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Help, my oven cured tobacco won't burn

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Leftynick

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Ok, for this season grow, I tried a simple way to imitate flue cure. Using my stovetop oven. I wilt the leaves first for few days (3 to 4 days), until it is mostly yellow, strip the stem and go into my oven in low heat for 30 minutes. It is low tech but my sun cured rajangan of the same tobacco is also go through the same process, only it is dried in the sun for few hour rather than 30 minutes. The problem is, the rajangan method yield a good burning tobacco while my oven cured is not. It doesn't burn well, and leave a black charcoal when I smoke them in cigarette case. I have to light them each time I take a drag. I searched for the answer in this forum and the one that I find say that it is not fermented enough. Any suggestion what can I do to help it burn better? The taste is really good, smell really sweet, it just doesnt burn. I think i can make it burn mixed with the rajangan leaves and some air cured leaves but I really like the taste to add another leaves that might alter the taste. Should I kiln the leaves? or should I just let them aged a few more months? Or should I spray sugar water to help with the burn? Help. If I find a good solution I might cure my remaining leaves the same way or I have to air cure all of my leaves.
 

deluxestogie

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Protein and complex carbohydrates (starches) are usually what impedes burning, and produces a black ash. Leaf cells are alive during the process of yellowing, which is also the time during which the carbs and proteins are broken down. Some varieties (burley is one that I know of) require more time to break down the carbs and proteins than to just alter their color to yellow. This is not an issue with true flue-cure varieties.

Instant curing may not be the best approach. Also, once you take the tobacco above 191°F, it no longer has the functional enzymes to age significantly.

You are a bold explorer, going where none of us has gone before. Expect some successes and some failures.

Bob
 

ChinaVoodoo

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Given that curing in the oven is evidence of impatience, my advice is to be patient. Keep it in case for a year at room temperature.
 

Charly

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I agree, I think 30 minutes to dry the leaves may be to fast, maybe you should try (if you do this again) to dry them slower.
You could try to light your oven on "low" for a few minutes, then shut it off and wait until the heat is not too hot before you put the leaves inside ?

When I tried to make some "oven rajangan", my cut leaves took at leat 1 to 2 hours to dry, I did not try it in cigarettes, only in pipes for now, if I remember well, it didn't go out as much as yours (I should try so smoke some again to see, it's in my kiln for now).

Do you have a kiln now ? If yes, you should put it inside for some times, or you can just wait and see in a few months ?
 

Charly

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The thing is, real rajangan, leaving it outside for a few days in the sun is easier than putting it in the oven.
Yes, but only IF you have sun :D
I tried to the "rajangan in oven" method because we had only rain :(
This year, I would like to make some "real" sun curing and rajangan, but only if the sun is by my side ;)
 

ChinaVoodoo

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Yes, but only IF you have sun :D
I tried to the "rajangan in oven" method because we had only rain :(
This year, I would like to make some "real" sun curing and rajangan, but only if the sun is by my side ;)

I suppose. Tutu and other sources indicate the legit process takes 2 to 4 days to dry. How about using your grow lights instead and try to judge the distance so it takes 2 to 4 days.
 

rainmax

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poorburning.jpg
 

deluxestogie

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Let's see: saltpeter + sugar + ...

I don't know about that. Well...I know the tobacco will ignite with that treatment. I'm not sure if I would want it near my face.

Bob
 

Leftynick

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Thank you all. I use oven curing not because I am impatient, but I want to try flue curing without flue. Well the theory is simple, once yellow, rapidly dry.. Right? Haha. Not so simple in real life after all. But it does produce one of the sweetest smelling leaves I ever grow. Not even the rajangan has sweet smell like that. I try this also because of the rain, I cant sun cure my crop in the beginning of my harvest. Now it has been few weeks and I thought it should be burning better by now. But it is still the same.

The variety is 401 Cherry Red so I think it is a true flue cure variety. My oven doesnt have any thermometer reading so I just let it until it is crispy. Then I let it putside until it is in case before storing. Maybe few more months will help it burn better. Guess air cure for all of the remaining leaves.

Charly, I still curious about the taste of your oven rajangan. Is it tasted like flue cure or something else entirely?

I dont think I can find salt peter in my place if I want to try but thanks Maks.
 

Charly

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I suppose. Tutu and other sources indicate the legit process takes 2 to 4 days to dry. How about using your grow lights instead and try to judge the distance so it takes 2 to 4 days.

Well, I don't know if it's the light that is important, I think if you don't have sun, you need heat (just like flue curing), that's why I tried in the oven.
But the oven may "dry" the leaves too fast.
This year, I will probably try to make some rajangan or semi-flue curing using my kiln (I will need to control the humidity).

P.S. I don't have grow lights :D
 

Charly

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Charly, I still curious about the taste of your oven rajangan. Is it tasted like flue cure or something else entirely?

Hello Leftynick,

It's hard for me to compare my "oven rajangan" trials with flue cured leaf (I don't have any "flue cured leaf" at hand).
Moreover, I did this "oven rajangan" method on no bright leaf, because they only "bright leaf" that I really harvested was "Symbol 4", and it seems to be more a cross between a bright leaf and a burley (maybe ?)

What I can say is that from the different strains I tried, they did not become as "sweet/acid" as the Cherry Red I air cured last year.
Here are my notes about the tests I've done (smoked in pipes) :

(These notes are from the tobacco which was a few weeks in the kiln after the rajangan method)

Xanthy : very fragrant, sweet, slightly acid, very nice smell (floral and slightly fruity with some spice), light in mouth feeling.

Maesan Samporis : very fragrant, sweet, lightly acid, rich flavor (more dark than Xanthy) : earthy / floral / spicy / animal ?, it tickles the nose, nice mouth feeling.

Adonis : it became the more acid/biting but with aromas more like cigar, it reminds me of the "tabac brun français" (Scaferlati...) or Semois.

Bolivian Criollo Black : not acid/sweet at all, bitter on ignition (calms down after a few minutes), very earthy, reminds me of brown ropes (Gawith...)

I have to try the Symbol 4 again, to see if the kiln changed it.

As far as I have tried them, my "oven rajangan" tobaccos are not very sweet, but they are quite nice :)
They burn correctly in my pipes, perhaps your tobacco will burn better after kilning ?
 

SeanKelly

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Hope this photo and my experience give you some help. The tobacco ashes on the left is my homegrown/oven cured Tennessee Burley, the tobacco ashes on the right is tobacco acquired from a whole leaf tobacco supplier. Mine is black, why? Because it hasn't cured long enough in an oven. I placed my tobacco in the oven at 175 degrees F for 24 hours, and while it is smokable and tastes fine it is black, it probably has something to do with proteins and starches left in the leaf (as indicated by deluxestogie). I tried smoking the tobacco at 12 and 18 hours curing time in the oven and the result got better each time I cured it longer. I'm not sure what temperature you used for your curing, but curing at the lower temperature for longer might produce a more smoke-able result for you. Improving upon my own results I would say 175 degrees F for at least 30 hours if not 36 might lead to a whiter ash and therefore a more smoke-able result. At any rate let me know what you did and how it turns out. And to go further (and out on a limb) I would say go low and slow for the best results (a curing chamber for 4 months or so, compared to 1.5 days in an oven).

IMG_1309[1].JPG
 
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