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aging/curing questions

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davek14

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I have a few questions as to curing. I've been buying leaf and I grew 4 plants this year. I've aged tobacco in the past by just putting it in a box in the basement and forgetting about it. A few years will make Kentucky Burley good. Now I have some fresh leaf, and also some of the leaf I've purchased has not been aged well. Some seems like it needs just a little more aging and I also (foolishly) purchased a pound of Grabba Fronto which I think may be unaged.

1. Has anyone tried to make a setup to cure some already diced and shredded leaf a bit more? Maybe a crock pot in a box with a bowl above it with processed leaf? How about a mason jar with the processed leaf and trying to rig/find a spot which is at least 90 degrees?

2. On the leaf I grew which will need more than a little aging/curing. Which is better, a dry room which gets pretty warm or a more humid basement which is much cooler? I'll stack the boxes in the unattached garage and keep it in case come summer but for right now I want to store and forget it for the winter. The tobacco gets pretty dry in the warm room.

3. Enzymes. I've stoved some to try to mellow it. It works if it needs a little mellowing, but not if it needs a lot. So I've killed the enzymes in that tobacco. If I mix it with unstoved tobacco (which I've already done) will the enzymes from it help the stoved stuff to age?

This site is great. Sorry for all the newbie questions.
 

ChinaVoodoo

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It's really easy to kiln pre shredded leaf because you can get it at the right moisture and pack it into a sealed mason jar. Because it's sealed, you only need heat. You don't need the water component of a crock pot, nor did you need a humidifier. Cheapest way would be a light bulb and a fan to keep the heat even, in a cooler with a rheoostat. Adjust the bulb until you get the right temp. Set it at 120-124F for a month.
 

davek14

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Cincinnati Ohio
It's really easy to kiln pre shredded leaf because you can get it at the right moisture and pack it into a sealed mason jar. Because it's sealed, you only need heat. You don't need the water component of a crock pot, nor did you need a humidifier. Cheapest way would be a light bulb and a fan to keep the heat even, in a cooler with a rheoostat. Adjust the bulb until you get the right temp. Set it at 120-124F for a month.

Great answer.

So, by extension, if I have some leaf I want to age for a year or so, will it age as well pre-shredded in mason jars? Will it age as well as tobacco hung and kept in case?
 
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