Malawi Style Cob Curing.

Night4wings20 said:

You should smoke it, maybe you'll like this one since it's made from the pan x hon?


Either way it's an interesting concept with the goats skin, you should have something similar in quality so it should be good for anyone for gets to try it.


Enjoy the fruits of your labor my friend

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I stopped smoking about 10 years ago or I would have been dead by now my friend.
There is no way I would be able to inhale any smoke these days.
Hash chewed and eaten like I do with the cob is very different in effect to smoking it, as is the cob for that matter.
I can only go on the smell, taste and effect chewed unfortunately.

My white widow after 40h @40-45C and 10 days of fermenting.



This time is little different cause of the low temps around here - so I gave it some extra days for fermenting. Smells the same as my previous WW cob - one word - Hashy. This time the colors are deeper and grayer which i don't think i've had before


Peace

treepwnzor said:

My white widow after 40h @40-45C and 10 days of fermenting.

View Image

This time is little different cause of the low temps around here - so I gave it some extra days for fermenting. Smells the same as my previous WW cob - one word - Hashy. This time the colors are deeper and grayer which i don't think i've had before


Peace

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Thats the smell right there. Dry a bit re seal and age for a month or three and I am sure it will be very good.
Looks awesome from the pics my friend love your work brother.

Tangwena said:

I stopped smoking about 10 years ago or I would have been dead by now my friend.
There is no way I would be able to inhale any smoke these days.
Hash chewed and eaten like I do with the cob is very different in effect to smoking it, as is the cob for that matter.
I can only go on the smell, taste and effect chewed unfortunately.

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That's a fair call my friend. Health before wealth
Chewing hash must be like chewing on taffy or toffee in consistency. I'm interested to try it out next year when I make some hash.

I have a little cob pattie (what I'm calling it anyway lol) on the go as of tonight. Not that much material so going for a 12-24hr sweat. Going to be making some more cob patties in the next month or so


Let us know how the hash goes in the terms you mentioned. Chewing fermented hash must bring out some amazing qualities in the feeling/taste


Ditto on those beauties @treepwnzor

Goat skins...a question or two.

A little off topic (though this post was definitely heavily influenced by the life is great high from one of my cobs, gotta love that post breakfast, sweet little cob pinner, that first one with a coffee is always the best jay of the day.

I wonder what happens to the goat skins after the aged dry sifted resin ("kif") is removed? I guess they re-use them for the next crop? Are these skins simply dried then used or are they tanned first? I guess there's a special way to prepare the skins for dry sifted resin curing. I'd also guess that the season for curing kif would be the same time that goats are eaten in large numbers. Are the skins scraped down then used fresh? Of all the information, books, forums, discussions about traditional hash making in the Islamic parts of the world, I don't remember these points being mentioned or asked about, but I'm sure there's more than a few Icmag members who know.

Wouldn't it be funny to have shoes, belt and coat, vest etc made from these skins and then try to fly into an Australian airport while wearing them. For those who don't know, Aussie airport Customs are very, very thorough and dogs are walked around almost all coming passengers and their hand carried luggage.

I'll post that goat skins question in the Hashish forum.

Just to make sure...if my material is already "dry" (65% RH), then i've already missed the opportunity to make these cobs?

no i think this means golden cobs
i think it should work if during the whole process the rh doesnt drop below 55 percent

a couple sesons ago the buds were already pretty dry (ready to be put in jars, maybe around 62 percent rh) and the result was light green golden and very aromatic, getting more golden with each month aging
so i suppose you can give it a try

the time with the golden cures i cobbed when the stems were already snapping, 1st day snapping
this time the stems were still bendable, 1-2 days before snapping and the cobs will be a lot darker in the end
next season i will wait again until the stems snap, i guess this will preserve more of the subtle and gentle aromas

48N said:

the time with the golden cures i cobbed when the stems were already snapping, 1st day snapping
this time the stems were still bendable, 1-2 days before snapping and the cobs will be a lot darker in the end
next season i will wait again until the stems snap, i guess this will preserve more of the subtle and gentle aromas

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Yeah,that's my experience too,also a short sweat(12 hours) and short fermentation,a week more or less,this way you should be able to preserve the original scent,the high is very racy this way but a bit less smooth to smoke.

