Preparing Burley for cigarette blend

[FmGrowit]

I've grown quite a few different Burley varieties and have come to the conclusion that commercially produced Burley almost always needs to be toasted in order for it to be palatable.

When Burley is primed at each leaf's peak of maturity, it doesn't have to be toasted, but I think it still improves the quality of the leaf.

Burley also responds very well to casing. I still like the Hershey's syrup recipe, but I think a little licorice root bark give it a nice dimension.

Do any of you have a preference with toasting or not toasting?...Casing or no casing?

 

[BarG]

I've grown quite a few different Burley varieties and have come to the conclusion that commercially produced Burley almost always needs to be toasted in order for it to be palatable.

When Burley is primed at each leaf's peak of maturity, it doesn't have to be toasted, but I think it still improves the quality of the leaf.

Burley also responds very well to casing. I still like the Hershey's syrup recipe, but I think a little licorice root bark give it a nice dimension.

Do any of you have a preference with toasting or not toasting?...Casing or no casing?

To be perfectly honest no, But if someone would care to repost there favorite method I honestly will give it a try. You posted a recipe last yr. Don and I did not indulge, but I take these things more seriously now. I'm a hardcore 45 yr . smoker of cigarettes so post away. I'm to basic for my own self .

 

[leverhead]

Hitting the right toasting time and temp is hard! Even when I thought I had everything the same I couldn't get it to repeat. I only hit that chocolate smell once, by accident and blew right by it twice more before I gave up. After trying your 3 and 4 Year olds, there real good as they are. Casings, for me, haven't done anything worth the trouble they can be.

 

[wazzappenning]

i hate to sound like an idiot, but whats casing?

 

[BarG]

I'm going to give this one a try.
http://fairtradetobacco.com/showthread.php?130-Hershey-s-syrup-recipe&highlight=toasting

I just happen to have some burley on hand to boot.

 

[BarG]

i hate to sound like an idiot, but whats casing?

Your not the only idiot! I think I know what it is. That might make me a bigger one.

But not for long!!!

 

[BigBonner]

I think Fmgrowit posted the ingredients that big tobacco uses for casing on here some where .

http://fairtradetobacco.com/showthread.php?326-Casing-receipts&highlight=ingredients

 

[FmGrowit]

i hate to sound like an idiot, but whats casing?

Casing is basically a sauce made with various flavorings that is sprayed on the tobacco before and often after toasting.

I fooled around with a very non-traditional blend last night. The Burley was used without toasting or casing, but it was used as a "spice" like Turkish is often used. The blend was 50% Turkish, 4-% Flue cured and 10% raw Burley. It was a very interesting smoke.

 

[deluxestogie]

Here's my guesstimation about burley. Burley starts out with low carbs, high albuminous protein, and high alkaloids. Inadequately aged burley tends to char, rather than burn. I have the impression that burley reaches proper aging more slowly than other varieties. It seems to hold on to a "raw" aroma even after hanging for a long time, sometimes for more than a year. Kilned for a month, burley smokes and burns like any other leaf, but I would say that only the leaf from the lower half of the plant is suitable for cigarettes after kilning. Kilned upper leaf is mighty full and robust--great for cigar filler. Some of my kilned burley lugs have made the most beautiful and mild blond wrappers I've ever tried.

Bob

 

[SmokeStack]

I was lured into pipe smoking by the aroma of casings many years ago. The smell of vanilla, cherry, amaretto, etc. flavored tobacco is what drew me in. Pipe tobacco with added casings (such as the ones I just mentioned) are referred to as aromatic blends. However, as I began experimenting, I developed a taste for non-aromatic blends, and, since then, I no longer smoke aromatics. I feel that casings cover up the flavor of the tobacco. Although every now and then I'll smoke an aromatic blend, I prefer the taste of unadulterated tobacco. Smoking straight tobaccos might seem monochromatic at first, but this is far from the truth. The possibilities are endless as there are so many variables involved in blending tobacco. I am currently smoking a cigarette blend consisting of 60% flue cured, 35% burley and 5% dark fired. The small amount of dark fired gives a nice smoke.

