Aging Air Cured

[corncobpiper]

I just shredded and jarred my garage rafter air cured Golden Burley, Smyrna, VA Bright Leaf, and Basma. I smoked a little of each yesterday and while not bad, still seems to have a too fresh smell/taste, similar to hay. They were cured for two months before I took them down to shred. Should I just leave these in the jars to age and is there anything I can do to help it along like leaving them in the sun outdoors? This is my first attempt at this and I appreciate all your help!

 

[Hayden]

I think the next step is to build a kiln and speed things up a little bit. Just search for kiln in the forum and their should be some good links.

An easier methode i heard about is to put your leaf into plastic bags, throw it into your car and park the car in a sunny spot. But that depends on the weather.

 

[corncobpiper]

I think the next step is to build a kiln and speed things up a little bit. Just search for kiln in the forum and their should be some good links.

An easier methode i heard about is to put your leaf into plastic bags, throw it into your car and park the car in a sunny spot. But that depends on the weather.

I live in southern California and thought I might be able to just place the Mason jars outside in the sunlight since I already shredding it. Not sure if the light would do harm though.

 

[Alpine]

The sunlight may lighten the colour of the cured leaves, but no harm to the taste. Take a close look at water condensation inside the jars, soggy sposts can develop mold. A kiln would be the best way to “finish” the cure.

pier

 

[corncobpiper]

The sunlight may lighten the colour of the cured leaves, but no harm to the taste. Take a close look at water condensation inside the jars, soggy sposts can develop mold. A kiln would be the best way to “finish” the cure.

pier

I just looked up some kiln plans. Not as difficult as I thought. Thanks for the replies guys. I just made a mixture of all these tobaccos together and smoking it as I type this on the patio. Much better than smoking separate. The Smyrna is delicious on its own though.

 

[corncobpiper]

To get the process started right away, I spray painted this cardboard box and placed the jars under it. It's 110 degrees inside of it. Would this work or will the temp swings be a problem?

 

[MadFarmer]

To get the process started right away, I spray painted this cardboard box and placed the jars under it. It's 110 degrees inside of it. Would this work or will the temp swings be a problem?

I have my color cured whole leaf bagged, low cased, stashed in the attic. This time of year on a sunny afternoon the attic temps get to 135°F I'll leave them up there for 5-8 weeks and that's my kilning. I'll check them in two weeks or so to make sure they're still cased but it's worked twice so far

 

[corncobpiper]

I have my color cured whole leaf bagged, low cased, stashed in the attic. This time of year on a sunny afternoon the attic temps get to 135°F I'll leave them up there for 5-8 weeks and that's my kilning. I'll check them in two weeks or so to make sure they're still cased but it's worked twice so far

That's a good trick. I'll have to see how hot mine gets.

 

[new boy]

I put mine in a plastic bag on the wood pile next to wood burner in an inglnook fire place got temp of about 50-60 c when the fire was alight but I wasn’t sure how long I needed to do it for but it smells sweat like honey now I left it their from October to about April !