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Malawi Style Cob Curing.

SweetSue

Active member
Hey, thanks for that. I'm wondering why you've got the inner tray inverted? Just did an experiment with an old heat mat that's been used to ferment heavy mason jars of Kombucha for a couple of years and it got the container up to 36c, so I'm thinking that a newer heat mat would maybe give me a few extra degrees, but I am wondering if I need to be too fundermentalist about hitting exactly 40c, and if a few degrees either way would work fine.
I'm thinking that crisscross stacking of the cobs would fit many more in than a yogurt maker. Great idea.
Anyone using BPA free plastic for cobbing?

I'm actually doing this right now Mick, without the inverted tray. I used an inverted plastic shoe box with wooden clothespins for spacers (to keep the bags off the mat itself), covered with two heavy bath towels, folded in half, and it's been holding at around 104 F, give or take a degree to either side, for 7 hours, with no interference on my part at all. When it gets too hot for my comfort I remove one single layer of towels and it stabilized back to 104.
 

SweetSue

Active member

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repuk

Altruistic Hazeist
Veteran
Wow! looks like you've been cobbing all your life! niiice!

Glad to see you added the attachment! :)

You should see your attached pictures in the Insert Pictures window, be sure to change the From: dropdown menu to Attachments.

Or, if you know the URL of the picture, to display it straight on the post you can create the forum code to display it by adding IMG blocks:

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Mick

Member
Veteran
I'm actually doing this right now Mick, without the inverted tray. I used an inverted plastic shoe box with wooden clothespins for spacers (to keep the bags off the mat itself), covered with two heavy bath towels, folded in half, and it's been holding at around 104 F, give or take a degree to either side, for 7 hours, with no interference on my part at all. When it gets too hot for my comfort I remove one single layer of towels and it stabilized back to 104.

Looks like an awesome, cheap solution that will work.
Organic corn is cheap this time of the year, so my freezer is filling up with corn soup :biggrin:
Congrats on getting a pic up.
 

repuk

Altruistic Hazeist
Veteran
Couldn't resist SweetSue... hope you don't mind? I'm sure everyone here is willing to see your pictures of the craft!

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repuk

Altruistic Hazeist
Veteran
SweetSue 420Magazine Cobbing Pics

SweetSue 420Magazine Cobbing Pics

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Congrats on the job! It's clearly seen the love and dedication you put into it, :tiphat: for your skills!
 

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Tangwena

Well-known member
Veteran
View Image

View Image

View Image

Congrats on the job! It's clearly seen the love and dedication you put into it, :tiphat: for your skills!
Thanks my friend your fast becoming Mr fixit on this thread ha ha
Well those buds look good and sticky and your cobs look perfect.
But I was sought of expecting that isn't it.
Much respect my lady you are on your way and looking good from here.
 

SweetSue

Active member
Thank you gentleman. Educator by training and nature, and I'm spearheading what I hope will be an army of cobbing enthusiasts. It was necessary to hit it right. Lol!

I had to make you all proud.

repuk, thank you especially for all your efforts. You've made all the difference in getting this done.

I'm trying not to disturb the sweat box for the first 24 hours, and it's really hard not to peak, but the box is sitting stable at YIKES! 107 F! I covered it at 4 AM and went to bed. I don't think a couple hours at a higher temp will matter.

led05, what I like most about this simple box method is how easy it is to control the temp. I simply slip one layer of the towel off or on and it stabilizes. It's already down to 104.5.

I'll drop some pictures later. I don't have the drop down menu choices you describe repuk on the Apple devices. Still feeling my way in the door. :eyelash:
 

led05

Chasing The Present
Cob Method Update

Cob Method Update

Hey, thanks for that. I'm wondering why you've got the inner tray inverted? Just did an experiment with an old heat mat that's been used to ferment heavy mason jars of Kombucha for a couple of years and it got the container up to 36c, so I'm thinking that a newer heat mat would maybe give me a few extra degrees, but I am wondering if I need to be too fundermentalist about hitting exactly 40c, and if a few degrees either way would work fine.
I'm thinking that crisscross stacking of the cobs would fit many more in than a yogurt maker. Great idea.
Anyone using BPA free plastic for cobbing?

The inverted tray is so the cobs are more uniformly heated, limiting any direct contact to a heat source.

With that said I want to update my fav methods of cobbing:

New order -
1) Dehydrator - 2) Seed Mat & Dome - 3) Crock pot - 4) Yogurt Maker...

