Moldy tobacco pucks

[jm10]

Hello,
If the attached picture is visible I hope. The green stuff around the edges looks like mold to me, these pucks I'd made definitely smell moldy. Is that white stuff on top possibly plume? They have an initial beef jerky smell which is wonderful before noxious mold. I admit I've been smoking them in a pipe for maybe 4 months (made maybe 10 total). It did seem to taste just fine though. But I suffered a collapsed lung during a jog a few days ago. So I dont think I'll smoke this moldy stuff anymore for starters from reading moldy tobacco is a no no? I only got about 2 months of growing season on the plants last year due to getting them in late, my first attempt doing this, so lots of green leaves ended up in these pucks. Some of the leaves looked like they properly color cured they went yellow or brown before going crispy, there were 3 types of seeds. If that sounds like color curing. I had moldy stems that were removed on the tobacco last year too, but any other moldy spots I tried to rip off while the yellow leaves were still pliable.

I have 12 plants in though this year got them in sooner so should be almost a month more grow time before we get frost. If I can get them properly color cured again, what I had done last year was rehydrated them in a plastic bag for a day before putting into a PVC tube with ends and c clamp to press for 3 weeks. But at that point should the puck be left out to dry until the outside is maybe crispy again before putting in a humidor at 70% rh? The last year batch I had not dried at all and put in ziplock bags before putting in the humidor.

 

[Jitterbugdude]

Looks like mold to me. I think your tobacco was too wet when you pressed it and you pressed it too long. You have a few options for your next batch. You could get a moisture meter ( they are cheap on ebay) and shoot for something like 16% moisture content ( or you could "eyeball" the moisture level by squeezing a handfull and letting go. The tobacco should come apart within a few seconds). You could also just spritz lightly with a water solution with a small amount of maple syrup added.This will help bind your tobacco but you would still need to make sure it is not too wet (moisture meter??). You could add some PG ( works as a mold inhibitor). Whatever you do I'd let your finished product air out a bit.. and don't put it in a humidor.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

That looks like mold. You shouldn't smoke it, sorry.

It takes a very long time for a plug of tobacco to dry out, so waiting for the outside to become crispy still may not be dry enough. That approach is a decent one though. You could wait for it to dry on the outside, go an extra week for good measure, then put it in a bag for a day, then see by feel whether it is dry enough. If not, repeat. If you get it too dry, put it in the humidor for a little bit, but don't store it in there permanently because pipe and cigarette tobacco needs to be stored slightly more dry.

Edit: I'm no doctor, but you probably shouldn't smoke with a collapsed lung, anyways.

 

[jm10]

Cool thank you for the replies! That's interesting I hadn't heard of a moisture meature, that's good to know percentage and it should come apart in a few seconds when hand squished. Could probably use that meter on the plug also. That was something else I hadn't done before was applying casing. Is that what most major brands do it always seems so wet?

That's interesting do not store in a humidor. Does the humidity in the room have to stay above a certain point? I'd read on here that dry tobacco doesn't lose its oils or aromas but will stop aging.

Thank you i didn't realize how bad moldy stuff was. I think I was confusing something I'd heard about white crystals on tobacco as plume with mold.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

There is a lot of here-say regarding plume. These guys did an experiment where they acquired a number of premium cigars with plume on them and analyzed the plume.

FOH Mould Study

The idea behind the mould study was to shed some light into the world of mould and plume. Earlier in the year we asked for examples of both from members and then selected 10 representative cigars for testing. Testing was undertaken by the team at Australia Biotech Laboratories. In the event that ...

www.friendsofhabanos.com

In every case it was a fungus or yeast. However, what you have there is an extreme amount of green mold. I'm not sure what the species is. Someone on the forum can probably tell you. Regardless, green mold, and any mold in that amount is never considered 'plume'.

 

[deluxestogie]

Yes. "Plume" is smoke and mirrors to misguide customers. I've been told "authoritatively" that "plume" is mineral precipitates that come out of the leaf. I have examined commercial cigars for nearly a half-century, and every "plume" I ever saw was fungal. I do see yeast on the surface of stored, partially drying Perique, but that (Pichia anomala) is what causes tobacco to become Perique--and is safe.

Minerals don't precipitate or exude from tobacco leaf during any stage of drying or storage that I have witnessed.

I think we can put "plume" to bed.

When it comes to home-grown leaf, the issue of mold can be difficult to evaluate when the photos are unclear, or when the grower says, "It doesn't smell like mold." In your situation, your own talented olfactory system has informed you already that it smells like mold, and should be avoided.

In general, combusted mold (even nasty stuff with aflatoxins that will destroy your liver) is not particularly dangerous. The toxins are destroyed by the high heat. But when you suck on the leaf (chew, snus, cigar wrapper/binder, etc.), it can be a significant hazard.

Most blue mold and bluish/green mold may be allergenic, but is not particularly toxic. But it tastes like crap.

Bob

 

[jm10]

Okay wow thank you for the info. I wont consider plume anymore, hopefully no white, green or grey stuff on the plugs next time!

Is that beef jerky smell I'd mentioned just due to the tobacco type, and after making it into a plug? Smelled so good, I had also bought a pound of fire cured leaves and put a few of those in each plug.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

The jerky smell is from the fire cured.