 

[LeftyRighty]

I tried several of the 'roasted' burley recipes - none were satisfactory to me - aroma & taste were worst than before.

I agree, lower leaf burley is great for blended cigs, after fermenting and a rest period. Upper leaf burley needs a minimum couple years aging after fermenting, then only 10-20% blended with other tobacco. My 2010 upper leaf burley crop is just starting to be palatable - I am still going to store it longer.

I've been seperating my leaf since 2009 into dirt leaves, lower third+, mid & upper combined. I can get better results for cigarettes by blending from these groups. Just wish I could get more dirt and lower leaf per plant, and that the upper leaf didn't take soo long to mellow.

But my experience has only been with commom and Gold Seal burley.
Am trying Yellow Twist Bud, and a couple other strains this year - results may be different.

 

[Matty]

I've tried toasting and casing burley a few times. One of the methods I found satisfactory is to use a pre-toast casing of molasses and water (~1tsp molasses to ~5tsp water). I get the leaf soaked through with this, leaving it sit for a few minutes to assure it has permeated all the leaf. I then toast in the oven ~10mins at 100°F, take it out to mix around so it toasts/dries somewhat evenly then put it back in at 140°F for a few more mins. Now the tricky part, as it heats higher I pay close attention to the smell. It starts smelling "tastier" (in a tobacco kinda way) as it heats higher but there comes a point when the smell starts smelling less "tasty". The trick is to get the tobacco out of the heat before peak "tastiness" happens. If left too long the flavor of the smoke will have lost a lot of it's character. The tobacco will upon coming out of the oven will be very crispy so I spray it with some more of the molasses solution. I blend this with ~70% flue cured (commercial canadian stuff). The smell reminds me of cig smoke I used to smell when I was a kid and tastes rich and full bodied

 

[Chicken]

i dont do casing,

the baccy is fine to me, raw,
but i will take into consideration, of the different tastes/vs, different primings,

i will have to start marking which, priming, the leaf is, i have hanging,

 

[SmokeStack]

I've grown quite a few different Burley varieties and have come to the conclusion that commercially produced Burley almost always needs to be toasted in order for it to be palatable.

I have been experimenting with TN90 (either 2010 or 2011 crop - I'm not certain) for a couple of months now with discouraging results. I placed a few pounds in the kiln at 125-130 F for 5 weeks. I smoked it as a cigarette and found it to be quite harsh on the throat. So I let is sit for a couple of months (humidified so that the leaf was pliable) in a jar and smoked it again today. Still the same results: the flavor was there, but it was still harsh on the throat.

I used to smoke non-filtered cigarettes (Lucky Strikes for years) and never had a problem. The label on a pack of Luckys says "toasted" so maybe that smoothed it out a bit. But I have bought Five Bros. RYO tobacco many times and it is supposed to be an all-Burley blend - it is surprisingly smooth.

Is the harsh smoke that I am experiencing typical of Burleys? Is that why they are commonly blended with Virginias? What am I missing or doing wrong?

 

[BigBonner]

I have been experimenting with TN90 (either 2010 or 2011 crop - I'm not certain) for a couple of months now with discouraging results. I placed a few pounds in the kiln at 125-130 F for 5 weeks. I smoked it as a cigarette and found it to be quite harsh on the throat. So I let is sit for a couple of months (humidified so that the leaf was pliable) in a jar and smoked it again today. Still the same results: the flavor was there, but it was still harsh on the throat.

I used to smoke non-filtered cigarettes (Lucky Strikes for years) and never had a problem. The label on a pack of Luckys says "toasted" so maybe that smoothed it out a bit. But I have bought Five Bros. RYO tobacco many times and it is supposed to be an all-Burley blend - it is surprisingly smooth.

Is the harsh smoke that I am experiencing typical of Burleys? Is that why they are commonly blended with Virginias? What am I missing or doing wrong?

Cigs are a blend of
60% flue
30 % Burley
10% turkish

Some use a litle more turkish . Most pipe tobacco is toasted and casings added A all burley blend in my opinion consist of toasted burley from upper and mainly lower stalk positions . with a casing added .