The question a couple days ago about the Dehydrator got me thinking more about the air movement and fan in my dehydrator and previous comments I made so it caused me to go out and do some additional testing, timing happens to work currently too :)


The past two days I've retested the Dehydrator vs the seed mat. Both can hold temps within 1 degree for an indefinite period of time. My Dehydrator though can hold this anywhere from 90F - 160F within one degree. I tested this time with two sensors and it was dead on to whatever temp I set it, when I tested it previously it had moved some, I think it was a faulty temp gauge. I actually also now think the moving air is a benefit and likely to create a more uniform process, think convection.

The time and temp is more about nuances and subtleties. As long as it's wet enough and warm enough > 90 IME, fermentation will start and do it's magic, all curing stages are key too.

I moved Dehydrator above Seed Mat as it has a much larger temp range which is equally accurate. It also doesn't have any off gassing and frankly I just hate the smell. I'm damn sure the Mason Jars and quality Vac bags I use don't let any air in/out but regardless the seed mat and the dome covering it start to smell like crap when heating up above 95F and if I don't need to breathe or smell it then I won't. The trade-off, electricity...

A crock pot just doesn't keep a tight enough temp range or allow for enough variability IME, even the digital ones.

I've bought and returned 2 yogurt makers. I wanted them to work but they are inaccurate, cheap, small and overall quality is terrible.

Thinking a little more.... I have a combo oven/range that is electric and the top range Gas (best of both) but those with a Gas oven and a Pilot.... Has anyone tested the temp in their oven closed with just the pilot on? Depending on your home temp I'd guess this could be an option too....? Anyone with a Gas Oven? Could be a nice option that folks already have, nice size ! Certainly good for stage 2 at the least
 
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Mick

Member
Veteran
The inverted tray is so the cobs are more uniformly heated, limiting any direct contact to a heat source.

With that said I want to update my fav methods of cobbing:

New order -
1) Dehydrator - 2) Seed Mat & Dome - 3) Crock pot - 4) Yogurt Maker...

The question a couple days ago about the Dehydrator got me thinking more about the air movement and fan in my dehydrator and previous comments I made so it caused me to go out and do some additional testing, timing happens to work currently too :)


The past two days I've retested the Dehydrator vs the seed mat. Both can hold temps within 1 degree for an indefinite period of time. My Dehydrator though can hold this anywhere from 90F - 160F within one degree. I tested this time with two sensors and it was dead on to whatever temp I set it, when I tested it previously it had moved some, I think it was a faulty temp gauge. I actually also now think the moving air is a benefit and likely to create a more uniform process, think convection.

The time and temp is more about nuances and subtleties. As long as it's wet enough and warm enough > 90 IME, fermentation will start and do it's magic, all curing stages are key too.

I moved Dehydrator above Seed Mat as it has a much larger temp range which is equally accurate. It also doesn't have any off gassing and frankly I just hate the smell. I'm damn sure the Mason Jars and quality Vac bags I use don't let any air in/out but regardless the seed mat and the dome covering it start to smell like crap when heating up above 95F and if I don't need to breathe or smell it then I won't. The trade-off, electricity...

A crock pot just doesn't keep a tight enough temp range or allow for enough variability IME, even the digital ones.

I've bought and returned 2 yogurt makers. I wanted them to work but they are inaccurate, cheap, small and overall quality is terrible.

Thinking a little more.... I have a combo oven/range that is electric and the top range Gas (best of both) but those with a Gas oven and a Pilot.... Has anyone tested the temp in their oven closed with just the pilot on? Depending on your home temp I'd guess this could be an option too....? Anyone with a Gas Oven? Could be a nice option that folks already have, nice size ! Certainly good for stage 2 at the least

Thanks Led, great info. Going to research dehydrators. A quick search found one with a temp setting, but maybe they all have them, and clear plastic, so you can see what's going on. The temp setting has to be good hey.
I might do a side by side and see which one works best and also not put all my eggs in the one basket.
Cheers
 

led05

Chasing The Present
Thanks Led, great info. Going to research dehydrators. A quick search found one with a temp setting, but maybe they all have them, and clear plastic, so you can see what's going on. The temp setting has to be good hey.
I might do a side by side and see which one works best and also not put all my eggs in the one basket.
Cheers

https://www.excaliburdehydrator.com/excalibur-9-tray-26hr-timer-clear-door-black.html

This is what I use.. I already had this for fall harvesting of fruits and veggies, always nice to have multi-purpose gadgets laying around . The one I have does not have clear plastic door, the trays easily slide out to see what's going on though.

