My first dip cook need some help

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opicom

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Hi all,
My first dip is cooking...
Basically I like natural taste and no sweet.
Also I like wide long cut, and I like the result to be a bit stringy and chewy, like Copenhagen dip.
I don’t want to cook it so soft that the leaf texture dissolves (like snus does).
I don't really know how to reach that result. So I just try small amounts for my first cook.

I based on recipes in this forum, but they differ, and they don't tell what the differences actually affect.

My questions:
1 - How does it need to air after the cook? Does it need to be open to air? Does it need to stay outside for a week?
One recipe https://fairtradetobacco.com/threads/a-few-homemade-dip-questions-from-a-noob.8574/
says to air for a week.
Others https://fairtradetobacco.com/threads/my-homemade-dip-chew-recipe.9015/
say they put it in the fridge after just one night - I suppose they seal it at that point.
2 - How long does it need to cook to lose the raw leaf taste?
3 - My wide long cut didn't pack tight at the bottom of the jars, more like a wet heap. Do you think it would affect the result somehow?

I threw away the central stem of all the leaves.
And cut wide and long - 1.5mm * 10mm.

I made 3 glass jars with different contents, sealed, cooked all in an oven 85C 185F
1 - 24gr Dark Air Cured, 44gr water, 4gr salt
2 - 17gr Dark Air Cured, 22gr water, 2gr salt
3 - 12gr Nicaragua Habano Ligeiro (fermented), 20gr water, 3gr salt
I wasn’t really sure how much water and salt to put (different recipes here had different amounts).
So I kinda made the leaves wet, but also tried #2 with much less water.
Also, one recipe says to cook 5hrs, another 8hrs.

Because of the wide cut, and the total small amount, it doesn't sit very packed at the bottom of the jars, more like a heap of wet strings.

After 4hrs I took a small pinch out of each jar to test it.
The Nicaragua Habano jar lets out a lot of poignant smell.
After a few minutes of airing I tried the pinches.
Nicaragua Hanano was quite good, a bit of raw leaf taste.
DAC tasted more like raw leaf.
I suppose I have to cook it longer…

At 5hr I took half of the Nicaragua Habano amount out.
I spread it on a plate and let it air - I don’t know how long I should leave it open.
The Nicaragua Habano lets out a lot of smell.
I tried a bit. It’s good. Although still a hint of raw leaf taste, probably needs longer cook still,
but I still have half of the Nicaragua amount cooking, I’ll let it reach at least 8hrs.
 

opicom

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picture attached.
from left to right my jars 1, 2, 3.
and on the right plate, the half I took out of jar 3 at 5hrs.
 

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Charly

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I have never tried to make smokeless tobacco, but your experiments are interesting.
Don't hesitate to share your results.
The key is to find what you like.
 

tullius

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Guessing you're going to want to shred or grind that finer: use a food chopper, meat grinder, or food processor.

I would also steer clear of cigar tobacco and try some fire cured instead. The dark air is on target.
 

opicom

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@Knucklehead,
On the Wiki, it is one of the dip recipes I linked to, which says to air for a week.
I just wondered why the other recipe says just one night.

@tullius,
I just do like it this way, cut long and very wide. So I can bite on the pieces sometimes.
Why steer clear of cigar tobacco? I actually liked the Nicaragua Habano taste more than the DAC.

So, the way it turned out is:
I let the cook continue. At 9hrs I took half of the amount out of each of the DAC jars.
Then at 11hr I stopped the rest (3 jars left each with half the amount).
It’s been airing since then for 4 days now.

DAC of the 9hr cook has a hint of raw leaf taste, 11hr a bit less, but still.
I wonder whether I must cook it at a higher temperature (than 85C 185F) to remove that taste.
The strings are well cooked, with the texture of cooked carrots, much softer than the Nicaragua Habano turned out.
I would like to make it a bit more chewy next time, maybe less water and longer cook.
I’m not yet sure about the resulting differences between the jars (one with the more water and the one with less, I’ll post again if I have anything definitive to say).

Nicaragua Habano doesn't taste of raw leaf. The 5hr cook is bitter, just a bit more than I would like it to be.
The 11hr cook is less bitter, just perfect I think.
The strings are quite chewy (not soft) just as I wanted it to be (like Copenhagen long cut).
There’s not much difference in the softness between the 5hr and 11hr cooks. I suppose then I could let it cook even longer without making it softer.
All in all the taste is richer than DAC, and I like it more.
 

tullius

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I just do like it this way, cut long and very wide. So I can bite on the pieces sometimes.
Why steer clear of cigar tobacco? I actually liked the Nicaragua Habano taste more than the DAC.

Simply personal preference. If you like what you're making, run that. To each their own. (y)
 
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