Growing tobacco is no more difficult than growing tomatoes. Difficulties arise later, because it is also necessary to properly preserve the yield of leaves. In this article, we will consider how to properly store tobacco at home.

Features of storage of tobacco at home

Tobacco leaf requires a suitable storage space. The concept of a suitable place changes depending on how long the tobacco will be stored in it before the owner uses it for its intended purpose.

After fermentation

Fermented tobacco is sent to be stored in sheet briquettes from the press or in the form of slices, placed in hermetically sealed containers (without access to air, in heat and darkness). An amazing property of fermentation is that once launched, the process never stops. The longer the tobacco leaf is stored, the better and more aromatic it becomes.

Did you know? Tobacco is a product made from the leaves of a tobacco plant by curing them. The plant is part of the genus Nicotiana and the family Solanaceae (solanaceae).

After drying

Dried tobacco leaves can be stored for a long time in a dry form without cutting and moistening.

You can store in several ways:

• whole dry leaves are placed in cardboard boxes;
• bundles of dry leaves are stored in the winter under a roof in the cold, for example, in the attic;
• Piles of dried tobacco leaves are rolled up into tubes and tied with thread, then placed in plastic bags, air is sucked out of them (using a vacuum cleaner) and hermetically closed.

What can tobacco be stored in?

You can store tobacco raw materials in something made of wood, glass, ceramics, metal, cotton fabrics. It can be an ordinary glass jar with an airtight lid, a tin box for good tea, zip bags, wooden caskets. It is very important that they did not contain strongly smelling substances before, since plant materials immediately absorb all extraneous odors. When choosing a container, you also need to consider that any of them should be very tightly closed.

After loading with raw materials, each container is equipped with a label with the name of the variety and the date of laying. An exception is made for small bags of cotton fabrics (pouches), they do not need labels, because they contain a very small portion of tobacco slicing.

Important! Tobacco seeds of any variety, from noble varieties to samosad, retain viability for 5–7 years. Even 10 years after harvesting, almost 50% of tobacco seeds retain their germination capacity.

In glass jars

Tightly closed glass or ceramic jars equipped with a rubber gasket and a latch on the lid at the neck are very convenient for long-term storage (more than 2 months). Glass is very well suited for these purposes, because it is a non-porous material and can be easily disinfected. Such cans are specifically designed to store dry plant mixtures (tobacco, tea, herbal picking). Traditionally, cigars are rolled from leaves that are stored whole, and a small notch of raw material is used to fill cigarettes and tubes.

For long-term storage, you can roll tobacco cutting into ordinary cans for preservation.

Preparing cans for canning cutting is one of the most important steps in the storage process:

1. Before use, the jar must be washed manually with hot soapy water.
2. Sterilize the jar over hot steam or in the microwave for 15 minutes.
3. Wait until the last drop of moisture has evaporated from the hot glass and the jar has cooled.
4. Pour dry tobacco mixture into a cold sterilized jar and roll it up using a can wrench or a special hot threaded lid. A vacuum will be created in the jar and the plant mixture will be perfectly stored.
5. Each jar is equipped with an inscription indicating the grade of contents and the date of packaging, after which they are placed in storage.

In wooden containers

To store pipe tobacco for several months, wooden boxes (humidors) are often used, equipped with a humidifier to maintain humidity inside the store. The material for their manufacture is cedar wood. Usually they have a size containing 110, 220 or 450 g of the tobacco mixture. In pipe humidifier humidors, tobacco can be stored for several months without losing its qualities.

Important! The cigar box containing the tobacco pipe mixture should be stored in a cool place, inaccessible to sunlight (in the desk drawer, safe).

Connoisseurs and experts believe that storing tobacco in a wooden cigar humidor is unacceptable. They argue that if you store pipe tobacco in a humidor, negative changes will occur with it. Cedar, from which humidors are made, absorbs moisture, so it draws all the moisture and aroma from the tobacco mixture. In addition, smelling of pipe tobacco, the cigar box will be unsuitable for storing cigars for a very long time. Cedar wood can smell cedar and stored pipe tobacco. The cigar humidor will also make the cut too wet for smoking, and it should have a moisture content of 10-14%.

Tin boxes

Hermetically sealed tin cans are well suited for long-term storage. The storage location is the most important element, it must be cool, dark, dry and have a constant temperature. Along with long-term storage, English and natural tobaccos, according to the opinion of connoisseurs, are changing for the better, while aromatic varieties are gradually losing their quality, and their taste is deteriorating. In tin containers, tobacco slices can be successfully stored for at least a year.

Bags

For short-term storage, tobacco bags or pouches are most suitable, which come in different sizes and are made of different materials.

Did you know? Tobacco contains alkaloid nicotine, which is a natural stimulant. Dried plant leaves are used to smoke cigarettes, cigars, pipe and hookah. They can also be used as chewable or snuff mixtures.

The most popular are leather, cotton, and plastic pouches with rubber or plastic pads. A small amount of slices is stored in the pouch, just enough to last for a day, after which its contents are replenished. Tobacco bags are intended only for use as temporary storage.

Terms and conditions of storage of tobacco

With proper storage, tobacco leaves can be stored for up to 5 years, and in crushed form the raw material does not lose its properties for 2 years.

Storage Rules:

1. The best place to store is cool, dark and dry. Heat and sunlight not only dry tobacco leaves, but also cause deterioration of their quality, changing characteristics and thereby changing taste. And, on the contrary, too wet a place to store will cause mold, as a result of which the plant material will be unsuitable for consumption.
2. It is undesirable to store tobacco slices in the refrigerator. No matter how hermetically sealed the container with the raw materials, it will absorb the smells of food, which will change its taste.
3. Tobacco leaves that have dried out due to time and dry conditions can be restored to their original state. You need to put them on paper and lightly sprinkle with water from the spray gun. Then mix and place in a sealed container for 24 hours. It is undesirable to add slices of apples, oranges or any other fruits to this mixture - this will change the taste of the smoking mixture.

It is possible to preserve tobacco correctly at home, but under strict observance of storage conditions: optimal humidity, temperature, and also the absence of light.