It says 105-165 temp range on ad, not sure why, my dial goes down to 95 for living foods and even a little lower than that and I've tested it holding at that range just fine FYI
 

SweetSue

Active member
A dehydrator, eh? I just happen to have one, and by George, I never thought about the temp control on it. I like this idea led05. It’ll be used for my next cobs, in about two weeks. The next harvest after that is the one I’m looking forward - Carnival, my personal favorite.

The other day one of the members mentioned a professional bread-proofing box. I haven’t looked into it yet, but if you do lots of baking..... yeah, me neither. Lol! The dehydrator wins the race.

45 minutes to go before I take them out of the sweat box. How long should they dry before I reseal for fermentation?
 

Tangwena

Well-known member
Veteran
A dehydrator, eh? I just happen to have one, and by George, I never thought about the temp control on it. I like this idea led05. It’ll be used for my next cobs, in about two weeks. The next harvest after that is the one I’m looking forward - Carnival, my personal favorite.

The other day one of the members mentioned a professional bread-proofing box. I haven’t looked into it yet, but if you do lots of baking..... yeah, me neither. Lol! The dehydrator wins the race.

45 minutes to go before I take them out of the sweat box. How long should they dry before I reseal for fermentation?
All going well you should see signs of perspiration having occurred inside the sealed bag.
If you can see water droplets the cob should be very wet as the water content of the buds is sweated out.
You could use your dehydrator to dry the cobs until the maize skin is dry to the touch.
Then reseal them still in the maize skin to carry on fermenting for a week or two.
Dont be a afraid to open them and take a look it doesn't hurt them at all.
In fact if you could post a before and after of the canary buds even at this early stage I could see where they are going.
This is a critical stage for the future of the cure and as such I would love to see where it is going.
Much respect for the work you are doing spreading the word in your forum. Your fellow members will thank you I am sure once they have tried this a few times.
 

SweetSue

Active member
All going well you should see signs of perspiration having occurred inside the sealed bag.
If you can see water droplets the cob should be very wet as the water content of the buds is sweated out.
You could use your dehydrator to dry the cobs until the maize skin is dry to the touch.
Then reseal them still in the maize skin to carry on fermenting for a week or two.
Dont be a afraid to open them and take a look it doesn't hurt them at all.
In fact if you could post a before and after of the canary buds even at this early stage I could see where they are going.
This is a critical stage for the future of the cure and as such I would love to see where it is going.
Much respect for the work you are doing spreading the word in your forum. Your fellow members will thank you I am sure once they have tried this a few times.

My pleasure Tangwena. I hope I can get these up for you.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/attachment.php?attachmentid=449596&stc=1&d=1521074034

https://www.icmag.com/ic/attachment.php?attachmentid=449597&stc=1&d=1521074034

Sorry. I'm still a little stumped on how to get these up.

I'll break out the dehydrator and get them dried so they can get sealed back up. I still have to spread the word about using the dehydrator to sweat. That's a great idea.

I'm so thankful you kept this passion alive long enough for me to find it. I maintain somewhere around 40 active threads over at 420 Mag, many in the medical forums, but I also maintain a slew of community grow journals. I'm known for having fun at this obsession we have with cannabis, and another member pointed me in your direction.

That kind soul will forever have a special place in my heart.

The Malawi cobs and canaries smell incredible. There's a sweet grass element to them. It's almost overpowering.
 

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SweetSue

Active member
I hit the timing right too. Today the sugar leaves were crispy. :eyelash:

TychoMonolyth, if you're referring to whether the 420 Mag crowd will take to these, they already have. This is my fastest moving thread, for the short time it's been up. Members are digging out their food savers and looking at their harvest schedules. The excitement is as high as I've seen in more than three years.

This is a curious bunch that won't hesitate to experiment. We're all gonna have a lot of fun with this, on both forums.
 

SweetSue

Active member
It'll be interesting to see if they'll sell.

Ahhh.....you mean sell as a product. lol! That didn't even register until just now. Haha! I never think of cannabis in terms of a money crop, so it went right over my head. It would demand slick marketing, for sure, but I wouldn't be surprised to see it show up in the artisan market.
 
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