Correct the drier the buds the more aromatic the cure and also the more golden the result.
The high is more racy as well I use every method it depends on the buds and the effect your after.
The euphoric racy effect suites certain buds better than the deep trippy effect experience and your own personal taste will dictate how much you dry the buds.


I find even using quite moist buds if I dry the cobs using a dehydrator after the sweat and weekly during the cure i can get a lot of variety in the resulting cobs.


Use your nose to choose the time to dry, once you have that sweet hash like smell its time to stop fermentation and start a slow cure. Drying as desired to get the smell and texture you desire.

Fermenting feedback

I am trying different fermenting methods inspired in this thread
First I tried the methods proposed here with tied corn husks on vacuum bags. I did it with low quality buds for experimenting and results were promising

I am not convinced with the vacuum bags or the ones I have are not to my liking
I have 2 different vacuum jars I use for conserving:
Vacuvin which I dont like much because the cover sometimes leaks: https://www.allfreeslowcookerrecipes.com/Food-Product-Reviews/Vacu-Vin-Containers-Review
And Prepara which I like a lot and is what I am using now for fermenting: https://prepara.com/products/evak-gloss-black

I tried with bain Marie: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bain-marie
using the vacuum jars in a pot and after 12 hours fermenting buds on bain marie 2 different strains, one of them I like more than the jar cured but the other strain I like better the fermented bud, so I think it is a matter of finding the right cure and the right fermentation for each strain

I tried Master Carraxe method. Doing heat fermentations on low tech is a lot of work, every hour must turn the fire on for a couple of minutes to keep it at around 40-45C
Results were very interesting and encouraging
Instead of pressing weed with the leg of the bed and pressing it on a mason jar, I used Prepara jar. Wrapped the weed in food grade nylon and the Prepara cover takes the air out and presses the weed without need of force.
I dont know about Angola or Senegal, but the smells and tastes with this method are 100% paraguayan weed. This is how paraguayan weed smells and tastes, how it hits today and how it did get you high in the 80's is a matter of a very long discussion

It's curious that so many threads and so many seedhuntings all over the world but nobody went seedhunting to the number 1 producer of cannabis in South America...I believe if you go there, your seedhunting has a lot of chances to turn into your own asshunting and maybe that why nobody went there and the best ganja in history after Punto Rojo went extinct???

Maybe Master Carraxe finds this link interesting, your method is 100% paraguayan style, the paraguayan fermenting is made buried
https://lento.ladiaria.com.uy/artic...-narcos-brasilenos-en-el-corazon-de-paraguay/

Some more info:
https://www.theguardian.com/global-...araguay-drugs-small-farmers-marijuana-cocaine

The cost of a kilo of ganja cured Carraxe method in Paraguay is 8 dollars a kilo according to the link in spanish(you can use google translator if interested)
I guess thats why a DEA base is there still fighting the drug war while in USA you are all legal and selling weed and seeds at outrageous and ridiculous prices
The only way you can keep an industry going on is at the point of guns, on a free and fair trade world you are all bankrupt from the let go, DEA has a base in Pedro Juan caballero since 2006:
https://books.google.com.uy/books?i... DEA in paraguay Pedro Juan caballero&f=false


Master Tangwena, you made me buy a yogurt maker. Do you have shares in the yogurt maker factory? I would have never bought such a product in my life if it wasnt for you. You are a great seller
I am trying to get fermented non pressed buds, so I can vape them.
Pressed weed, be it fermented or not, is for smoking but not for vaping. It must be vaped at such a high temperature it makes it for me impossible to vape. If I vape on my Mighty over 190C, I wake up coughing my lungs off. Smoking for a long time, even if you quit, takes a toll. And pressed weed must be vaped at least at 200C in order to get a decent vaping experience. So I am looking for non pressed fermented buds so I can vape them. Bain Marie method worked.
I tried 3 different ways with the yogurt maker:
2 prepara jars. I used fresh corn husks. I dont tie anymore, I dont see the point if you use the prepara jar. Just wrapping it and pressing it with the cover is enough. And it makes it much easier to open when fermented and reclose. Just wrap it makes the same effect, you get the grooving of the husk too
One jar I pressed and the second I just closed the jar, took air out but didnt press bud. In both jars result was practically the same. The non pressed bud come quite pressed cooked in all those juices.
And I put 2 buds on a husk inside the yogurt maker with the jars for 24 hours, no vacuum and no wrappings at all for these 2 buds, I just layed them in the humid fresh corn husk. I didnt expect anything but result was a big surprise. I got a perfectly dried bud, intact ready to smoke/vape after 48 hours I cut it from the plant. I tried on the Mighty and it had no chlorophyll at all and it had a high like if it was 7-10 days burping in the jar. Terpenes almost intact. I didnt expect this, to tell the truth, I didnt expect anything, but I am amazed. I remember now all those times that I had nothing and had to do all kind of fast cooking method to try and smoke some just cut stuff, so now that I dont look for it I find the way!!!
I put these sample buds on vacuum cure for 2 weeks to see if there is improvement. I find very difficult to get a bud this crispy in a 60-100% humidity area. I am also turning to vacuum cure inspired in this thread. If a cob cures on vacuum, then why buds would not cure on vacuum too?

