentation, Aging, Kilning? Basic Definitions

Curing Tobacco When you begin with leaf from the field (primed or stalk-cut), and then allow it to convert from a living leaf to a dead leaf (of yellow or brown), you have cured the leaf. Often in this forum, we refer to this as "color-curing". There are a number of methods for color-curing...

fairtradetobacco.com

 

[graytobacco]

First, if you already like your tobacco, there's no need to do anything to it.

I have vague memory of leaving tobacco in jars in a slow cooker for 24 hours and being happy with the result, but I honestly don't recall it having a major impact beyond making more of a brown cavendish with a broader palate.

You wouldn't call it fermenting though. Fermenting engages enzymatic processes in the tobacco that happen at lower temperatures. 212° is a cooking or steaming process that causes complex chemical reactions. Sure, try it. You're not going to ruin it unless you're really particular.

Hey thank you so much for responding! I was just making sure I wasn’t smoking something that would make sick because main reason I’m growing is just trying to make it as organic as possible. Lol would really mess me up if I was growing this to try to say screw you to big tobacco and me and all my friends got lung disease cause I did something wrong. Thank you I will try it with one of the jars and then try it and see if I wanna do it with the others. But if it makes my product better overall I wanna do that. Thank you again for responding i appreciate it!

 

[graytobacco]

Is there any way to mellow out shredded tobacco ?

Muggs, Is you burley from the 2018 season? Has it been kilned? If the answers are yes and no, respectively, then you're just smoking the stuff way too soon. Bob Yes,the burley turn dark drown.smells wonderful.im smoking this straight, An it make me cough, an has an bitter after taste. I...

fairtradetobacco.com

Curing, Fermentation, Aging, Kilning? Basic Definitions

Curing Tobacco When you begin with leaf from the field (primed or stalk-cut), and then allow it to convert from a living leaf to a dead leaf (of yellow or brown), you have cured the leaf. Often in this forum, we refer to this as "color-curing". There are a number of methods for color-curing...

fairtradetobacco.com

Thank you for these links I’ll save them it was definitely a good read!

 

[deluxestogie]

China Voodoo's Carotte Method

In response to a relatively common concern: No way she would let me build a kiln in her backyard View: https://youtu.be/EgWb6ZvqE90?si=CVpByWf7WCoGeOBr If you want it to ferment, you'll want it to be more moist than what I have in the video.

fairtradetobacco.com

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

all my friends got lung disease

I don't think anyone can OR SHOULD make definitive claims about comparative health effects between different tobaccos as this is not the place for that.

But, to the spirit of what you said, the function of aging or fermenting is to enhance the subjective experience of smoking.