Here’s my first batch drying. Two cycles of 3 hours each in the instant pot, pressed for a day, sliced and rubbed out. I tried a bit yesterday, and all I can say is that I hope it improves greatly over the next few weeks and months.
Making Black Cavendish Pipe Tobacco
- Thread starter deluxestogie
- Start date
oldfellainspain
Well-Known Member
What colour was the residue water left in the instant pot?
Clear. The tobacco was in ball jars and there was maybe 2” of water in the pot, so no transfer from the tobacco to the water… other than the less than delicious smell.
oldfellainspain
Well-Known Member
Would you normally expect water discoloration when steaming leaves in a basket as opposed to in Jars. Just want to clarify things before I try another batch.
When steaming with the tobacco held in a colander or wire strainer, any condensation on the lid or on the tobacco itself will cause dripping back into the pot of water. The best way to minimize this is to:
When using canning jars, I sometimes have a small quantity of thick, syrupy liquid in the bottom of the jar. At the time I spread the cooked tobacco to dry, I drip that liquid back onto the leaf.
Bob
- be sure that the colander or strainer is suspending the tobacco well above the water, rather than touching the water
- place a lid over the pot, in an effort to keep the contents near the top from cooling, and condensing the steam
- perhaps insulate the lid, by securing a folded dish towel on top of it
When using canning jars, I sometimes have a small quantity of thick, syrupy liquid in the bottom of the jar. At the time I spread the cooked tobacco to dry, I drip that liquid back onto the leaf.
Bob
I just turned the jars over for half an hour or so. That seemed to let the liquid more evenly distribute through the contents before I opened them up.
Yup.
These jars were cooked at the same time as the One Sucker from the previous post. They have been inverted like this for 3 days now. As you can see, the leaf is all quite wet, but there is no free liquid that has dripped to the bottom. The jar of Peru ligero was filled with more tobacco leaf than the others.
Up at the top (the bottom of the jars) the leaf has cooked slightly darker, which I assume is a combination of slightly greater moisture and slightly greater heat up against the jar bottoms resting in the pot. The phenomenon of the wet leaf not dripping is a demonstration of what is called the "perched water table" when applied to soil. The inherent capillarity of the tobacco leaf (or the soil) determines how tall the column of water will remain within the leaf (or soil), no matter if there is space for the water to drain.
Once removed, and spread to dry, the VA Bright Cavendish will darken from greater oxygen exposure. The burley and Peru ligero may or may not darken further.
The One Sucker Cavendish is nearly all dried and bagged. Once it's all in the bag, and the cookie sheet is free, I'll open another jar--probably Peru, since I'm really curious about its aroma.
Bob
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