I need to give "props" to Drifter, a friend from Montana, as it was Jim who started me on this part of my pipe journey a decade ago. As I remember it, my first test batch was Greg's Bohemian Scandal, and all was well in my Tobacco World from that point on.
Vacuum Canning Pipe Tobacco
The Desertpipe Method
Whenever this subject gets brought up, there are some that would debate even the desirability of using a method of long term storage that actually involved using heat to vacuum seal tobacco in glass jars. I have been using this method for over a decade. There have been numerous personal tests using tobacco from the same bulk bag, and using numerous pipe smokers to evaluate the outcomes.
What has become clear to me is the following -
Tobaccos with high Virginia content, vacuum sealed, start aging immediately and get better, in my opinion, faster then any other method I have tried.
Aromatics seem to change little, no matter what method I used.
Both Latakia and Perique tobaccos seem to mellow and become softer and more integrated, with long term vacuum storage.
Burley tobacco blends get darker and seem to taste richer with vacuum storage, but it takes a long time. Some of the best Burley blends I have tried have been those vacuum sealed for a decade or three.
Vacuum Canning Tobacco -
Supplies needed or used – Canning jars with new lids, labels, a pan large enough to submerge the size jars being used, some form of water the contains no chlorine (I use gallon bottled water), tongs to handle hot jars and lids, and a second pan of water with cool, not cold, water.
I use mason jars with two piece lids, and prefer wide mouth in three sizes. I now usually can at least two pounds of tobacco at the same time, as I find that is the most efficient way to use my time and resources. When I first started, I canned smaller amounts as part of the learning process. The choice of jar size is a personal preference. Using smaller jars for flakes and mid sized jars for loose blends gives me workable amounts when I open them for use. I use large quart jars for blending tobaccos, and home blends that I want to age for long periods of time. I might re-can these at a later time, for storage in my cellar.
Wash all the jars and lids, rinse well and dry.
Heat the water in the pan, and submerge the jars in the water. I bring the pan to a boil, and have 4 jars in the water at one time. Using the tongs, I pull one jar out of the boiling water and drain out the excess water. I fill the jar to just short of the top with tobacco, and do not completely compress the tobacco, but rather think of it as filling a pipe – springy, when done. I dip the lid in the boiling water, and making sure the rim of the jar is free of tobacco pieces, place the lid on the jar and lightly set the ring. Do not tighten at this point.
I then dip the jar, short of the lid, back into the boiling water using the tongs. This process is all done quickly. I have found that if I did not preheat the jars, some would crack when filled with tobacco and dipped into the hot water. This last dip is simply to heat the jar itself, and thus the air in the jar. I never leave the jar in the water long enough to heat the tobacco....it is a quick dip. Placing the jar on a clean dish towel, I set the ring of the lid tight and then repeat the process. When the 4 jars are finished, I dip them in the cooling pan, and set them aside. I repeat the process until the tobacco is gone. I then immediately label the jars....maybe it is just old-timers setting in, but there is nothing more discouraging then canning 2 similar tobaccos at the same time, and not getting them labeled right. I put the name of the Manufacturer, the tobacco blend, the date and the word “canned”. For short term storage (not canned) I differentiate by using the word “jarred” on the label.
Having practiced for almost a decade, my success rate on having the button on the lid depress immediately after cooling is now almost 100 percent. The very few that do not depress immediately are monitored, and usually depress within 48 hours. At that point, I will open those that do not depress the button, and find that I did not get the rim totally free of tobacco bits before setting the lid. This now never happens, as I am super careful to avoid this simple mistake.
Now comes the hard part.....put then into your cellar and forget them. Do this once a month, and you will see the cellar grow and your piece of mind with it. I have never had a bad result with this method of storage. No mold, no dry tobacco, just the wonder of tasting the tobacco years later and the changes wrought....a wonderful treat.
) do about 12 quart jars at a time. Thanks for posting!
