Cob Curing

Will get the job done: Some of the harvest is still at 70% RH. Buds are dry on the outside, but moist on the inside, which when vacuumed-packed will begin to sweat after 1-2 weeks stored in a cool dry place. Cobbing won't increase the potency of your harvest, only smooth it out to a clear-buzz with gobs of insight, they say. After the sweat appears, unwrap the husks and let it dry out for a week or so.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CXKMGTK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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Here's my first using solid-sugar outer leaves. Wrap and tie the buds loosely. Then put them in a clear plastic ziplock or plastic sealed bag. Put the bag under a cover over a heat mat. Put towels over the cover and mat to concentrate heat. If your buds are still moist, then they'll be moisture collect fairly soon. Remove the cob and re-wrap and tie it tighter. Then vacuum-seal it. Keep it vac-sealed for 4-5 days for small cobs, one week for large cobs, then open and check for fragrance and and then re-tie tightly and vac-seal again. Keep sealed in a cool dry place for two weeks then open and let it dry loosely in a paper bag.
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I've tightly-clipped about an ounce of Mauritius x Ethiopian sativas for the next cob, this time using bag-corn husks, revived by mirco-wave steaming before wrapping cobs with them.

22g rolled in 3-husks overlapping side-by-side, then lightly tied, then released.They were a fresh-bagged recently, then rinsed, then soaked in hot tap water for 5-min, then dried individually, then stacked - and began with three overlapping husks, and a second layer mid-way, to lengthen the cob and have enough on each end to fold-over. I loosely tied the the string only enough to hold the cob together, as rolled.
Custom shortening a ziplock bag helps. Put the bag in the sun for quick condensation, then under a box over the heat mat covered by two layers of towels and weighted. Leave it for a 1-1/2 hrs until the cob warms and sweats the bag more. Take the cob out of the bag and unravel the twine, then re-roll the cob tightly, and tie.
Have the vac bag prepared. Cut the bag ends squarely for sealing, and vacuuming.
Make sure the bag draws-in tightly or it's wrong. Make sure you leave the sealer clamped-shut until it's respective light goes out, then wait 3-seconds before opening, so the seam has cooled.
The large cobs cure for 7-days, then unwrapped and checked for mold, then re-wrapped tightly and tied and vac-bagged. The bag should be stored in a dark, cool, dry place for two weeks, then removed, untied, husks tossed, and the "stick" placed in a paper bag to dry-out. The center should eventually be soft and the exterior hard. thanx Tangwena & farmer

Here's the small cob after (5) days curing in the cool and dark. Sure glad I left the sugar leaves on... yum! or not. Needs a week to dry rigid on the outside, soft on the inside. When dried like that you can vac-bag it again, or jar it, but once it's allowed to fully dry out, it stops aging. T said he's had some vac-sealed for 3-yrs. and it's as good or better than first cobbed.
I have that other 22oz. cob still sleeping for another week +, ready about Nov. 11.

Sweet. Find a way to market it in the local dispensaries, call it Devils voodoo cured or something. I've had cob cured once (Red Rooster) and it put that hazey static in the upper part of your umbrella, but did nothing for pain, the least out of anything I've smoked. Definitely seems like an old school Sativa lovers kind of thing.

LinguaPeel said:

Find a way to market it in the local dispensaries

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farmer told me the dispensaries won't carry it because of the way it looks. If you saw that laying on the sidewalk, wouldn't you cross the street?
Yeah, I'm a fan of good sativa, except for how long it takes to get ripe, and exposed to bud rot conditions. None this year, I think defoliating helps with the air circulating. I know everybody has there own method of growing, and there's a 1,000 ways, but for me today, I find fan-leaves rude and sunlight bully-greedy. I don't like any leaf that doesn't sparkle, and I can't go back to the old ways. Too arthritic at harvest time and beyond, for my liking. I'm a defoliater and proud of it.

