Malawi Style Cob Curing.

[Taima-da]

I have heard that in Pakistan the best hash has been aged for three years in a pouch made from sheep (stomach, intestine or bladder, can't remember which). Tang has mentioned the best Lebanese hash was traditionally cured also. I suspect that the inside of a ball of hash is fairly impervious to oxygen degradation.
I'm sure there are corollaries in other hash cultures/regions.
So the best hash of the past was indeed cobbed to some degree it seems.

 

[moose/MI]

I have heard that in Pakistan the best hash has been aged for three years in a pouch made from sheep (stomach, intestine or bladder, can't remember which). Tang has mentioned the best Lebanese hash was traditionally cured also. I suspect that the inside of a ball of hash is fairly impervious to oxygen degradation.
I'm sure there are corollaries in other hash cultures/regions.
So the best hash of the past was indeed cobbed to some degree it seems.

I remember reading something similar. I believe it was dry sift they filled the stomach's with. I don't remember if the author thought there was any lacto activity going on?

I pay special attention to wedging the temple ball like clay to get the air out of the center. Part of the reason I like the 45 gram or so size to work with.

 

[moose/MI]

I'm going to start harvesting tomorrow. That will start my clock to have all my ducks in a row to cob.
I've been going back through the thread and here's a few details I would like opinions on.

 

[CDNINCA]

Hi @moose/MI ,

I'll take a pass at trying to answer your questions, very cool that harvest is about to happen! I brought in my first plant yesterday!

A "Canary bud" is a small piece that is not wrapped so that you can see how the progress evolves/ happens. It's like the "Canary in the coal mine" idea.

As for thickness, some have pressed bars that look to be about a half inch thick from the pics I've seen. I've not pressed into bars. I like fatter and shorter cobs of about an ounce in size. I think that having a larger volume of material seems to help the process rather than a long skinny cob? Just my thoughts on that, not sure if it's true.

Not sure what you mean by "colorful". If you want to closely maintain the original colors of the source weed then start cobbing when the weed is almost dry enough to smoke - not too much moisture in it. If you want a dark/intense color in the final cob, start with the weed wetter. Both will produce great results but the drier version takes a little longer due to less moisture.

Also, this is personal preference, I like the drier/ slower process - the final result is the style I prefer.

When you compress them, compress the crap out of them -tighter is better, isn't that always the case? The idea is to expel as much oxygen from inside the cob by wrapping it tightly.

Corn husks work, preferably the green ones as they don't tend to tear as easily. If you use the dry ones you might try rehydrating them so that they are more pliable? Parchment paper works too if you don't have access to corn husks, and simply stuffing a pile of weed in the vac bag works too -sans wrapper!

I've only done single origin cobs before as I want to learn how this all works. I believe most do the same and when it comes to consumption that's when you might try a little of this and a little of that to get different effects?

Hope that helps, cheers!

 

[Baba Karuna]

One quick question for all the Cob Gurus - Does the moisture content have any effect during the cure or is it mostly effective to get the ferment started??? These cobs were fairly dry before the sweat but I'm pretty sure they still had internal moisture waiting. Is it worth the risk of mold to keep it a bit more moist after the sweat or is dryer better???

Jai Maa

I am very impressed with your modified sweat box. It looks fantastic

I have played around with the moisture level during the cure and have noticed that my drier herbs come out more golden and with a different scent than if they were more moist. I much prefer to keep the herb very moist during sweat and cure, as it brings out a darker (sometimes black) color, smoother smoking/vaping experience, and a more "weightless" body effect when chewed.

As @Tangwena pointed out, it is best to play around with the moisture level and experience the results. You will then gather a deeper understanding of the process and find your "glass slipper"

Om Mani Padme Hum

 

[Baba Karuna]

I found this thread last season a little too late. I'm reading it again from about page 350 forward.
I wanted to jump ahead with a couple questions because harvest is closing in.
Friday will be 75 dof

Has anyone used an instant pot to do the intial sweat at 40C? After the vacuum bag I thought I could use it for precise sweat temperature.

