What exactly does curing do?

[Guest]

I know it helps keep the cannabis fresh, but I also know that curing can make the cannabis more potent.

So, what exactly does curing do, and why does it work?

thanks

 

[Guest]

anyone throw some knowledge on a head?

 

[ogrefugee]

sorry, weed can not become "more potent" after it is cut, only more availible. Granted fresh bud right off the plant is tough to get high off of, that is only because it is not absorbing the heat (because of the water content) throughout the bud. Since all the heat is concentrated to the outsideo of the bud most of the trich's are just burnt (destroyed), not actually vaporized into the airstream that goes to your lungs.

curing allows flavors to rise out of the deeper parts of the bud and moister (what's left of it) even out throughout all of the bud. think of inside the curing jar as a soup, and when left to sit (for a while) everything settles and levels out. also the aging allows some of the residual chemicals break down (making the smoke smoother) and smell/flavor to breakdown/go through a reaction which brings out some really interesting and strong flavors.

but remember after a point (1-2 years depending on who you ask) everything starts to "rot" so to speak, so there is such a thing as too much curing

 

[Guest]

interesting

 

[sproutco]

Curing helps the polystoneroids become active. They are enhanced by this curing process. Without a cure you have negativestoneroids in the buds.

 

[Space Toker]

stoneroids?
somehow I think you made that up!
good one though! yeah so a serious discussion on curing methods and the necessity of it all would be cool! Thanks
PEACE

PS. is it really necessary to cure for that long? Assuming it is necessary to cure at all, what is the minimum needed to enhance/improve the flavor?

 

[SEEDYNONO]

i like a nice 2 month cure.

 

[PazVerdeRadical]

what the curing process actually does is to slightly ferment the herb without letting ammoniac show up and start to decompose the plant. the fermentation process also changes the structures of the alkaloids. i should study more how these changes occur, but surely, cannabinoids go through some kind of morphosis during the cure.
peace!

 

[Trancerman]

what the curing process actually does is to slightly ferment the herb without letting ammoniac show up and start to decompose the plant. the fermentation process also changes the structures of the alkaloids. i should study more how these changes occur, but surely, cannabinoids go through some kind of morphosis during the cure.
peace!

si


He's right. Cannabinoids 'degrade' into other chemicals during the cure process. I say degrade because here is something many do not think about. These compounds that we ingest to produce the high/stone are all degraded by light and heat. YES! Even though heat makes the THC active to smoke. It also is degrading it. This is common sense. I have been wondering how we could get an air-tight/light-tight/heat-tight sample of THC into our bodies. Without being degraded and without it taking on an opiad-like alkaloid. Which usually happens when alot of cannabis is injested by any normal means. I think the potential of THC and the other cannabinoids is extrodinary. I'm sure it could prove itself to be very phycedelic.

 

[JJScorpio]

I dont believe THC needs heat to become dry and psychoactive does it? Dryness can occur with cooler temps and still cause the change in the THC....In the fall, I have had plants that never saw over 50 degrees before being smoked....

 

[PazVerdeRadical]

These compounds that we ingest to produce the high/stone are all degraded by light and heat. YES! Even though heat makes the THC active to smoke. It also is degrading it...
...I think the potential of THC and the other cannabinoids is extrodinary. I'm sure it could prove itself to be very phycedelic.

everything is degraded by light and heat, cannabis and apparently our own bodies included see, you take anti-oxydants in order to retard the oxydation caused by oxygen and the environment.
in cannabis, this degrading process is natural, and does not necessarily mean that the cannabinoids will always become stonier and stonier rather than more psychedelic. here on ic we can read reports of how a proper cure of a good sativa can in fact prove beneficial for the herb to reach its full psychedelic potential. the cure can also be done in order to make the effect stonier and narcotic, like sweat curing.

peace!

 

[ogrefugee]

you take anti-oxydants in order to retard the oxydation caused by oxygen and the environment

what? no.

anti-oxidants aid your body in resisting "free radicals" which are highly reactive atoms that lead to bad mutations such as cancer because the a-o's react with the free radicals thus eliminating the free radical's ability to react to something in your body.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_radicals



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-oxidants (Scrool down to the the biological effects,the first paragraph is a GENERALIZED STATEMENT

Here is the important paragraph

One major action of antioxidants in cells is to prevent damage due to the action of reactive oxygen species. Reactive oxygen species include hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), the superoxide anion (O2−), and free radicals such as the hydroxyl radical (·OH). These molecules are unstable and highly reactive, and can damage cells by chemical chain reactions such as lipid peroxidation, or formation of DNA adducts that can lead to cancer-promoting mutations or cell death. All cells therefore contain antioxidants that serve to reduce or prevent this damage.

stop talking out your ass. "to retard the oxydation caused by oxygen and the environment". Humans don't rust. i bet you sell new age holistic beatle cum or something

 

[Guest]

I thought nothing happened other than the more volatile chemicals (terpenes and stuff?) in the weed break down into starches and sugars, and also what just happens over time is more of the thc glands become more amber, giving less THC content vs CBD and CBN conent. its my feeling that the high is neither in large amounts of thc, or large amounts of CBN, but in a good balance of the two. oh yeah lookit, people said that allready.

