This place is for people who wanna take risks and try some techniques off the beaten path in search of the ultimate smoke. Share your dry and cure experiments. Be detailed and provide pictures! I am beginning an experiment in Malawi Style Cob Curing (thread by Tangwena). This technique utilizes heat, pressure, vacuum, fermentation, and aging to produce a unique cure. I'll be posting along as I go - in search of the ultimate high!
I grew some sativa strains ( in no particular order) - Queen Mother (Original Delicatessen), Panama x Bangi Haze (Ace Seeds) and Guawi (Ace Seeds) to use for the cobbing technique. To prepare for making cobs you need these items. Vacuum sealer and bags Dehydrator (or other means to maintain even temp - heat mat etc.) Fresh corn on the cob (remove husks) or tamale wrappers Twine 1.5 - 2oz high quality pliable buds (still moist) + a "canary bud" for each cob I weighed 87g of roughly trimmed buds to be split between two cobs. Take a corn husk(s) and place the weed in. Use the husk to compress the herb and start wrapping it tight. Take twine and tie the ends shut and then wrap tightly around the length of the cob. Now it's time to seal the cobs in a vacuum bag and heat them to produce a sweat. I placed the cob and a canary bud in the bag and vacuumed until there was a little air left around the cob/bud, then sealed the bag. I placed them in the dehydrator and set it for 95f and 18 hours. Here's how it looked when I pulled it out today. Notice the slight condensation. Check the canary bud and it's color. That's what the bud is in there for, to clue you in to what's happening in the cob. Now that you've sweated the cob, you begin the fermentation process. Dry your cob a little if it's really wet, or not, then vacuum seal it (must be fully sealed to prevent mold! *very important!) and leave it alone for a week or so. I'm letting it rest in a warm kitchen cabinet next to the oven for the fermentation process. The next step is to allow it to ferment for around a week then halt the process by drying it as you would regular herb to the point of moisture suitable for a jar cure - then age it. For more details, check out that thread: Malawi Style Cob Curing. *This is a flowchart designed by another member that is a solid clear explanation of the process. There are many variations, this flowchart is designed to show you one tried and true way to make a good cob. International Cannagraphic Magazine Forums - View Single Post - Malawi Style Cob Curing.
Ok im in. Im following your steps, but with one variation. I dont have a vacuum sealer or bags, so ill be sealing mine in a vacuum chamber like whats used for bho and using water and a skillet for temperature control. I will get my supplies today if I have time, have so much going on right now with the family
That's rad MM - your variation is just what I wanna see! Unconventional techniques reap unconventional results! Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
Panama x Bangi Haze cobs and top came out of sweat today. I opened and pulled out the cobs/top to dry a bit for 2 hours. I wiped the insides of the bag dry and then placed the cobs/top in the bags. Vac'd them and sealed shut to ferment. When I opened the bag after the sweat, the smells blasting out were sweet and bitter lemon rind, pine, soap, and incense...powerful! Guawi cob started today - 60g @110f/24hr Sweated vs fresh Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
Howzit friends I opened up the Queen Mother cobs today from fermenting to take the husks off and take a smell and a look. Smells still have the notes described after sweating (sweet bitter citrus rind, herbaceous) but deeper with a briny, sour, olive note that wasn't there before. I'm air drying the outside until tomorrow, then I'll seal them back up to continue aging a little less wet. This can be done a few times until the smell is where you want it - then fully air dry to the point you'd start jar-curing buds and age/cure for about 3 months. Here's how they looked today: Sooper exciting stuff. I'll be opening the Panama x Bangi Haze tomorrow and I'll do an update - Peace to you friends, and don't forget to experiment! Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
Alright, I documented how I do a cannagar version of the cobs in one of my threads this last summer. These particular ones, I wanted very potent so I started 3 small 7gram cobs wrapped as normal then seal and put them through a 24 hr sweat in the dehydrator at 105f then let them ferment for a week in a corner of one of my cabinets and this is how they looked I broke 1 in half so 3 becomes 2 then wrapped them onto skewers and squished them like silly putty.....resealed and let them ferment another week before drying for 24 hrs Once dried to the touch though still sticky, I stuffed them into their own toothbrush holder lining damp ground bud around it...poked, prodded and stuffed 17.5grams to bulk it up with each coming out to be 1oz It is resealed for a few hrs to hold its shape being packed a bit tighter with the pipe cleaner and vacuum sealing. Then it is taken out of the container and re-wrapped into a soaking wet tamale husk This layer also sweats at 105f.....1st pic is after 6 hrs; 2nd pic is after 18 hrs After resealing, they spent the next week back in a corner of one of the cabinets to hang out with a few leaves in their own vacuum sealed bag so they stay pliable then the wrapping with leaves begins...... Start by dipping the leaf into a "glue"....I used a fruit pectin slurry with this one though could have used RSO instead. Wrap one way to act as a binder.....wrap another for the wrapper - I like to take these leaves and break the veins with a rolling pin (leaf sandwiched in wax paper). This is set to dry overnight then sealed I aired them out for 4 hrs once a week for 4 wks and finally was able to set them in a sealed jar with a humidity pack to not touch for 8 wks to mature and become very nice long lasting smoke as it burns very slow with mellow flavors and an intoxicating high so much different than the dried and cured flowers
MOTR! Big hats off! You've created something beautiful - next level! Thank you for that badass contribution. I'd love to try one of those! Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