The smells from the buds fermented on vacuum with yogurt maker I have never smelled before. It is very different smell from paraguayan style or Carraxe style. The one from the yogurt maker is like a corn soup, and once the husk dries, it leaves a smell I cant define, I never smelled that before.
Eating paraguayan Carraxe style weed as is, dont make the effects you describe. I dont know what the final result will be with the hot fermenting, in 2-4 weeks I will know better

Master Tangwena, could you explain how is your method for fermenting non pressed buds? Do they change taste and smell like your cobs? I wonder what kind of chemical reaction happened in order to get a bud ready to smoke in just 48 hours after I cut it from the plant...I never used a yogurt maker in my life, I dont know this machine but experiments are coming for sure
Thank you very much for the shared knowdledge everybody!!

Hi Funkyhorse it sounds like I would like the Paraguayan style of curing it sounds very similar to the African method.
Also South American / Central American weed is some of the best on the planet I am getting to appreciate it a lot these days.


Try fermenting the buds inside a vacuum jar they can be purchased online the buds cure the same as in a cob but not compressed.
I put fresh buds in the jar vacuum seal them in the jar then put the jar in the yogurt maker for 12, 24, 36 or 48hrs then dry the buds because they will be wet from sweating.


Store them in a jar as normal. Its better if you then age the buds for a month or more but they can be used after drying.
This method keeps the buds whole and should be good for vaping.


Sorry the pics came sideways but you can see how it works.
You can watch the color changing as the buds sweat and shrivel up as the water leaves them.


That is why I put the paper in the bottom of the jar it gets quite wet with sweated water inside the jar after 24hrs.

Those buds seem more like what I'm looking for but all that moisture in the jar scares me. I just threw out my second cob lost to mold.

I've been using the dried cob husk soaked briefly in water and dried off a bit. I'm obviously not getting the husks dried off enough before wrapping the buds up.

Both cobs got mold as I dried off the unwrapped compressed flower after the sweat. The flower in the cobs was much more wet than when I wrapped it up.

I still have one left that was somehow more dry than the others and is in a vacuum bag for the long cure.

Hi Sqatty were the buds vacuum sealed?

If they are vacuum sealed you will not get mold.


I have purchased a cheap dehydrator around $60 they are fantastic for drying the wet buds after the sweat and the cure and enable you to get rid of all the access moisture within an hour or two easily.


As you can see the sweat removes a lot of water from the buds or cob and if you leave them wet they will mold up quite quickly.
Its important not to leave them wet or damp for long periods unless they are sealed up.

Hello Tangwena. I wrapped flower in the dried and packaged cob husks which had been moistened with water and then dried off a bit. I then vacuum sealed the cobs in bags and sweated them in a slow cooker for eight hours or so. The cobs were left in the bags for one or two weeks.

When I opened the bags and opened the cobs the flower was compressed with a wonderful sweet smell. The flower was quite moist and I left it open to the room that was somewhere around 50% humidity. It was still moist after a few days of drying and that is when I found mold.

I believe the corn husks were too wet as the flower was near 68% humidity prior to being wrapped and sweated. After the sweat they were quite soft and moist to the touch.

The mold would have developed during the couple of days left to dry in the room I am sure.
The mold spores are in the air around us and warm moist conditions propagate them quickly.
Where I live is a desert climate and very dry even so 2 or 3 days in the open and mold will develop very quickly.


