Blender Recommendations for Swedish Snus?

[HappyHawaiian]

Hi, I'm going to start making my own snus and I already have an instant pot for cooking it. I'm shopping for a blender. What blender do you guys recommend?

I've seen Snusathome on youtube use both a Ninja blender and a cheap Black and Decker one. He said not to use a food processor and that's all I have right now.

I can't afford a Vitamix, but I've been looking at the Nutribullet countertop blender, and the Ninja blenders. I will be making a ton of snus over the next 20 years or so. I want a blender that works good, I can throw the leaves in and not mess with it or have to shake it around. And it has to be durable. I've read that grinding dry ingredients can be tough on a blender motor.

I've seen discussions on using a rock tumbler but I figure the blender will be more useful for also making food. I don't drink coffee so a coffee grinder doesn't seem too helpful.

So what's the best snus blender for a hundred bucks or less, that can also make a smoothie?

Thanks for the help.

 

[wruk53]

Not a blender, but this is what I use to grind my tobacco. It's a grain mill, made to make cornmeal, rice flour and the like. The blades are very heavy duty, and the bowl holds a fair amount of leaf. At first, I used a small coffee grinder, but it took forever to grind up a pound of tobacco. I run it through a course sieve after grinding to remove chunks of stem. I've had it for a few years and if I remember correctly, it cost about 80$ US. A regular blender has much thinner blades and probably won't hold up for very long if you are grinding the midribs.

 

[deluxestogie]

FYI: Any posts in the Smokeless Forum that are newer than April 2023 are not in the Snuff, Snus and Chew book. I know that @wruk53 has posted a lot of informative material since then.

Bob

 

[HappyHawaiian]

Not a blender, but this is what I use to grind my tobacco. It's a grain mill, made to make cornmeal, rice flour and the like. The blades are very heavy duty, and the bowl holds a fair amount of leaf. At first, I used a small coffee grinder, but it took forever to grind up a pound of tobacco. I run it through a course sieve after grinding to remove chunks of stem. I've had it for a few years and if I remember correctly, it cost about 80$ US. A regular blender has much thinner blades and probably won't hold up for very long if you are grinding the midribs.

Thanks Wruk53! I found them on Amazon and the prices are still 60 to 80 bucks depending on size. Unfortunately they pull a lot of power. The smaller 550 gram one pulls 2,000 watts which works out to 16 amps. This will be plugged into a 15 amp breaker, so it will overload and trip my breaker. It would be quite difficult and require serious rearranging to be able to access an outlet with a higher amp rating. There is a smaller grain mill, that only pulls 1500 watts, 12.5 amps, but it only holds 150 grams. So until I can do some serious rearranging, I am stuck with a home blender that pulls under 15 amps or around 1700 watts or less. I'm in a small 1 bedroom apt so my power options are limited. I used to mine crypto so I learned the hard way to check my breakers before drawing a ton of power.

I just checked, a 20 amp extension cord in the length I would need to get to a bigger breaker outlet costs almost as much as the grinding mill.

 

[deluxestogie]

Amazon.com: Estrella Cast Iron Manual Crank Corn Grain Grinder 14" Tall & 5" Hopper : Home & Kitchen

Amazon.com: Estrella Cast Iron Manual Crank Corn Grain Grinder 14" Tall & 5" Hopper : Home & Kitchen

www.amazon.com

Bob

 

[HappyHawaiian]

Amazon.com: Estrella Cast Iron Manual Crank Corn Grain Grinder 14" Tall & 5" Hopper : Home & Kitchen

Amazon.com: Estrella Cast Iron Manual Crank Corn Grain Grinder 14" Tall & 5" Hopper : Home & Kitchen

www.amazon.com

Bob

Haha, yeah, I saw that too. That's a little too manual labor for me. Is a kitchen blender really that bad an idea for snus? If I get one with a minimum 1 year warranty, or a 5 year warranty that should work out ok right? Or are you guys implying a home blender will burn out in a month or they just don't work well? I don't plan to grind the midribs, at least not yet.

To be honest, I am kinda looking forward to being able to make smoothies and shakes too. A snus blender that serves a dual purpose makes the expense make a lot more sense. But of course if it breaks in a week then it makes no sense. But the videos I've seen online make me think a kitchen blender will work for snus, just have no idea for how long. If it lasts through my first year then that's great, I could upgrade later and figure out my power issues in a year.

 

[HappyHawaiian]

Ok, I used my food processor to grind my dried Virginia leaves. Food processor is all I have right now, and I figure I can always regrind this "flour" when I get a blender. It does feel like a kinda thick or gritty cornmeal. Fingers crossed it works out.

I see there's a bunch of little stem like pieces in there and it doesn't look ideal, but I think it might work for now. I'm thinking maybe the little stem like pieces will soften up after "cooking"? And I didn't add any of the mid rib, those were taken off the leaves.

If all else fails, that should at least make a long cut type dip?

I'll just make a small 100 gram batch and see how it feels in my lip. If it's really bad, I'll order a blender for a better short to medium term option.

 

[HappyHawaiian]

Ok, well I got the "snus" cooking in the instant pot now. I forgot to add the salt, so I had to add a bit extra water to get the salt in. I also ordered a Nutribullet smart sense blender. I figure if I can make almost "snus" with a food processor, the blender should do much better than that. And it's got a 1 year warranty, so I got a year to break it. If and when it does break, I'll get it replaced under warranty and relegate it to smoothy only duty. Then I'll have to get that hand crank grinding mill. I should also have a lot more experience by the time that blender breaks. Anyway, that's the plan.

Thanks for the help and support!!

 

[HappyHawaiian]

Well, I actually made my first batch of snus. Pulled it out of the instant pot. It smells really strong of kinda like overcooked carrots. 70% virginia and 30% burley. It's very soft, and overly wet. I guess a lot of the steam got into it, since I didn't use a baking bag, just in an open bowl. I'll use a baking bag next time. Added 4 grams of sodium carbonate mixed in 10 grams of water, but didn't get any strong ammonia smell or anything. Anyway, now that I got my first batch made, I have a bit of an idea of what not to do next time. Feels like a very wet clay and smells quite nasty carroty in my opinion. Fingers crossed it gets better in the fridge over the next few days.

I'm not overly stoked with how it came out, but it's a starting and learning point. Now I know I CAN do it, time to learn to do it right or at least better. Or who knows, maybe I did do it right, we shall see in a few days when I try it.

But as for using a food processor, apparently it's quite possible, but the processor did struggle and I don't think it would last for too many batches. It's a cheap Black and Decker food processor.

 

[HappyHawaiian]

I just got my Nutribullet Smart Sense blender. Not the best pic but I am quite a bit space challenged at the moment.

It was $125 with two extra blending cups. The blender alone without extra cups would be $100.

I got it because it got good reviews and it says it can make nut butter and nut milk. So it should handle grinding no problem. It has dull, not sharp, blades so it should last a while.

I haven't used it yet, just pulled it out of the box. But it feels freaking solid. Very well built and definitely feels heavy duty. I have no doubt this won't have any problems chopping leaves, it has a 1400 watt motor. I'm waiting for my Burley leaves to finish air drying then I'll try it out.

I'm stoked, I never had a blender this nice before. Can't wait to put it to work!

 

[KroBar]

I picked up a $30 classic size blender from the hardware store (either Oster or B and D, I think it's Oster). It's not the cheapest, but it was cheap.
It chugs and struggles a little when I run the cooked / wet snus through it (instead of kneading it), and I've stalled it a few times, but then I just let go of the button, unplug it, and get it loose again.
It's already paid for itself several times over, just in the last ~9months. If it burns out, I'd get another, but it's not showing any signs of imminent demise (several pounds later).

 

[HappyHawaiian]

I picked up a $30 classic size blender from the hardware store (either Oster or B and D, I think it's Oster). It's not the cheapest, but it was cheap.
It chugs and struggles a little when I run the cooked / wet snus through it (instead of kneading it), and I've stalled it a few times, but then I just let go of the button, unplug it, and get it loose again.
It's already paid for itself several times over, just in the last ~9months. If it burns out, I'd get another, but it's not showing any signs of imminent demise (several pounds later).

Oster used to make great blenders that last forever. They probably still do, it's a great brand.

Can you tell me more about running the cooked snus through the blender again? That serves the same purpose as kneading? How long do you blend it for?

I'm about to pull a batch out of the instant pot now and knead it. It's only my second batch so I don't know much, I'm assuming the kneading gets everything mixed together good.

And yeah, the cost of a blender is nothing compared to the savings on making our own snus or dip. I also made a shake with mine today, it was great, I haven't had a shake in years. It's going to get some serious use.

 

[KroBar]

Yum, a shake and some snus.
I think a solid 7 seconds, once it all starts moving and churning.
Just check it, the stuff that gets caked under the blade.
It's easy to run it through again, not so easy to unblend it.
Also, save a little to the side to coarsen it up up again in case you pastetize it.
It works better if it's a little on the drier side (I may have that backwards, it's been a while since I made a new batch).
I saw you mention you had a batch come out too wet...
I believe that Virginia is relatively Hygroscopic compared to any other types of leaf I've tried (Dark Air, Burley, Maryland, Dark Fired, Oriental).
None of those have seemed to absorb water in the Instant Pot besides Virginia.