Has a more piney than over-ripe fruit aroma now, after (5) days. I tried a small piece, after rubbing-off the frosted sheathing leaves which dry-crumbled. The flower consistency is now like fiber-hash, but can still be pinched-portioned like slab.
Taste faintly piney, and very smooth. Of major importance to me, this is a spindly SuperSilverHaze x Mauritiusx Ethiopian that was harvested at 72-days and all trichs were flat-white cloudy, but the other two were harvested at 90 days, so these early flowers produced an edgy-buzz at 30-days cure. Cobbing smoothed this out completely. Whereas the early harvest will eventually cure (6-12 mo.), cobbing sped-up the process, imo.
I have the large cob ready Nov. 11, if my hydrometer still measures a 65RH of natural moisture, then I'm cobbing more of this SSH while I still have that bag of corn husks.
I like this one as a jar drop-in.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JXOKT1O/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

great idea, but what is the purpose of using cob leafs ? wouldnt any leaf work ? like a bannana leaf etc

wompaa said:

great idea, but what is the purpose of using cob leafs ? wouldnt any leaf work ? like a bannana leaf etc

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Each imparts it's own flavor. The corn husks seem about neutral. But, the fresh-packaged corn husks from Mexico have a tumeric or Mexican spice that has a slight tamale aroma, that's why I soaked them in warm water for 5-minutes. I'd be cautious about how much plant-moisture is in the leaves before wrapping and heating, which might co-mingle some of the tastes of the host wrapper.
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A bonus with cobbing is that everything in the cob is smokeable, which includes the sugar-trich sheathing leaves. Even the crumbled-leaves themselves are palatable smoke, and cob-ash is light and doesn't gum-up a screen. I think cobbing is so new and ugly that it will be years before it ever becomes popular, but I'll turn a goodly amount of mine into cob, if it's not too late. Worse would be to try and use center-dried buds or re-hydrated buds (62RH packs), and have them not "cob" or rot respectively. The RH must be 65 or over, from what I've read in the op.
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Here are some random notes I copied from that op:
"Cob Cure
This was my original method, but at the bottom of the page is an alternate method developed with some friends on this and other forums.
1. The buds need to be dried to just dry on the outside but moist on the inside before compacting in the cob.
2. Before sealing them in a vac bag I get the sweat started by wrapping the cobs loosely in a plastic bag in a warm/hot location, you should see the perspiration on the inside of the plastic bag and the cobs should feel wet/moist on the outside. Then vac seal the cobs in the vac bag.
3. I leave the cobs in the vac bag for between 1 and 3 weeks to sweat. When opened the smell should be a strong sickly sweet and piney smell if the sweat was successful.
Then remove them and let them air dry in a cool dark place.
With the small cobs, by the end of a week the outer skin is dry and stiff. The buds inside will have amalgamated to form a stick. This can then be stored for years in the usual way. The buds inside will need to be carved off and broken into rocks to be smoked the usual way.
Tip: Once the cobs are cured dry them but not fully, so they are slightly moist in the centre, then store ina jar or vac seal them for long term storage. If you fully dry the cobs it stops any further curing. I have cobs vac sealed over 3 years old and they are still as good if not better than when first dried.
Below is some Malawi cob and buds cured this way plus the trichs after curing.
(not shown)
The trichs were clear and mostly cloudy before the cob cure
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More to read before beginning:
The stems must be still bendy and not snap cleanly, the buds must be dry enough to smoke though
I use corn husks I have removed the day before, but you can use fresh they are just easier to work with 24 hrs later
I use an ounce and a half to two ounces per cob, this weight will be about half when finished curing and dried.
I have found 1 to 2 weeks in the bag is about right as you are basicaly starting decomp and halting it at the stage that makes it best to smoke.
Yes it works with any dope, you will need to fine tune the times to get the result you prefer but 1 to 2 weeks will not ruin the buds.
In Malawi they cure by burying the cobs or inserting them between the thatch on the roof of their huts, which also sweats them, some also just let them air dry(low quality)
I also mix blends of different heads for different effects. You can use less bud per cob but for thin cobs use less time in the bags.
If you need any help during the trial just ask, you could try with pop corn buds until you get it right. I use my best buds in my cobs but I have been doing it for 30 years so I have a good feel for it.
Regards Tangwena
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Hey Tangwena very impressive! Im gonna give that a try. When u said u use the vac bag to keep an eye for mold, do u open and unwrap the husk to inspect the bud for mold during the 1 to 2 week period?
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Hi Joe2 yes as long as you revac the bag afterwards, I usually open the bag after 5 to 7 days to re bind the cob tighter, as it decomposes it shrinks and if you rebind it it compresses the bud further creating the hard dense cob effect. Then revac the bag for the last week.
After the 2 weeks take it out and let it air dry somewhere dark cool and dry for a week, its then ready to smoke but just gets better the longer you leave it.
The only major variable is how dry the buds are going in. It effects the end product result, but by experimentation you can get the cob just how you want it. You should feel free to inspect, unwrap, smell ect at any time its a very hands on organic experience and something I find very enjoyable to do.
Also if the cob is smaller or thinner going in the bag shorten the vac bag time by half, and check after 4 days or so everything id going well before re sealing vac bag. The sweat happens quite quickly.
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skin. I put the loose buds that I cured along with the cobs under a microscope to see what they looked like, here are the pics.