 

[Tokabowl]

Curing helps the polystoneroids become active. They are enhanced by this curing process. Without a cure you have negativestoneroids in the buds.

lmao

 

[Guest]

pretty much rite on....more on free redicals http://www.healthchecksystems.com/antioxid.htm

what? no.

anti-oxidants aid your body in resisting "free radicals" which are highly reactive atoms that lead to bad mutations such as cancer because the a-o's react with the free radicals thus eliminating the free radical's ability to react to something in your body.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_radicals



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-oxidants (Scrool down to the the biological effects,the first paragraph is a GENERALIZED STATEMENT

Here is the important paragraph



stop talking out your ass. "to retard the oxydation caused by oxygen and the environment". Humans don't rust. i bet you sell new age holistic beatle cum or something

 

[Closet Funk]

I like to give my buds at least a 3 week cure before smoking. I noticed in 3 weeks all the moisture is usually out and buds are nice and dry. I noticed a big difference in taste and high just withing a week from 2 to 3. Now this is with smaller buds from a 250. I would go longer for bigger buds because they take longer to go through the process. I would probally give bigger buds about 6 weeks. This way the buds is fresh but cured enough to enjoy. It's easier to cure longer when you got other jars that have been cured already. It's hard when your out of smoke because waiting that extra month to smoke is a pain in the ass. I'll sometimes water cure a few grams so I can at least smoke alittle while others are curing in the jar.

Usually buds are ready to be smoked when the wet smell go aways and the aroma starts smelling like it did before the chop.

 

[PazVerdeRadical]

kids...

kids...

what? no.

anti-oxidants aid your body in resisting "free radicals" which are highly reactive atoms that lead to bad mutations such as cancer because the a-o's react with the free radicals thus eliminating the free radical's ability to react to something in your body.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_radicals



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-oxidants (Scrool down to the the biological effects,the first paragraph is a GENERALIZED STATEMENT

Here is the important paragraph



stop talking out your ass. "to retard the oxydation caused by oxygen and the environment". Humans don't rust. i bet you sell new age holistic beatle cum or something

look boy, learn how to read what you yourself research:

Here is the important paragraph

One major action of antioxidants in cells is to prevent damage due to the action of reactive oxygen species. Reactive oxygen species include hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), the superoxide anion (O2−), and free radicals such as the hydroxyl radical (·OH). These molecules are unstable and highly reactive, and can damage cells by chemical chain reactions such as lipid peroxidation, or formation of DNA adducts that can lead to cancer-promoting mutations or cell death. All cells therefore contain antioxidants that serve to reduce or prevent this damage.

aight son, peace.

 

[Pinball Wizard]

...my last harvest will have been in glass quart jars...since JAN 06...How much longer will they be good...???...I haven't even got to the main cola's yet...

 

[ChaoticEntity]

curing does two things, one it allows for the partial fermentation of chlorophyll, in the process it used up the o2 avalible to it, this in turn leads to decarboxylation of less psychoactive forms of thc, this turns them into more avalible forms. ie delta 6 into delta 9 ect.. it does not seem to allow the process of CBN--->THC-->CBD to occur, that is to say the pot is not more potent, just that what cannabloids are there are far more avalible to be absorbed.

Curing will in effect make more of the THC active and make the smoke much smoother as the chlorophylls break down into simplier sugars(this is the reason that well cured bud smells/tastes sweet when it is smoked).


In regards to long term storage I've found that after an initial cure of 6-12 months(depending on strain) that I simply pull the pot out of jars and keep it in a fairly large humidor, this allows 02 to circulate again and I slightly lower the humidity to slow the curing process way way down, in effect it's like holding the bud in stasis or rather slo mo time for a while, I've smoked buds in excess of 4-5 years old with this method and the results are outstanding.

 

[Guest]

actually when the molecules divide improperly because of toxins a molecule is minus a electron so its a blind zombie and goes around grabs another molecule and robs it of a electron to stabilize its self...the reason antioxidants works is the have a electron to donate to the free radicals thus giving them stability again bringing peace back to the molecule world...thats the real thats the deal...there are no free radicals in your curing bud lol...any questions