smokinghole
Well-Known Member
HAHA! I must have not been paying attention, well obviously.....
Latakia Production - a Quest for Details
- Thread starter deluxestogie
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"...the leaves,
as they are daily collected, being strung on threads and hung to
the roofs of the houses, which are without windows. When the
collection is finished the fumigation is begun by burning in the
houses the wood of "el Ez'r " ; the greener the wood the more
successful the fumigation. This gives the tobacco its black colour
and its almost aromatic odour. It continues till the following
April, but produces the best results in whiter, and especially
in February. When the tobacco is removed from the roofs it
is dry, and needs damping before packing."
19th century Syrian farmers may have simply hung up the green leaves high up in the smoke blackened rafters and ignored it all winter. The heating/ cooking being done with oak and other incidental materials fumigates the tobacco for the duration of the cool season. It is not out of the question- at least in my experience- that with a 15 or so foot high open beam ceiling and no chimney and no windows. The constant wintertime smoke density would be enough to create the Latakia curing.
In my way of thinking, rural 19th century Syria- open hearth/ no chimney cooking a heating is quite possible.
The thick, dense smoke just hangs there and find egress to the outside. But then again, Im a fan of 19th century English scientists. I find them to be highly rational and mostly objective observers.
as they are daily collected, being strung on threads and hung to
the roofs of the houses, which are without windows. When the
collection is finished the fumigation is begun by burning in the
houses the wood of "el Ez'r " ; the greener the wood the more
successful the fumigation. This gives the tobacco its black colour
and its almost aromatic odour. It continues till the following
April, but produces the best results in whiter, and especially
in February. When the tobacco is removed from the roofs it
is dry, and needs damping before packing."
19th century Syrian farmers may have simply hung up the green leaves high up in the smoke blackened rafters and ignored it all winter. The heating/ cooking being done with oak and other incidental materials fumigates the tobacco for the duration of the cool season. It is not out of the question- at least in my experience- that with a 15 or so foot high open beam ceiling and no chimney and no windows. The constant wintertime smoke density would be enough to create the Latakia curing.
In my way of thinking, rural 19th century Syria- open hearth/ no chimney cooking a heating is quite possible.
The thick, dense smoke just hangs there and find egress to the outside. But then again, Im a fan of 19th century English scientists. I find them to be highly rational and mostly objective observers.
I think that even a highly rational, mostly objective observer would conclude that if a human were subjected to the same smoke as the Latakia, it might be problematic. I would rank this among the other myths colonialist Europeans applied to tobacco practices that they had neither witnessed nor understood.
Bob
Bob
Three thoughts about what you wrote:
Humans were living and breathing below the layer of smoke that was slowly moving up and out of the house. Humans have lived in just such circumstances for the majority our time using fire. Approximately 70k years. So people can and do thrive in such conditions.
"colonialist Europeans"
The article didn't appear to mention colonization of Syria by Europeans. In my experience people generally dont bother concocting "myths" unless they have an interest in doing so. I can't see why these fine gentlemen would do that. Can you?
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