Take some bought pipe tobacco , look at it really close , you will see some almost burn't places in the shredded leaf .

 

[Jitterbugdude]

Is the harsh smoke that I am experiencing typical of Burleys? Is that why they are commonly blended with Virginias? What am I missing or doing wrong?

Burley's have a higher pH than Flue cured tobacco. When you inhale and the smoke hits the back of your throat it gives you what the experts call "Impact". Burley has a higher impact than does a flue cured due to it's higher pH level. This is part of the reason why cigarettes are blended with other types of tobacco. With cigars and pipes you are not inhaling so the impact from a straight Burley is minimal but if you are smoking a straight Virginia in a pipe you get tongue bite due to the more acidic nature of the tobacco. This is why blending has always been such a big deal in the tobacco industry. There are plenty of Burley varieties out there, some mild, some not. The Monte Calm Yellow I just grew is very tasty smoked straight as a cigarette.. 2 caveats to that statement: 1. It came from my wife ( a female subject to change her mind a million times for no particular reason and 2. These were sun cured mud lugs that she smoked.

 

[johnlee1933]

Burley's have a higher pH than Flue cured tobacco. When you inhale and the smoke hits the back of your throat it gives you what the experts call "Impact". Burley has a higher impact than does a flue cured due to it's higher pH level. This is part of the reason why cigarettes are blended with other types of tobacco. With cigars and pipes you are not inhaling so the impact from a straight Burley is minimal but if you are smoking a straight Virginia in a pipe you get tongue bite due to the more acidic nature of the tobacco. This is why blending has always been such a big deal in the tobacco industry. There are plenty of Burley varieties out there, some mild, some not. The Monte Calm Yellow I just grew is very tasty smoked straight as a cigarette.. 2 caveats to that statement: 1. It came from my wife ( a female subject to change her mind a million times for no particular reason and 2. These were sun cured mud lugs that she smoked.

Do you think adding something like L-ascorbic (vitamin C) or citric (lemon/lime juice) or acetic (white vinegar) acid to the case might reduce the Ph and therefore the impact? Along with a sweetener it should not "sour" the smoke.

What do you think?

John

 

[Jitterbugdude]

Adding an acid will work but I think it would be better/easier to add some type of sugar. When a typical Virginia burns the sugars form acids and reduce the pH even more than what the pH of the leaf is naturally. This makes for a nice smooth smoke. Burley has no sugar in it so by using a casing with sugar you are kind of making it like a flue cured Virginia.There are two types of sugars to use, non reducing sugars such as sucrose which tend to caramelize (yielding a caramel-ish flavor) and reducing sugars such as glucose and fructose (think honey and molasses) these reduce the pH much more effectively than the non reducing sugars.

On the other hand, adding weak acids at .5-2% will neutralize the ammonia in the tobacco, reduce the pH somewhat , thereby reducing the impact.

 

[johnlee1933]

Adding an acid will work but I think it would be better/easier to add some type of sugar. When a typical Virginia burns the sugars form acids and reduce the pH even more than what the pH of the leaf is naturally. This makes for a nice smooth smoke. Burley has no sugar in it so by using a casing with sugar you are kind of making it like a flue cured Virginia.There are two types of sugars to use, non reducing sugars such as sucrose which tend to caramelize (yielding a caramel-ish flavor) and reducing sugars such as glucose and fructose (think honey and molasses) these reduce the pH much more effectively than the non reducing sugars.

On the other hand, adding weak acids at .5-2% will neutralize the ammonia in the tobacco, reduce the pH somewhat , thereby reducing the impact.

Thanks Dude. That's why the molasses in many cases. Nobody ever splained it to me that way.

John

 

[Chicken]

molasses, is added, to a lot of plantys that are consumable, to alter the taste,,, harshness,,,sourness,,,e,t,c.

and even to help some mediums to grow certain picky plants better,

i think, it has something mainly to do with the sugar in the molassis,,

ive never used, it, but have read, a lot about it's use, in many different plants for multiple reasons,