Since I have been using the dehydrator I have been able to control the drying and partial drying very easily. If you get one you will have no problems my friend the safest way is to dry quickly and then reseal to age.


Or dry fully as with buds in a jar after aging that way you dont need to seal them.
Some areas are more prone to mold as are certain times of the year with high humidity and warm temps.

If you are aware of these conditions and use a dehydrator you should have no future problems.

Everyone will get mold at least once using this cure just remember sealed or dried at all times and you should be good.

Thank you Tangwena. I wondered about your ambient humidity. I have seen notes of your cobs drying in a day or two but I believe it will take a bit longer here in the Pacific Northwest.

In my situation after harvesting flowers grown outdoors, the winter has arrived and we have very wet conditions. The house is a bit dryer as he have heat. Even after a few days my cobs were still moist to the touch.

I will find a better way to dry in the future.

squatty said:

Thank you Tangwena. I wondered about your ambient humidity. I have seen notes of your cobs drying in a day or two but I believe it will take a bit longer here in the Pacific Northwest.

In my situation after harvesting flowers grown outdoors, the winter has arrived and we have very wet conditions. The house is a bit dryer as he have heat. Even after a few days my cobs were still moist to the touch.

I will find a better way to dry in the future.

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The guys over on 420 forum have a cob thread and turned me on to the benefits of using the dehydrators and since getting one I have found it makes everything easy.
The best $60 I have ever spent.

They even use them for sweating in place of a yogurt maker so one machine does everything sort of thing.


Once the sweating stage is over the next most critical element is the cure and having just the right moisture level is super important.
Once you get the sweet hash like aroma its time to stop fermentation/curing and reduce the moisture content ready to seal and age.
The dehydrators do this amazingly well, without loosing to many terps.
When I start using the dehydrator the smell is mostly like green grass if you use the lower settings.
I take this to mean I am not vaporising the aromatic terps during drying like can be done at higher temps. As the dry progresses you start to smell the terpy smell and you know you are getting closer to the ideal moisture level for sealing and aging.


I like to open the bags weekly for the first month and dry gently each time until the outer surface of the cob feels dry to the touch. Then re seal to age again repeating weekly for the first month.
After that you can fully dry or just take a working slice off and re seal the rest it will keep nice and aromatic for years if sealed up like this.

Master Tangwena
First of all happy and prosperous 2019
I would like to thank you for all the effort you put to help us recreate a lost craft like fermenting. Yours is a fermenting priesthood
The reason I started reading this full thread and the other one at 420 is because I saw pictures which remind me paraguayan 80's, those reddish cobs that seem very sticky is what it was about. A little needle between four people and they would be not able to socialize at all for at least 3 hours. That is lost long time ago and I think to obtain those kind of cobs or pressed weed is a matter of strain, and I think this cure was the traditional curing in the 20th century for very long flowering sativas not only in Malawi. I am sure you would have loved that.



The Prepara jars seem to give more vacuum surface inside the yogurt maker and still plenty of place for placing cobs:
http://imgbox.com/PzvCT9Op


Result with the yoghurt maker are amazing, it simply beats my expectations
With this thread I found out that I get a better result in my very humid environment curing buds on vacuum than in a glass jar among other things. This thread has been the highlight of 2018 for me. There is certainly spiritual, intellectual and physical enrichment in reading this thread. And hopefully will ever keep this way and humble



Questions:
1)Did you try curing fermented buds in vacuum like if it would be a cob? I mean after sweating, keep the fermented buds in vacuum for 2 weeks and after that burp in a jar or vacuum.

a)Anyone tried that?

b)If option a is yes, then result would be the same bud and cob smoked? I for sure will try, but maybe someone already tried and can give feedback


2)Have you ever eaten fermented bud? Is it similar to eaten cob? Did you ever try eating a bud from the same batch as a cob using same sweating/curing/fermenting for both and can compare?


3)You said this cure has threads on 3 forums. I know this thread and the 420 one. Could you point or link to the third one?


I really appreciate the help you give us.

I feel weird to be the one to salute you for the new year, but somebody must do it. This is my first time writing on a forum in the internet, I certainly dont like writing much, people gets pissed off when reading truth.

You have really changed my quality of life for better with this thread.

I take my bandana off and bow to you, Sir


Happy 2019!!! Happy cobbing everybody!!