As you can see the trichs have turned golden. I will now keep the cobs and buds in the loosely open bag in a cool dry place for a week or two more and they will be sweet as. You could smoke them now but they improve with age from here.
The smell of the moist damp cob is very sweet, but if you leave the room and re enter the smell of piney haze hits you first then the over powering smell of sweetness.
Once it dries out a little more just the pine haze will remain.
The outside of the cob will smell dull sweet piney, but if you break the cob up the full smell of the bud come very refined.
I am very pleased with these cobs they should make what was a very ordinary looking weed into super charged piney spliff.
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I have taken the nev haze cobs out of the vac bag and will now allow them to air dry in a cool, dry, dark place for a few weeks before re sealing them in a vac bag for long term storage.
They are very strong but I dont like the Haze type of high so it will become Christmas presents for some friends.
The cobs still smell very sickly sweet, but when smoked its just a sweet dense slightly pine flavor , a bit too stoney for me I kept bumping into things not my type of high.
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the cobs in Malawi are made from 2 types of wrapper banana tree bark and maize.
The two wrappers do produce different cures, but either are good. I dont know for sure why but I prefer the maize wrapped cobs and always have.
I have bought them wrapped in thick brown paper as well, but I suspect the buds had been cured already and just wrapped in paper for sale.
The maize produces a dense hard sweet cob, the banana bark (not leaf) produces a compacted dense cob less sweet in taste but just as strong.
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I just seal them all together how ever many I make in one run, I also seal up any remaining loose bud along with the cobs, it speeds up the cure of the buds.
I also jar cure buds but i find it takes at least 6 to 12 months before they are any good.
The close up of identical buds one cob cured and one just sweat cured for 2 weeks in the same bag shows how the cob changes the resin.
I think it matures the resin, it definatly changes the taste, smokes a lot smoother and the high is different more trippy, the way i like.
From starting smoking in Africa i like to get high as a kite, I find the indica or low class sativas too stoney. I guess its just what you get used to and your personal preference.
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Hi mate the swazi is in prime condition to make a cob, the power plant unfortunately is too dry and rehydrating will rot them unfortunately.
The cobs need to be stored in a cool dry place, not warm, the sweating is caused by microbial action i think i am no scientist. but it definately gets wet in the cure process.
the first few times you attempt a cob cure you will need to keep an eye on the process.
I usually open the vac bag after 7 days, by then they should be well on the way to cureing.
If you have a fat cob 1 to 2 ozs weight going in, then a further 7 days revacced in the bag will finish it well, if less than an ounce 7 days will be fine.
After removing from the vac bag leave the cob to dry out in the air in a cool dry dark place and you should get the cob cure right.
after a further 4 or 5 days drying the cob will be ready to test, the buds should be spongy and solid like a piece of good hash. As they dry they will become hard like beef jerky and need a knife to cut slices off and break into rocks. They smoke really easily and should taste refined and very smooth and get you more higher/stoned than the same buds jar cured.
Good on you for giving it a go, as you practice with different states of dry bud going in you will find you can vary the end products consistency to the point that people you give it to will not believe its cannabis only by smoking it will they believe you. The high is so refined and smooth you will always want you buds cured this way.
Please let me know how you get on, the buds you have will give you a true authentic African taste once cured this way.
Regards Tangwena
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Looks super good the only thing I would suggest is a few more bindings (turns around the cob and tighter) next time but it will not effect the result, it should work well. Enjoy you should be getting some real deal African highs really soon, nice one mate well done.
Tangwena"
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If you cover the cobs while they're heating on the 120-degree heat-mat, then add a golf ball size damp ball of cloth under the cover as well to keep the cob moisture from being drawn-out.