 

[HappyHawaiian]

Yum, a shake and some snus.
I think a solid 7 seconds, once it all starts moving and churning.
Just check it, the stuff that gets caked under the blade.
It's easy to run it through again, not so easy to unblend it.
Also, save a little to the side to coarsen it up up again in case you pastetize it.
It works better if it's a little on the drier side (I may have that backwards, it's been a while since I made a new batch).
I saw you mention you had a batch come out too wet...
I believe that Virginia is relatively Hygroscopic compared to any other types of leaf I've tried (Dark Air, Burley, Maryland, Dark Fired, Oriental).
None of those have seemed to absorb water in the Instant Pot besides Virginia.

Thanks KroBar. Yeah you could be on to something with the Virginia. I just pulled this batch out of the instapot and it was much less wet, still wet but not like my first batch. However, I did some things different this time.

I pre alkalized the batch before cooking.
I did a 50/50 blend of Burley and Virginia.
I packed the snus really tight and hard into the bowl, to limit how much steam would soak into it. My first batch was loosely packed.
I cooked it for an hour longer, 4 hours instead of 3.
And I noticed when I pulled the cover off the instapot, I was dropping a lot of water from the lid onto the bowl of snus, so I quickly stopped doing that. I'll be more careful taking the cover off next time.

This batch is much much better. It still smells like rat pee, but way less. I'm quite happy with how this one turned out. I think it's the Virginia I don't like the really strong rat pee smell of. So next batch I'll try 70% Burley and 30% Virginia. And I may totally take out the Virginia when I run out of what I have.

I think I'll keep kneading it though, because I get somewhat of a workout, and it's probably much easier to clean the bag than the blender pitcher. Since I'm making food in the blender too, don't want my food tasting like rat pee.

I'm learning though. My second batch is definitely an improvement over my first. Happy Days!!

 

[HappyHawaiian]

I just wish I could smell someone else's snus when they get done cooking it. I have no idea if my just finished snus is supposed to smell like that or not. Can't really smell stuff on the internet. It smells like a big family of rats pee'd on some cooked carrots. I've never smelled something so foul, and it's going to take a lot of courage to put that stuff in my mouth.

 

[johnny108]

The rat pee smell is pretty common- it’s a mixture of ammonia (if alkalizing) and amines from the leaf tissue.
It goes away with a 2-3 day “breathing” period. It usually takes a full 2 weeks to be completely gone.
It’s better to smell it and vent it off, than to not smell it, and put it in your mouth…

 

[adamziegler]

Last few batches of snus I made used the hand crank tobacco shredder with 2-3 passes. Stems and some quantity of the shredded leaf went in coffee grinder like this: https://amzn.to/435c5uo

I am only making about a quart sized jar at a time however.

 

[HappyHawaiian]

The rat pee smell is pretty common- it’s a mixture of ammonia (if alkalizing) and amines from the leaf tissue.
It goes away with a 2-3 day “breathing” period. It usually takes a full 2 weeks to be completely gone.
It’s better to smell it and vent it off, than to not smell it, and put it in your mouth…

That's a relief. Yeah, the snus I made a couple days ago is smelling better. The one I made last night is also better. I did notice that it picks up a lot of water from the steam in my pressure cooker. I weighed my batches and they are about 30 grams heavier than the ingredients I put in. These are 100 gram batches, so that's 30% extra water from the steam. It will evaporate over time, so not worried about it, but just something I noticed. Unless there's an issue with my scale, I'll double check with my backup scale.

Yeah, backup scale confirms it. It picks up quite a bit of water during pressure cooking.

 

[HappyHawaiian]

In case anyone is thinking of getting a blender, I just used my new Nutribullet Smart sense to grind about a pound of Burley and Virginia. Leaves were mostly dry but still a tad bit wet. I air dried them for a few days in my room, in a box.

The blender just annihilated those leaves without a hitch. It blended them into a fine powder in well under a minute without even blinking. It never struggled or made weird noises. I did do a little tamping down to get all the leaves but it mostly handled it without any help from me.

Now my problem is, it's really fine, like a fine dust or super fine flour. I tried grinding on lower speeds or for shorter time but then it would miss a few pieces, so I'd blend longer and end up with fine dust/flour. I know I can sift out the bigger, missed pieces but for now I'm just figuring out how the thing works. It will take me some trial and error to figure out how not to blend it so fine.

In the meantime I think I will blend half in the blender and half in the food processor to make a combo grind.

Anyway, happy to report the Nutribullet works well, almost too well. It's ok, I'll figure it out. I'd post a picture but I'm sure you've all seen flour.

 

[KroBar]

blend, run it through the kitchen sieve, blend what's left.