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Making Latakia at Home

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Smokin Harley

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Bob. as I read through all 3 parts and took most of it in being a former horticulture student ( with an Associates degree !)the only thing I have to wonder about is the use of the galvanized can...I was always taught by way of experienced welders and smokers of meat anyway that galvanized metal should never be used for smoking (food) because of the zinc content which can cause a very bad gastronomic "experience" . or am I confusing the effects of welding of galvanized metal which is the actual burning off of the zinc with simple heating of the galvanized vessel?
 

deluxestogie

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That's a good question to raise about the galvanized surface.

The interior of the can doesn't really come into more than occasional, momentary contact with the tobacco. Also, the galvanized surface is quickly coated with pyrolytic resins from the smoke. That is, the interior of the can gets as black as the inside of any chimney from pine smoke. So I believe the net mass transfer is onto the surface.

Besides, the galvanized trash can is the holy grail of cheap and simple.

Bob
 

Brown Thumb

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I would think to bring the can up to a way higher temp. To burn off any unwanted thingies in there. Before use with Baccy.
like we do with the kilns we build.
 

Smokin Harley

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Bob, I have a Brinkman smoker too so I will most likely follow with that design. Heres the smokers history...It was gifted to me by my in laws , FIL cant eat smoked foods , makes him sick almost instantly. personally I think its the store bought stuff with way too many preservatives and chemical shit storms they put in the recipes for long term storage. Anyway, they tried to make stuff in it and out of 20 attempts only had one good meal out of it . So i ended up with it . It was a charcoal smoker...only I did a little electrical conversion kit of my own. Theres a local second hand store we like to go to . I found a small portable table top electric grill ,cant recall the brand . It had the electric heat element similar to the old electric charcoal starters. it also has a stainless steel drip pan. the rest was plastic and a grille top of course. the plastic was discarded and the element sits atop the grille with a little help by a block of wood under the control switch housing to keep it from tipping. I took an old cookie tin and "japaned" it for my wood chip pan,for those who dont know what that is , slow heating to the point the paint is burnt off and the tin is down to bare metal. the whole deal fits under the brinkman smoker right between two of the three feet. . I made a wind break from a piece of cardboard and this set up smokes chickens like you wouldnt believe.
Heres another idea - I've seen people convert old office file cabinets into smokers . the 2 drawers are ok for meat on a shelf or grate type rack, 4 drawer ones are nice for hanging stuff like 1 lb salami or sausage . Cover with some foam and its a nice smoke box. Bottom drawer is your fire box and the rest are smoking levels. Now, my wifes uncle is an electrician , he happens upon things all the time...I have an idea to convert one of those electrical boxes you see near traffic lights .stainless steel , two doors side by side for indirect heat or cold smoking or direct heat for hot smoking depending on damping the sides to one another, its vented and its already got the knockout on top that Id use for the damper and chimney...all Id need is a bigger heat element.
 

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I know we were taught not to breathe the fumes when welding galvanized steel. Respirators under the welding helmet. However, I don't think the temps get high enough in smoking leaf to generate the toxic fumes like welding would.
 

ChinaVoodoo

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I know we were taught not to breathe the fumes when welding galvanized steel. Respirators under the welding helmet. However, I don't think the temps get high enough in smoking leaf to generate the toxic fumes like welding would.
The melting point of zinc is 787F, and the boiling point is 1665F. This isn't a clear predictor of the temperature at which it burns, but I think it's safe to say that so long as the heat source is not in direct contact with the zinc, there will be little interaction between it, and the tobacco.
 

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I use "grandma soap" (Kirk's Coconut Castile bar soap). I have always thought that its scent was identical to one of the characteristic scents of Latakia. Many commercial Latakia blends are described on various review forums as having a "soapy" pouch aroma. The "coconut" part is just the oil that is saponified, and contributes nothing to the aroma. The manufacturer does not publicly reveal the "natural" fragrance that is added. If I knew that, I would be one step closer to making my own Latakia.

If you make pure soap in a lab experiment (titrate sodium hydroxide with any pure oil, to completely saponify the oil), there's not much aroma at all. Maybe something of a "fatty" aroma. So "soapy" simply harks back to that same added fragrance used in most soaps. That was before they started adding butt loads of nanoparticles, emollients, moisturizers, exfoliants, colorants, antimicrobials, herbal scents and other needless and possibly hazardous branding "enhancers".

Bob
 

GreenDragon

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Bob, if I were to put money on it, I would say that the scents added are lavender and mint, and that was very similar to the smell (to me) from the Latakia. At least that is what I associate with grandma soap. I'll have to sniff a bar at the grocery store this weekend to confirm my suspicion.