I've been fermenting weed for years. I believe my method is easier, I use mason jars and press the weed inside. You can get totally black weed or still greenish, depending on the pressure and the time you use

I only use it on landraces or weeds that are not modern stinky hybrids. It seems to concentrate the power of them, making them stronger. Cold fermentation is better than warm or hot.

This is a Mextiza from Cannabiogen I've just taken out of the mason jar after a week under pressure. I removed every stick and branch before pressing.



In a week it will be totally dry, but I'll wait for a couple more weeks before rolling it. No mold and no chance of mold there, cannabinoids kill them.
Cheers

Ailalelo said:

depending on the pressure

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Looks good!
• "I've just taken out of the mason jar after a week under pressure". How do you pressurize a "Mason Jar"? Just the pressure captured when you tighten the seal-lid?
• How to you apply "pressure" to the weed when it's in the jar?
• Why husk-warp and vacuum-seal, when all that's necessary is to smash the weed and seal the air-filled jar?
• It took alot of work getting my cobs prepared. I think we'll need to do a photo-comparison here, as today is the two-week finish time of my first cob. I'll unwrap it and post it.
• I see that you've included the sugar leaves in your puck, so I'm assuming that they're not going to taste bitter when ignited?
* You understand though, that cobbing under a vacuum-seal is much more mystic and mojo'd than simply squishing cleaned-weed into a jar and leaving it for a week or so. But, I'll hold off on any opinion until I've had time to think this over some more.
• I had everybody "rolling" with the vacu-cob method, but now, your entry has made all of my effort and wit seem worthless.
• I'd like the government to step in and propose a universally accepted method of fermenting, because I spent $5. on corn husks. Dang!

hydra-glide said:

Looks good!
• "I've just taken out of the mason jar after a week under pressure". How do you pressurize a "Mason Jar"? Just the pressure captured when you tighten the seal-lid?
• How to you apply "pressure" to the weed when it's in the jar?
• Why husk-warp and vacuum-seal, when all that's necessary is to smash the weed and seal the air-filled jar?
• It took alot of work getting my cobs prepared. I think we'll need to do a photo-comparison here, as today is the two-week finish time of my first cob. I'll unwrap it and post it.
• I see that you've included the sugar leaves in your puck, so I'm assuming that they're not going to taste bitter when ignited.
* You understand though, that cobbing under a vacuum-seal is much more mystic and mojo'd than simply squishing cleaned-weed into a jar and leaving it for a week or so. But, I'll hold off on any opinion until I've had time to think this over some more.
• I had everybody "rolling" with the vacu-cob method, but now, your entry has made all of my effort and wit seem worthless.
• I'd like the government to step in and propose a universally accepted method of fermenting, because I spent $5. on corn husks. Dang!

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I put the weed inside a plastic bag and put it in the bottom of the mason jar. After that I introduce a piece of something that fits over the weed to press it. I just put pressure over for example I put a butane tank over, the leg of the bed or just myself walking over. It is important to press, but it isn't necessary to keep the pressure for all the fermentation time. The weed stays wrapped inside the plastic bag. More pressure and more days of fermentation: blacker herb. Less pressure: greener weed. I like either.

