[clearheaded]

they harvest aspergillus orzaye off of corn cobs with rice. its also known as KOBI which is used to make miso along with many other japanese condiments wines etc. even 'instant' dry age meat.. so there is something other then just the vessel of the actual corn husks

[MedBelgUsr]

Hi Tangwena,

As I have slightly modified the main lines of the cobbing process that you shared, I'm wondering :

The sweating is done for my 2 cobs ( 24h in the Yoghurt device ) , and I have just removed the moisture located outside the cob, without touching the ties or peeking inside : the smell was leaving no doubts that everything was going fine.

In many of the methods, I see that after sweating, most people ferment at 25-30 C for 1 week, and then dry the cobs to let it age for month(s).
Personnaly, from what I've read, I have the impression that once the cob is dryer, it's not evolving much.

So instead of keeping the ferment phase to 1 week at a "high" temperature right after the sweating day, I went for a looooong ferment/cure by keeping the inside of the cob untouched in its vacuum sealed bag ( the inside of the vacuum bag has been dried ) and I plan to leave it 3 months of room temperature curing ( and I guess the inside of the cob is still very moist with the plants enzyme working slowly at 22 C ) .

I will be checking monthly the smell in vacuum the bag without opening the cob to leave the moisture inside the wrap. After 3 months, I will dry the cobs fully by opening them and leave them at open air in the dark until their outside shell becomes hard.

My question is : leaving the cobs all the time slightly moist for so long in its vacuum bag, have you heard other people doing it ? should I expect a reduction in any effects or terpenes profiles or, on the contrary, 3 months of curing with no external bacteria/molds will be good ?

I understand that aging/storing can me done for years, but is it desirable to let the enzyme work for a long time ( even very slowly with far than optimal temperature ).

Cheers
MBU

[Tangwena]

Originally Posted by MedBelgUsr

Hi Tangwena,

As I have slightly modified the main lines of the cobbing process that you shared, I'm wondering :

The sweating is done for my 2 cobs ( 24h in the Yoghurt device ) , and I have just removed the moisture located outside the cob, without touching the ties or peeking inside : the smell was leaving no doubts that everything was going fine.

In many of the methods, I see that after sweating, most people ferment at 25-30 C for 1 week, and then dry the cobs to let it age for month(s).
Personnaly, from what I've read, I have the impression that once the cob is dryer, it's not evolving much.

So instead of keeping the ferment phase to 1 week at a "high" temperature right after the sweating day, I went for a looooong ferment/cure by keeping the inside of the cob untouched in its vacuum sealed bag ( the inside of the vacuum bag has been dried ) and I plan to leave it 3 months of room temperature curing ( and I guess the inside of the cob is still very moist with the plants enzyme working slowly at 22 C ) .

I will be checking monthly the smell in vacuum the bag without opening the cob to leave the moisture inside the wrap. After 3 months, I will dry the cobs fully by opening them and leave them at open air in the dark until their outside shell becomes hard.

My question is : leaving the cobs all the time slightly moist for so long in its vacuum bag, have you heard other people doing it ? should I expect a reduction in any effects or terpenes profiles or, on the contrary, 3 months of curing with no external bacteria/molds will be good ?

I understand that aging/storing can me done for years, but is it desirable to let the enzyme work for a long time ( even very slowly with far than optimal temperature ).

Cheers
MBU

Yes I have done it myself earlier in the development of this technique.
Whether or not it will be detrimental to the end product depends to a large degree on the moisture content of the buds starting the cure.
If too much moisture is present after the initial sweating 12 to 24 hrs for example it doesn't seem to matter what temp the cobs are kept at they compost not cure.
The resulting matter is usually foul smelling like ammonia and most unattractive.
It will once dried get you high but has a bad smell and taste and should be avoided.
The best smelling and tasting cobs are usually made with drier rather than moister buds.
The best gauge is if the storks still bend but dont snap and it will burn in a joint but go out if not constantly toked on.
Drier buds as described above can tolerate this type of cure and can be very nicely cured this way.
Dont read too much into the term fermenting in regard to this cure.
You can get a good cure without the initial sweat if the starting moisture content is right.
There is a good reason I say open the bags weekly dry the cobs and sniff the bags because most people use buds that are too moist. By checking weekly you can get more chance of hitting the sweet spot in the fermentation.
Once you have found it it pays to dry the cobs leaving only a slightly moist core and vacuum seal them to age at around 30c.
If its too cold the cure stalls and the buds just stop changing for the better.
I have had cobs made in our winter where the temps can go as low as 6c overnight and they just stay looking like pressed green buds.
Its an art form and takes a bit of practice but it is very rewarding once you see good results you will pick it up quickly as your enthusiasm will keep you wanting to get better and better.
The master curers I was fortunate enough to taste and see the wares of in Africa are true artists not every grower can reach their level of artistic expression.
Good curers are highly sought after in the tobacco industry I see no reason why it will not be the same in the pot industry.
Small artisan type growers can easily find a niche market as theirs cobs will sell themselves.

[MedBelgUsr]

Ok, then after reading your tips, it means that I will open the current 2 Kali cobs weekly to be sure there's no foul smell development ( I will still keep them all tied/wrapped because, from what you wrote, if there's no bad smell, probably all is still going fine ).

And for the Trainwreck that I'm cobbing tomorrow, I will :

- sweat for 24h with the wrap and vacuum
- dry the outside of the wrap , vacuum again
- put for 1 week at 25 - 30 degrees with the wrap,
- remove the wrap, let it dry till the outside is getting hard ( around 3 days )
- take the unwrapped piece of cob, vacuum for at least 3 months ( + an eternity ) at room temperature. Abuse.

