From: Toren Smith Newsgroups: alt.smokers.pipes Subject: Three years of vacuum-sealing: an experiment concluded (long) Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2001 11:37:11 -0700 Hello all, and hope things have been going well on the NG. Flames at a low simmer and trolls staying under the bridge, all that. I wanted to post the results of the recently concluded experiment in using the Tilia Vacuum sealing dingus for storing tobacco. For those of you who want to skip the details, Greg Pease was right--store your tobacco in an unevacuated glass jar. 1. Fully evacuated plastic pouches. Up until about two years, these work fine at sealing the tobacco. However, minimal aging takes place, probably due to the lack of oxygen. The pressure compacts the mass into a fairly firm block, nothing like a real pressed flake, but pretty solid as the pressure continues over a period of years. This seems to encourage the formation of sugar crystals on tobaccos prone to it. I found the apparent effects of this "pressing" the best aspects of the method of storage. Unfortunately, somewhere between two and three years, enough H2O vapor escapes to begin a drying process, usually noticable around the edges of the tobacco mass, which begin to feel crispy through the plastic. Note that the vacuum remains tight--the plastic used apparently passes H2O more easily than O2, N2, or other atmospheric gasses. Bottom line--not recommended if you want to age the tobacco. If you like the tobacco as is, or it is PG cased, then at the least I recommend double bagging and double sealing. 2. Non-evacuated plastic pouches. Not too bad. Noticeable aging occurred, and much less drying, even at the end of three years. Even so, there was some drying and double bagging/sealing would be prudent for longer terms. 3. Evacuated mason jars. Tobacco was practically unchanged from the day it was packed. Minor aging only. Different from the plastic-aged samples but (IMO) no worse or better. Note that if you are quick on the switch with the Tilia, you might be able to create jars with only a mild vacuum seal. This would more closely resemble professional "vacuum-packed" tins and might work very well. 4. Unevacuated sealed mason jars (bands/lid dipped in paraffin after sealing). This gave by FAR the best result, with excellent and sometimes surprising amounts of aging. A recently opened sample of McClelland 5115 smelled utterly delectable and smoked like a dream--it was *vastly* superior to identical samples packed on the same day using methods 1, 2 and 3. Conclusions: As I mentioned above, much effort could have been spared had I heeded the prophecies of Greg Pease, who predicted the results here to a T from the day I did it three years ago. Big surprise there, I suppose, but I take some comfort in having been part of the venerable scientific process of "always testing hypotheses." I have purchased a stack of boxes of canning jars and am in the process of switching all my Tilia-sealed tobacco over to sealed jars. The Tilia remains in regular use, however, for other purposes--such sealing unopened square or rectagular tins, which can have dodgy seals compared to round tins; and for sealing vintage tobacco tins to avoid rusting or damage. I also use it to seal off vulcanite stems made of that special "insta-green" vulcanite, whenever such a pipe is moving out of the rotation for a while. And of course it works great for the usual kitchen stuff, like cheese, and meat for the freezer! Some personal observations on canning: 1. I find I prefer the wide-mouth jars for ease of packing and access after opening. "Terrine" style jars are the best, as they are wider at the top than the bottom. 2. The jars should be sanitized before use--running them through the dishwasher is best, but if you don't have one, the usual techniques used for beer-making are fine. Also sanitize all surfaces and containers you'll be working with, and wash your hands well and often. Mold sucks. 3. The tobacco should be moist. Not dripping, of course, but pop the lid on a tin of GLP tobacco and check it out. That's the way you want it. Water is as necessary as oxygen to the aging process, and you can always dry it out to your preferred level when you crack the jar in 2112. Check Trever Talbert's page for a good method of adding moisture to very dry tobacco: http://www61.pair.com/talbert/tobac-cnd.htm For tobacco that needs less severe methods, try putting it onto a sanitized bowl and draping a damp/wet towel over top. Check every hour or so. 4. Don't pack it in too tight. Remember, oxygen is your friend in the aging process. I never pack it any tighter than I'd pack a pipe for smoking. 5. Boil the lids for about five or ten minutes, then fish them out with tongs as you need them. Shake them off and drop on the jar. Screw the band tight, but not too tight or it will strip. Dry off the jar and lid and label with whatever info you deem fit. 6. Get an old pot out of the basement or from somewhere and melt sealing paraffin (available at most Safeway stores, etc) in it to about the 2/3 or 3/4 level. I prefer a pot of at least 2qt, as the heat of a large mass of wax greatly aids in step 7. If you have a gas stove, low heat will do the job just fine. For electric stoves I suggest a double-boiler. 7. Take the sealed jars and dip them upside-down into the melted wax to about 1/4" below the band. Rock it back and forth to get out air bubbles and give the wax time to heat the band and penetrate under it (just like avoiding a cold solder joint). Remove the jar, drain upside down over the pot until the wax stops dripping, then put aside to cool. *Caution!* When using terrine jars, make sure the jar and your hands are clean and dry. The angled sides of these jars make it possible for them to slip out of your hands and land in the melted wax with a lovely splash, which will make you use many naughty words, and require a trip out to the internet to learn methods of cleaning paraffin wax off of stoves, counters, floors, clothing, and skin. Not that I would know. Other notes on canning: Keep in mind when the day comes to open the jar, aging ceases. So pack in jars of a suitable size to your consumption. (I rarely use jars larger than 1pt.) I also pack a bunch of each tobacco in small 4oz jars for sampling purposes. An alternative if you have only a few tobaccos you smoke regularly is to use David Winsor's tinning facilities at the Bufflehead shop: http://www.bufflehead.com/index.htm He can order in just about whatever tobacco you want, if you are tinning large quantities. His tins are sturdy food grade 8oz tins and should last well. He further packs the tobacco in food-grade plastic within each tin. (Greg Pease feels tins are the best way to store tobacco, even better than glass. All hail Lord Pease.) After opening the jars, I usually transfer the tobacco to a ziplock bag and place than into a bailtop jar. This has kept tobacco at acceptable humidity for over a year in some cases. That's it. I just wanted to give a head's up on the drying more than anything else, but I hope the rest of my mad scientist routine has been of help. See you in Richmond, where I will have a table full of sad pipes in need of a home. Best; --Toren