No problem! Normal cannagars are simply giant joints not much different than a glass twisty blunt type pipe though fermenting them really changes the dynamics and glad I experimented more with it as it works so well...the 2 layers was the exception trying for something different with just a bit more potency but the RSO "glue" is just as good shaving ~3wks off My next experiment will be breaking half of one up making it into a tincture and comparing with normal dried buds though I am down to my last one so it won't be happening until I can replace it as they are just that good
A friend of mine did something similar, his version of a thai-stick...he even wrapped it in leaf, added hash and oil, all that jazz - but it lacked that magic touch (fermentation). I feel like the processing you do is that extra special touch that nobody could duplicate if they weren't told. That's tip-top party material there... Cannagars and hot buttered rum for the holidaze! Speaking of tinctures or edibles and the importance of decarboxylation - was watching some Frenchy Cannoli video where he was advocating the importance of hand pressing to produce the highest quality hash (highly decarbed), and he was driving home that at some temperature point the rate of degradation exceeded that of C02 detachment from cannabinoids (in reference to the inferior decarb at dabbing or smoking temps) - I feel like fermenting is the next step in efficient decarb. You get high levels of decarb with low temps. Wonder if anyone has tried fermenting at low temps under vacuum - could speed things up even faster.....hmm Also playing with the idea of speeding up the front end by innoculating the starting material with LAB serum ala KNF.... Fun times ahead! Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
For many sativa/sativa dominant strains, absolutely.....some even harvest early as sometimes the ferment is too much of a downer....the darker it is, the more potent and the more sedating Low heat is needed to kick start the ferment in the initial sweat (12-48 hrs) though after that, room temp is better....even works in small half pint jars though admittedly not as well. If you want faster, use less material for each cob though you'll have to watch it more
I opened the Panama x Bangi Haze cobs - the parsnip smell dominates now with a piney sweetness. There's a faint sour citrus background. Compared to the Queen Mother, it is less sour/pickled smelling. Interesting! I plan to let them air dry until tomorrow then re-seal. Here's the Queen Mother cobs after air drying. After I took the pics I resealed them in the vac bags without the corn husks. Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
Would like to try this too! I have a shitload of trim that I'm just mixing together for the garden kief mix.... if I have enough, might as well try some hand pressed vs cobbed hash Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
Update: all the cobs have been air dried until ready for aging - then sealed. I will open the cobs in a couple weeks to check their progress. I went with my plan of trying a golden-style cure (known for energetic effects and achieved with drier buds and shorter sweat and ferment times) without the corn husk. The buds were left hanging for 8 days or so. I rough trimmed 40g and chucked them right into the vac bag, then I compressed the buds to the bottom of the bag and vac'd it tightly and sealed. I did this to maximize the moisture remaining in the buds. To be honest, they may have been a little dry. I then sweated it the dehydrator @110f/12hrs. The buds don't look much different after the sweat, so I decided not to open and just left it closed to get a ferment going hopefully. I'll open in 4 days....I wanna try a "light touch" with these to see how it turns out. Hoping for some rocket fuel! Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
Yesterday I opened all the bags. The Queen Mother cobs that had a briny olive smell have morphed to having a very sweet artificial fruitiness upfront with a bittersweet citrus rind note, and the fermented olive smell has moved to the background. Amazing and curious. I tried a pinner joint of the canary bud. I was already high when I tried it, but about halfway through the joint there was a moment where my high shifted immediately and I felt a crystal clear 'zone' state, I was focused and energized - beautiful! The Panama x Bangi Haze has kept that predominantly parsnip and lemon pine smell, and added a bit of a hashy note along with a slight fermented sourness in the background. It makes your mouth water as if you are getting into something dangerous....tried a small joint of that canary bud too. My brother who was smoking it with me got high very quickly, it doesn't take much. It wasn't crystal clear like the QM, I was in a zone state and energized, but more dreamy and introspective. The QM was like PED's. I also tried the Guawi#3 golden-style buds. They remind me of what I picture the very finest Mexican brick would be. They had a slight-fermented type smell which hints that there was something going on, but the smell hadn't changed much from the hang dried version. There were sections where the resin had become a glass-like coating on the outside of the buds. A piece fell off and I stuck it in a bong. It was a bit too moist to smoke well, but after a couple hits off the bong I backed off. It was very potent and continued to creep. I was up and happy, but I feel like over-indulgence of this one would spin your brains. It did remind me of some extra strong Mexican brick in the way it made you feel. Sick! I resealed the bags once again after the outsides dried. There were some salty looking deposits on the outsides of the cobs known as "bloom". I could tell there was a bit of moisture left in the middles and I think they are ready to age for a few months now. I will sample some each month to see/report the changes. Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
I made a cob with my brother with his plant Guawi #2. After the ferment he dried it partially and sealed it back up juicy. Today I mentioned it looked crazy and we should open it to dry. So we did - it smelled beautiful! But looks funky like some aged cured meat. It has lots of spots of white crystallized "bloom" that kinda looks moldy. The difference is that the white areas are hard, and there is only the sweet briny smell of ferment. Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk
Not hating on your experiments but that flower you have here looks to have mold on it. Just a heads up can be harmful to your lungs. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum