Malawi Style Cob Curing.

[Tangwena]

What do the curing cobs smell like? I assume it's at least somewhat strain dependent, is that a good guess?

Hi my friend it is strain dependant, but the smell is unique to that strain. Once you open the cob after 3 weeks in a vacuum bag you will fall in love with the sweet smell, its different from anything you will have smelt before.
Just as this cure is different from anything you have smoked before.
Tangwena

 

[PDX Dopesmoker]

Hi my friend it is strain dependant, but the smell is unique to that strain. Once you open the cob after 3 weeks in a vacuum bag you will fall in love with the sweet smell, its different from anything you will have smelt before.
Just as this cure is different from anything you have smoked before.
Tangwena

Is the smell different enough to fool a cop? Cause it certainly doesn't look like weed.

 

[Tangwena]

I wouldn't like to stake my liberty on it but if it was in a hard piece like a rock, which is how I carry it around a novice might miss it, but anyone familiar with drugs would be suspicious to me it still smells like some sort of dope.
Tangwena

 

[PDX Dopesmoker]

I wouldn't like to stake my liberty on it but if it was in a hard piece like a rock, which is how I carry it around a novice might miss it, but anyone familiar with drugs would be suspicious to me it still smells like some sort of dope.
Tangwena

Thanks for the info & for starting this thread. Really looking forward to trying this technique out with my harvest this fall.

 

[miyagi]

next step - curing

next step - curing

This is the next steps. Now it is curing time.

If found out that to start the sweating is not enough to put it in a box in a hot kitchen (summer hot kitchen, really hot), i needed some kind of heat source for it to start, like a laptop charger or something to put it on.

i will be back, maybe in i week if i open it to check, or i'm just cool enough to let it be unopened 2-3 weeks, anyway when i open i will post some more pictures. (probably 1 week....)

 

[Madjag]

Hey man, it doesn't look like dope.....it looks like Thai stick!

The jury has issued their verdict and the Judge has found the Cob is guilty on all counts:

- The Cob, when masticated for many minutes until the pulp is almost gone, facilitates an incredibly fast buzz, almost on par with smoking
- The Cob, notwithstanding, once masticated and swallowed fully, will bring a goofy smile within 20-30 minutes, often bordering upon the feeling of being in love with everything
- The Cob, because of its decarboxylated nature, brings new energies to play in unexpected ways, dis-similar to eating other edibles and positively different to smoking
- The Cob high last 2-4 times longer than the smoking experience and is a prime medication for eliminating anxiety, pain, or tightness in the body's joints

Because of all these compounding factors the High court had decided that most all persons coming into contact with the Cob in this manner will be subject to everlasting joy and newfound bliss. The High court also demands that all jurisdictions mandate at least one (1) Cobmaster per drug zone, who, with full enjoyment and zeal, will share the Cob with all they meet in order to make a more perfect union and enlist more masses in harmony and peace.

So here signed, by the Highest Cob Court,

Hieronymous Cobster, II
Sole heir to the Malawi Cobfinding Commission's new appointment, Chief Cobhead

 

[Tangwena]

Spoken like a true believer
Tangwena

 

[miyagi]

A question to Tangwena...

after a week or two in sweat vacuum curing it is time to part dry it in a cool dark place until it is a little moist in the middle. Then time to vacuum again for a long time - the real final aging cure.

But at this time should i keep the outer maize skin or remove it?

In my head i would like to keep it....

Thanx.

 

[Tangwena]

A question to Tangwena...

after a week or two in sweat vacuum curing it is time to part dry it in a cool dark place until it is a little moist in the middle. Then time to vacuum again for a long time - the real final aging cure.

But at this time should i keep the outer maize skin or remove it?

In my head i would like to keep it....

Thanx.

Hi my friend it doesn't matter but I like to keep the dry skin on as a wrapper, but I have done both and the result is the same. So go with what you prefer they look more authentic with the wrapper on I think.
Cant wait to see your result you are doing everything right so it should be good.
Tangwena

 

[PDX Dopesmoker]

I wonder what the mechanism of decarboxylization is. When I was reading about decarboxylization I found out that decarbing can happen as an effect of enzymatic action as well as heat, time & light, but I'd never seen an example of cannabinoids being decarbed by enzymes before, it was other chemicals. It really seems like there must be some kind of fermentation going in inside those warm, moist cobs especially when you add the evidence of color change, and the flavor & smell shifting as well. If the cannabis is being decarbed somehow in the fermentation process I think that could be meaningful because heat decarbing done best still destroys a good percentage of the cannbinoids. enzymes work on the molecules individually like a near infinite army of self replicating microscopic mechanical elves so a fully fermented cob might be unusually rich in the goods as far as decarbed flower goes.. The way MadJag reacted to eating the stuff sure did make it sound potent.

The fact that cob curing produces an edible product is already too fantastic & it could just be the time/heat combo doing the trick. A few years ago I got the idea to see if I could make a cannabis equivalent of chewing tobacco and I ended up with an effective but unsatisfactory product. Cob cured bud sounds like the real deal.