Second question

I normally save some of the A buds for flower and make templeball hash from the rest of each plant. Now I plan to cob some of each plant also.
Do I need to adjust my harvest at all for cob?
Is it better to run the plants longer?
Or take them where I normally would?
The weather has been spectacular.

Thanks

I currently use an Instant Pot to do the sweat and it is highly successful. Harvesting the plants as you normally would is good, as long as they are ripe, they will make fine cobs


Jai Kali Maa

 

[Baba Karuna]

Do you cob the more modern hybrids?
indica/sativa
Or is this better for the more pure sativa?
View attachment 19077605
I went heavy on the sativas this year
3 of Green Mountain's offering.
A Panama cross from Mass Medical and an Ace Super Panama Haze which unfortunately died as a seedling.

I do have 2 indica/sativa blended plants also. I can make hash from them if cobbing isn't recommended.

Looks beautiful

I cob everything, it is the only curing/processing method I employ and to me it makes everything better. Today I opened up a Northern Lights Auto I got as freebie years ago. Grew it this summer for fun and after chewing around 0.5g it has brought on a very mellow and easy going vibe. Not sleepy at all just relaxing. My wife has vaporized it and says it it highly narcotic and sleepy. The chewed herb to me feels slightly energizing.

I really enjoy the pure heirloom sativas like my Peruvian especially chewed. Even the pure Afghans and Pakistanis I'm fermenting are far better cured this way

Boom Shankar

 

[moose/MI]

This is my Green Mountain Grape .
Sungrown - Organic - 75 dof
30gal container Living soil
I'm going to her at first light.

 

[Baba Karuna]

@moose/MI

Great questions

I always fill up the corn husks, banana leaf, or whatever skin I have as much as I can. Small and thin cobs work too but I have great results despite size so I pack them full. This is useful espeically when processing large quanitites of herb, and it saves time.

For a more colorful or darker cure, I cook at a slightly higher temp for 48 hrs 108F, using herb that is more moist (only drying for 1-3 days).

I like a an easy to peel apart, friable herb. So I only compress by hand. I fill the skin, and squeeze the cob as tight as possible and once finsihed, the herb crumbles nicely between my fingers.

I like to grow multiple seeds of each cultivar and mixing all of them into each cob. I grew up in Arabia and had access to traditional high grade hashish. Since the hash is produced utilizing multiple plants I became habituated to the unique effects of mixing cannabinoid profiles. It makes the effects more complex and medicinal. Plus, since the cannabinoid and terpene profile of each piece of cob I use varies, it slows down tolerance build up.

Om Mani Padme Hum

 

[Baba Karuna]

I have heard that in Pakistan the best hash has been aged for three years in a pouch made from sheep (stomach, intestine or bladder, can't remember which). Tang has mentioned the best Lebanese hash was traditionally cured also. I suspect that the inside of a ball of hash is fairly impervious to oxygen degradation.
I'm sure there are corollaries in other hash cultures/regions.
So the best hash of the past was indeed cobbed to some degree it seems.

I can attest that traditional Pakistani hashish is excellent. In my youth, I would smoke a couple of small bowls of this hash (very small bowls, like the kind of pipe used in Morroco to smoke Kif) and my eyes would get so red they almost looked purple.

I noticed when I got to the USA the herb did not feel like what I had growing up. Cobbing and heirloom genetics solved this issue

Jai Durga Maa

 

[Hasch]

I'm assuming this whitish colorasion starting here is bad mold

Still smells delicious...

 

[Prs2xs]

View attachment 19078738
I'm assuming this whitish colorasion starting here is bad mold

Still smells delicious...
View attachment 19078739

Get a jewellers loupe or magnifying glass and inspect more closely- if there are no hyphae, and it looks like crystalline white , it's just salts, and that is ok.