Buy Tobacco Leaf Online | Whole Leaf Tobacco

Honey in casings

chillardbee

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 29, 2013
Messages
884
Points
63
Location
Chilliwack BC, Canada (south western Canada)
I have started using Honey in my casing recipe. I'm not using it to replace the invert sugar that I use but to replace a certian percentage or to add on top of my existing recipe. My basic recipe has been-

For 1Kg of tobacco-
35g invert sugar
35g glycerine
3g potassium sorbate
1/2 teaspoon of sodium bi-carbonate

Both invert sugar and glycerine are both sweetners and are hydroscopic. Honey might be able to replace both of those since it shares the same properties. Honey, however, is a lot sweeter then either of the afore mentioned so it maybe better to use less. I will be trying a few more small scale recipes to see how end products turn out.

One thing I'd like to note is that there is a huge difference between store bought honey and honey from your local beekeeper (as long as he hasn't pasturized it either). I will be using my own unpasturized honey for these experiments. There are two properties of unpasturized honey that I think may have a benifit as a casing for tobacco-

1) Natural unpasturized honey is loaded with enzymes. It's hard to say whether these enzymes will have the same effect on the sugars in tobacco as they did for the sugars in nectar but it will be intresting to see the results. Obviously the enzymes in tobacco that are responsible for the aging process are different then those in honey but if they have somewhat the same effect, that would be good to know to either speed up the aging or replace the enzymes after toasting.

2) Unpasturized honey has natural yeasts in it. This may actually be more of a deterant then anything since they consume sugars. A high moisture cased tobacco could ferment making the product smelling quite yeasty or wine like with alcohol over tones, which may not be to bad depending on the effect on the flavour. for some reason, the little I've tried like this has tasted great but more experemints are needed.

So I will post my experiments and results as I try them on here. feel free to try honey case recipes and post here if you like, I'd be intrested in for findings as well.

Will.
 

DonH

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2012
Messages
1,609
Points
0
Location
Massachusetts
I've used it to good effect in pipe tobaccos. I think it may also inhibit mold. Tastes good, too.
 

Jitterbugdude

Moderator
Founding Member
Joined
May 22, 2011
Messages
4,266
Points
113
Location
Northeast Maryland
Honey can vary drastically from floral source to floral source. Honey is basically a mix of fructose and glucose. The ratio is different for each floral source so your honey, added to tobacco might have a different affect than mine... Sounds like another experiment brewing.
 

istanbulin

Moderator
Founding Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2012
Messages
1,290
Points
66
Location
Stockton, CA
I've used it to good effect in pipe tobaccos. ... Tastes good, too.

I agree it's really good in pipe blends but my favorite is carob molasses. I think both honey and carob molasses (or extracts) can be used in cigarette blends too, some casing recipes have both others have one of them (generally carob).
 

Freeotatv

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2014
Messages
206
Points
18
Location
Ga
Curious..seems like a high percentage of glycerine...do you notice a bit of a glycerine bite.....?

i find glycerine tends to offer a bit of a bite to casing and greatly reduced the percentage in casings
 

chillardbee

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 29, 2013
Messages
884
Points
63
Location
Chilliwack BC, Canada (south western Canada)
Curious..seems like a high percentage of glycerine...do you notice a bit of a glycerine bite.....?

i find glycerine tends to offer a bit of a bite to casing and greatly reduced the percentage in casings

The percentage by weight is 3.5% but 1Kg of dry tobacco is a lot of volume. Since using it, I've noticed an improvement in both taste and texture.
 

Gdaddy

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2014
Messages
675
Points
43
Location
Lake Mary, Fl
Curious..seems like a high percentage of glycerine...do you notice a bit of a glycerine bite.....?

i find glycerine tends to offer a bit of a bite to casing and greatly reduced the percentage in casings

Interesting you should say that. I've given up on glycerin. Used as a topping on the leaves I've come to the conclusion that most all sugar and glycerin and my most recent experiment using honey only brings a sweetness before burning. It brings out a delicious smell prior to lighting but when it's burned it turns acrid and doesn't taste good. The sweetness doesn't convey in the smoke. However, I did find that licorice root is the sweet treat. 50 times sweeter than sugar. Due to it's carcinogenic nature I didn't continue using it but it did give a delightful sweetness in the smoke.
 

Matty

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2012
Messages
698
Points
28
Location
Sherbrooke, Quebec
My experience with honey on tobacco indicated to me that honey alone is sufficient as a humectant. One time while experimenting I applied a bit too much honey. The tobacco never really dried always maintaining a damp to wet feeling. After a month or more of sitting right out in the open it finally dried but remained pliable. It also burnt a bit strange with too much honey and caused a bit of lung irritation. Generally I don't use casings or toppings for cigarette tobacco but it is fun to play around with once in awhile.
 

DonH

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2012
Messages
1,609
Points
0
Location
Massachusetts
My experience with honey on tobacco indicated to me that honey alone is sufficient as a humectant. One time while experimenting I applied a bit too much honey. The tobacco never really dried always maintaining a damp to wet feeling. After a month or more of sitting right out in the open it finally dried but remained pliable. It also burnt a bit strange with too much honey and caused a bit of lung irritation. Generally I don't use casings or toppings for cigarette tobacco but it is fun to play around with once in awhile.
That's true. Honey will soak up moisture from the air. It does it in baked goods, too.
 

Freeotatv

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2014
Messages
206
Points
18
Location
Ga
Agreed to recent comments...i only put a drop of glycerin in my mix...like eyedrop. I dont think i need it but i have 2 bottles so.....
Imo when you only case a a lb or 2 at a time you dont need a humectant....why add more chems

i also dont like the bite that glycerine adds...if you taste glycerine ..it has a bite and warming effect to your tongue

i think the licorice extract adds a neutral taste to offset sweetness.
Y current casing recipe is in my diy casing posted recently...it works well

i use tangerine emulsion from amazon in lieu of the fruit extract....
I find it
is best to leave the casing to sit for a week for the flavours to mellow/even out

licorice is also a natural stimulant ...from what ive read...

gdaddy ...where did you get your licroice root and was it powder or liquid extract.
 
Top