 

[subrovka]

you would obtain about 250mL CO2 when 20g of a solid 20%er (4g THC-a) completely decarboxylates (1mol gas is 22.4L at roomtemp.). so if something like this happens, i guess the vaccum in the bag would break down over the time..pretty interesting, one should observe that : )

 

[miyagi]

taste?

taste?

Who needs tea............I just chew the cob very well and swallow it. Bingo.

eating hash or weed do not tast that good if you ask me, how does the cob taste?

Interesting...

 

[Tangwena]

Very interesting comments, Madjag is experiencing one pheno of one plant cobbed in one way.
I have a dozen different cobs of a dozen different phenos of the same amount of strains all done in one of three main ways to cure the cobs. Every time you sweat the cobs the length of time you sweat them and the different temps sweated all produce different effects from the same bud.
The effects Madjag is enjoying are from one pheno of one plant cured in one way.
The effects you can get even from the same plant, range from mild happy high, to intense trippy high, depending on the length of time sweating and the temperature.
If you start with a strong intense plant harvested very late, you have the best pool of effects to work with, with experience you can get the sort of high you want by manipulating the cure. It will not make shit weed good, but will greatly enhance good weed.
If you include the difference in effects gained by growing method, soil, sun, time of harvest, strain ect. You have an infinite range of highs that can be sourced from the same plant.
I have cobs that can get you so high you will think they are laced with LSD when chewed.
Tangwena

 

[Tangwena]

it's a fermentation process, which relies on present enzymes and native microorganisms to convert certain chemical elements in the plant material to other forms, ideally something tastier or more palatable.

i wouldn't be surprised if major decarboxylation occurred during the sweating process.

i tried to find something on tobacco curing that would shed some light on what may be happening in our cobs.

Quote:
Tobacco curing is an important process in the industry. The procedure followed varies from one place to another and from one country to another. Certain enzymatic activities take place in the curing process, which brings about a distinct change in the chemical composition of the leaf. Some bacteria are believed to play a significant role in the fermentative process that sets in the curing of tobacco leaves. When the leaves are harvested and piled in heaps, the temperature rises to about 60*C. Certain thermophilic bacteria are believed to become active at this temperature. The enzymatic activity that sets in, helps in the development of typical aroma and flavour in the tobacco leaves. The alkaloids and organic acids are attacked, resulting in some better quality chemicals. Over 1,000,000 bacteria have been estimated in 1 gm of tobacco leaf. Several species of Bacillus, Proteus vulgaris, and some thermophilic organisms are commonly encountered. However, the exact role of these organisms in the biochemical changes during the curing process has not been worked out in any detail. Because of the varying types of soils in which tobacco is cultivated, and the different procedures that are being followed to cure the leaves, large variations in the microbial populations on the fresh leaves, and their subsequent role in curing are believed to take place.

Agricultural Microbiology by D. J. BAGYARAJ, G. RANGASWAMI pp 381
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[Tangwena]

eating hash or weed do not tast that good if you ask me, how does the cob taste?

Interesting...

I find the taste wonderful when chewed, I can taste dozens of different terpines and also the highs from one cob to another I can pick the strains that went into the hybrid from the effects if I have tasted the parents on their own before.
But if shit got me this high I would eat that too ha ha. I only need about .25 of a gram of good cob to trip all day so its not like you need to eat a lot.
Tangwena

 

[miyagi]

scared

scared

update on my first cob curing adventure:

I took it out and inspected it after 3 days, as I was nervous because the cobs were a bit moist when i started. It had indeed started changing color, becoming very dark.

Tangwena should i be scared or not... ? ? ?

my cobs are also changing color, getting dark. should i open them or just relax and let them be in the vac another week?

 

[Tangwena]

Ok that sounds good you can stop at any time but at least 7 days would be good, the color is darker because of temperature, the warmer the darker. It will not harm them only make them stronger.
But this is a learning curve so you can stop at any time and semi dry them, then age them or consume them. If it was me I would wait 7 days then open and semi dry them that will give you enough of a change in effect to make an impression.
Or you want to be really brave leave them 2 weeks and you will get the really dark cob that is also very powerful. Whatever you do it will be a success as the color change indicates it is curing.
Hang in there it takes a bit of nerve the first time as its all new.
Tangwena

 

[miyagi]

Ok that sounds good you can stop at any time but at least 7 days would be good, the color is darker because of temperature, the warmer the darker. It will not harm them only make them stronger.
But this is a learning curve so you can stop at any time and semi dry them, then age them or consume them. If it was me I would wait 7 days then open and semi dry them that will give you enough of a change in effect to make an impression.
Or you want to be really brave leave them 2 weeks and you will get the really dark cob that is also very powerful. Whatever you do it will be a success as the color change indicates it is curing.
Hang in there it takes a bit of nerve the first time as its all new.
Tangwena

i let them be in there then, belive in you, i even placed them a little hotter now.

lets see after 1-2 weeks, if they are rotten we know what not to do next time.

i take the chance.

 

[Tangwena]

Hi Miyagi if its in a very warm spot one week is probably good, this cob I left in my car which was parked in the sun all day for 1 week.
You can see it is very dark so I think try 7 days and then open and check it. If you are happy stop, if not re vacuum again and leave another week.
Tangwena

 

[ThaiBliss]

I love this thread. Glad to see the art of the cure being played out for all of us to absorb.