Of course, with regular "nose" checks.

Thanks Mr Tangwena, I have a plan now.

[OnlyPureSativas]

Originally Posted by chilliwilli

Hi folks my first try with cob
Some kerala chellakutti harvested yesterday. Buds are very fluffy so i hope its not too early. I picked most of the stems.

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And then wrapped in some cooking bags and tightened. The cooking bag is nice because i could compress the buds easy by rolling like a joint after stuffing in the bag.

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Please don't open it for at least two or three months because the high will just keep getting better

[funkyhorse]

Originally Posted by funkyhorse

Very interesting article Tangwena, I decided to make an experiment after reading it
It is impossible to find food vaccuum bags, but banana bark is no problem at all, fresh from the garden and gliphosate free, this year there are a few babies, the plant is happy here

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So I made a banana cob with the TRSC repro of Malawi Gold and I put it in the greenhouse where it will have temperatures ranging from 20-40C for the summer and will receive some morning dew as well. It will stay until after Carnival.

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Tomorrow I am trying a cob in the yoghurt maker with the nylon bag of my Arizer Q Extreme which should be of same quality as the Volcano one. Thank you Nivek for the tip, I like this nylon, is much easier to work with than the milk bag which is the only food grade bag available here

Carnival is over and I decided today to open up this first banana cob I made and certainly it wont be the last. I wasnt expecting anything on the high department since the material/version of the strain used are very mild, I would say subpar. I am surprised at the organoleptics. Excellent smells, matching or even beating some of the best paraguayan weed I got in times long gone on the organoleptics. It smokes very smooth, better than the cured buds on the jar. What impresses me is that it smells better than the buds, I wasnt expecting it. I am curious what the result on the resinous top quality strains will be with this banana bark technique, they keep fermenting outdoors for at least one more month.




On the next banana cobs to ensure vaccuum, I wrapped the cob with masking tape or Scotch tape and I like the results with scotch tape better, it handles the humidity better. For long cure storing, I am using the same method as with my hash, inspired on the way of commercial nepali charas. I wrap the cob in a lot of nylon film, the same used to wrap food and on top of that I wrap it with scotch tape to ensure vaccuum
I found the vaccuum bags here. They need to be used with a vaccuum machine which costs 200u$s the cheapest one and 400u$s the next cheaper one. Are these vaccuum machines a household item in the first world??? How much it costs in the free trade world? In the meantime I stick with proven succesful cheaper third world techniques.

Tangwena, do you get the same terpenes in the yoghurt maker compared to the natural ferment process?

[Swamp Thang]

Originally Posted by funkyhorse

I found the vaccuum bags here. They need to be used with a vaccuum machine which costs 200u$s the cheapest one and 400u$s the next cheaper one. Are these vaccuum machines a household item in the first world??? How much it costs in the free trade world? In the meantime I stick with proven succesful cheaper third world techniques.

Tangwena, do you get the same terpenes in the yoghurt maker compared to the natural ferment process?

Here is a nice kitchen grade vacuum machine for $20 USD.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Commercial-...ms=ispr%3D1&ha

Very cheap and affordable. Since you won't use this machine often, a commercial grade machine is not essential.

[funkyhorse]

Originally Posted by Swamp Thang

Here is a nice kitchen grade vacuum machine for $20 USD.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Commercial-...ms=ispr%3D1&ha

Very cheap and affordable. Since you won't use this machine often, a commercial grade machine is not essential.

Thank you very much for the link. There are no shipments to my country, and in case there would be, shipment would cost x3 or more the price of the artifact. I was curious to know the price of a cheap machine and at that price it makes sense it becomes a household item at first world countries

It is amazing how cheap these things are in first world countries and how expensive they are at the third world

Have a nice day everybody

[Tangwena]

Originally Posted by funkyhorse

Carnival is over and I decided today to open up this first banana cob I made and certainly it wont be the last. I wasnt expecting anything on the high department since the material/version of the strain used are very mild, I would say subpar. I am surprised at the organoleptics. Excellent smells, matching or even beating some of the best paraguayan weed I got in times long gone on the organoleptics. It smokes very smooth, better than the cured buds on the jar. What impresses me is that it smells better than the buds, I wasnt expecting it. I am curious what the result on the resinous top quality strains will be with this banana bark technique, they keep fermenting outdoors for at least one more month.

View Image


On the next banana cobs to ensure vaccuum, I wrapped the cob with masking tape or Scotch tape and I like the results with scotch tape better, it handles the humidity better. For long cure storing, I am using the same method as with my hash, inspired on the way of commercial nepali charas. I wrap the cob in a lot of nylon film, the same used to wrap food and on top of that I wrap it with scotch tape to ensure vaccuum
I found the vaccuum bags here. They need to be used with a vaccuum machine which costs 200u$s the cheapest one and 400u$s the next cheaper one. Are these vaccuum machines a household item in the first world??? How much it costs in the free trade world? In the meantime I stick with proven succesful cheaper third world techniques.

Tangwena, do you get the same terpenes in the yoghurt maker compared to the natural ferment process?

Excellent colors that cured well for sure the nose knows well.
If the smell is good so is the cure my friend.
They dont use vacuum sealers in Africa so I'm not surprised your method has worked so well I take my hat off to you sir!
Now just imagine what you can produce with a resinous trippy plants buds.
I predict your next and all subsequent cobs are just going to be better and better you have the talent now.
The yogurt maker can produce the same terpy colorful cobs when drier buds are sweated for shorter periods.
It is especially good at producing the sticky hashish style cobs but thats another style.
What you have produced is a classic cure and you should feel very proud my friend welcome to the cob club.