Coincidentally, I made a batch of lavender scented soap for a co-worker last weekend. Turned out very pretty, so I think she'll like it. Turns out lavender is a very popular scent in soaps for both men and women. Rose, however, not so much...

PS - Kirk's is taking a liberty calling it Castile soap - real castile is made with 100% olive oil only!

IMG_0054.jpg
 

GreenDragon

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Two Updates:

1) I tried out Dr. Pierce's blend tonight before dinner. I liked it, nice flavor, fairly sweet, but was amazed how dominate the Latakia presence was in relation to the small amount in the blend. I attribute this to the amount of Scotch I used in the casing - distributing the flavor throughout all the tobaccos. Next batch I will lightly mist before pressing, instead of really wetting it down.

2) I played with my essential oil collection trying to ID the "soapy" essence in the Latakia. From just smelling the bag, all I really picked up was SMOKE, phenol, and some menthol. Postulating that the alcohol from the Scotch acted as a carrier to the multitude of organic compounds, I added a tablespoon of vodka to a clump of Latakia and let it sit for 20 minutes. Definitely now had that "soapy" smell to it that I immediately noticed yesterday when I unwrapped the plug! I then alternately sniffed the bowl of Latakia and various essential oils applied to q-tips to try to find similarities. I narrowed the most prominent scents (to my nose) down to three essential oils: Lavender, rosemary, and peppermint. (Note all three have some amount of menthol in their makeup.) The lavender brought the main floral/soapiness, the rosemary some earthy notes, and the peppermint the brightness of menthol. I added a few more drops of each into a second bowl along with the q-tips, added a few drops of vodka as a carrier, and sniffed some more. I thought they were as close as I could get without an HPLC machine.

Looking for a second opinion, I brought the two bowls to my wife and asked her if she thought they smelled similar (excluding the smoke of course). Sniffing both, she immediately said yes, especially the lavender component.

Am I suggesting that they add lavender to the woods and herbs used to smoke the latakia? Nope! All I'm saying is that this mix smells similar to me. Who knows what kind of magic voodoo happens in a hot, humid environment filled with a million different VOCs, enzymes, and the local terroir. Or maybe Zeus is sitting up on Mt. Olympus just messing with us!

Cheers! Steve
 

deluxestogie

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Thank you. The real test will come from burning lavender stems or blossoms or leaves. I have never sensed a menthol scent in Latakia.

Bob
 

deluxestogie

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I have never sensed a menthol scent in Latakia.
I have two different shipments of Cyprian Latakia. One dwindling supply, which I use regularly, is WLT's original acquisition. I believe it was quite old when Don first acquired the bales. It is devoid of any menthol scent.

The second is WLT's 2017 Latakia. As I recall, Don was concerned that it didn't smell the same as the earlier shipment. At the time I judged it to be wonderful and "fresh" smelling. It's also not as crumbly as the earlier Latakia. I set it aside, and hadn't used it for blending for quite a while.

This morning, while completing a batch of Pearl of Shibam, I decided to use the newer Latakia. Sure enough, I smell a soft menthol there. It is definitely there. It is definitely not detectable in the older Latakia.

So, I have, in fact sensed menthol in Latakia in the past. But I wasn't focusing on its presence at the time, and just plain missed it. That newer Latakia--the only Latakia now available from WLT--is also distinctly "soapier" in its pouch aroma.

Thanks to @GreenDragon for nailing that one. Now I'll have to figure out the mint/lavender business.

Bob
 

deluxestogie

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To my primitive mind, if the fragrance of Latakia isn't passed to the tobacco leaves from combustion of branches, twigs, leaves, sap or blossoms, it's not real Latakia. If I want simulated, I could just purchase commercial pipe tobacco.

Bob the Old Fart
 

GreenDragon

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To my primitive mind, if the fragrance of Latakia isn't passed to the tobacco leaves from combustion of branches, twigs, leaves, sap or blossoms, it's not real Latakia. If I want simulated, I could just purchase commercial pipe tobacco.

Bob the Old Fart

Well said sir! :)

By the way, could I interest you in a bottle of our Lakeland Tobacco Topping?? LOL
 

deluxestogie

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Three interesting tidbits about lavender, with regard to Latakia:
  1. lavare is the Latin verb, "to wash". So that suggests that (at least somebody's) grandma soap contained lavender.
  2. Lavendula angustifolia, also called "English Lavender", is native to the Mediterranean basin, and is the most common of the dozens of lavender species used in making scents and essential oils.
  3. Lavendula angustifolia also contains camphor!
Looks like I'll be planting some lavender.

Bob
 
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