This is from the survivalistboards.com. Rather than post it as a quote, I just copied it to make it easier to read.
For Loose leaf chew - I recall Pap had some small wooden kegs, Plastic would probably work too, where as we stripped the tobacco off the stalks he'd choose the leaves and pin them on small nails about an inch down from the top of the keg. When he decided he had enough tobacco in one keg he'd place a small bowl of cut fruit, usually apple as we had plenty of those, in the middle and he'd sprinkle some juice on the leaves, place the lid tightly and wait about 3 days before he took the fruit out. He'd sprinkle the leaves with more juice and close it for a week or so.
In a 2 quart old pan he'd thin out molasses with some whiskey ( a cheap whiskey is OK here) and soak a lot of tips and "roughage" tobacco (this was the partial leaves or tips of the plants with very small leaves). This was covered and waited for a week also. If there was a lot of unabsorbed juice he'd add more roughage.
Now as he used his chew, he'd take a large handful of his fruited tobacco and then add in enough of his molasses to make it moist but not wet. This stood for a week or so closed in a foil pack, then he'd give us our chew. Normally we'd just mix it all at the same time as we only used apple for the most part but if you want a variety mix them separately.
You can also burn a cinnamon stick in the apple keg to effectively "smoke" the tobacco and it's quite nice. I'm sure there are many other things you can do as well.
When tobacco is "in case" it is lightly sticky and doesn't crumble as you handle it. It should feel like it is damp but not wet. The better your tobacco cases the better your plug and chew will be.
If you start making your chew and the weather turns hot, simply place it in a cool place like a root cellar to hold the case.
For Loose leaf chew - I recall Pap had some small wooden kegs, Plastic would probably work too, where as we stripped the tobacco off the stalks he'd choose the leaves and pin them on small nails about an inch down from the top of the keg. When he decided he had enough tobacco in one keg he'd place a small bowl of cut fruit, usually apple as we had plenty of those, in the middle and he'd sprinkle some juice on the leaves, place the lid tightly and wait about 3 days before he took the fruit out. He'd sprinkle the leaves with more juice and close it for a week or so.
In a 2 quart old pan he'd thin out molasses with some whiskey ( a cheap whiskey is OK here) and soak a lot of tips and "roughage" tobacco (this was the partial leaves or tips of the plants with very small leaves). This was covered and waited for a week also. If there was a lot of unabsorbed juice he'd add more roughage.
Now as he used his chew, he'd take a large handful of his fruited tobacco and then add in enough of his molasses to make it moist but not wet. This stood for a week or so closed in a foil pack, then he'd give us our chew. Normally we'd just mix it all at the same time as we only used apple for the most part but if you want a variety mix them separately.
You can also burn a cinnamon stick in the apple keg to effectively "smoke" the tobacco and it's quite nice. I'm sure there are many other things you can do as well.
When tobacco is "in case" it is lightly sticky and doesn't crumble as you handle it. It should feel like it is damp but not wet. The better your tobacco cases the better your plug and chew will be.
If you start making your chew and the weather turns hot, simply place it in a cool place like a root cellar to hold the case.