It doesn't burn bitter at all, it isn't necessary to add anything. Just weed, and some weed leave I didn't remove properly. Fermentation makes everything smooth, and I love the smell of the fermenting weed as much as cows do.

Cobs like you do look great, they really are very mojo-enriched, but I'm lazy and I usually don't show my weed, so no need to have that traditional great looking cobs.

Cheers

Ailalelo said:

they really are very mojo-enriched

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These set in the dark cool/cold vac-sealed for two weeks. Cold when unwrapped. Sweet aroma, expecting the "piney" to begin when it's starts drying out. This cob I cleaned of shroud leaves and most sticks.
Now drying in a doubled paper-bag with the top folded over to keep bugs out. RH is 26% so they'll dry slowly, but sooner than later next week when the RH will be in the 60's.
That's not mold, but flash reflection. I always wear gloves when preparing them, never touching the buds with bare hands, thereby not initiating mold-cooties.
The next cobs I've done were 14-15oz ones of cleaned popcorn with no stems, even snipping the tiny-stem close to the base of each, to produce a more hashish-like consistency.

p.s If you get mold on weed or hash, set them spread behind a window in the sun, and the mold dies.

My last fermented weed is near dry. It weighted 41.8 g three days ago when I unwrapped it and now it is just 18.3 grams. Smell is nice and the bright green some leaves show when wet, now disappeared. In a couple of days I'll put it into storage, but I don't think it will lose more weight, and in a month it will be fire.

Got a buddy of mine rolling his sativa up in brown paper and vac sealing it, in regards to the cob cure. Same idea, I’d never heard of curing sativas like this until I ran across the icmag post a few yrs back. Now that I saw my buddy roll a nug up in the paper and unroll it, I’m realizing how many sativas I smoked back in the day that were done just like this. Just when you think you knew...We used to smoke way more sativas back in the day than I realized!!! Smoking on a really nice one (71afghanix76thai) x rks right which has the fluff pine diesel fuel. Wished I woulda fermented or cobbed her...

I have a few that will reach 30-days on Dec. 8. Will open one just to check it out. The longer they age, the better the taste. Nice bud. Looks like you dipped it in caramel or sugar!

I never fermented anything more than two weeks, two weeks made everything black. I rolled this one some days ago, in ten days I'll take it out to dry. It is Senegal Angola from La Mano Negra, the kind of sativa that becomes better after fermenting.
I've started smoking the pressed Mextiza I pictured last week, it is quite good.




Cheers

Nice roll. You know, I'm beginning to realize that leaving those shroud leaves, even trich coated, on the buds as shown, may not be such a good idea. Some of the bitter-inhale caused by them is homogenized during curing, but I have a 7-day cure that left some of the leaves choking-rank on the inhale. My 30-day cures might eliminate that stank-taste, but I won't know until they dry-out by Dec. 15th.
I'm wondering if wrapping the bindle in plastic is inviting a leech-out bio-hazard?

hydra-glide said:

Nice roll. You know, I'm beginning to realize that leaving those shroud leaves, even trich coated, on the buds as shown, may not be such a good idea. Some of the bitter-inhale caused by them is homogenized during curing, but I have a 7-day cure that left some of the leaves choking-rank on the inhale. My 30-day cures might eliminate that stank-taste, but I won't know until they dry-out by Dec. 15th.
I'm wondering if wrapping the bindle in plastic is inviting a leech-out bio-hazard?

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Well, in my experience some big leaves don't make any harm, that's why I didn't bother to clean the buds more than I did. I even kept the sticks, I want to see the result. The plastic is very unnatural but food grade plastic like this bag is very good keeping the moisture inside the buds, and it doesn't modify flavors. The good thing is that cannabinoids prevent fungal and bacterial infection and the curing is going to have place when moist, it stops when pressed weed dries.

This time I didn't apply much pressure, but I'll get nice cured herb anyway. I've been gathering different experiences curing weed and I can say I obtain quite good results and a good degree of control.

Cheers