As far as firearms go, does anyone know of a gun as bad ass as our beloved Nate? I am thinking the German MG-34 come close, especially compared to other mg's of the day.
No personal experience, but logic dictates that it wouldn't be good for them if they freeze.
Water expands when frozen, which would presumably tear the filler and binder apart in spots, as well as loosen the packing of much of it. All of these would have an effect on the draw and how it burns; you could have sudden flareups in the middle of the cigar should some interior portions burn faster than others.
If anyone has actual experience with frozen cigars, I would also be interested in hearing about them.
I know a little bit about food preservation, being a food scientist and what not. Freezing the cigar should not be a problem as far as ice crystal formation is concerned. There should not be any free water in a cigar that can freeze and form ice crystals. If there was free water, you would probably have mold or bacteria growing on the cigar.
I would suggest freezing in a ziploc bag. once the cigar is frozen, if you have an automatic defrosting refrigerator, you should store your smokes in a container so that you dont get ice crystals forming in the bag.
I dont know what effect freezing will have on the flavor.
I'm not trying to freeze them. This is a matter of wanting to get one more hunting trip in and wanting to take a cig or two along. The problem is that if I go there is a good chance that they will freeze and I hate wasting a good smoke.
chedderman: "There should not be any free water in a cigar that can freeze and form ice crystals. If there was free water, you would probably have mold or bacteria growing on the cigar."
Good point, though I was thinking more along the lines of water in the cells of the leaves themselves. There is already some moisture in the leaves; even though they're dried, they retain some of their original water. This is the purpose of a humidor, to prevent the moisture escaping and drying out the cigar entirely.
If a cigar is already dried, it can be partially restored by putting it in a humid environment where it can reabsorb some of the lost moisture. This moisture is soaked up by the material and stored somewhere, and I just assumed it was stored in the cells rather than free flowing between the layers.
Frozen skin cells is the condition known as frostbite, and it causes severe damage to those cells. However, there is significantly less water in cigar tobacco cells than in normal skin cells...so as Chedderman says, it may not be an issue at all as far as leaf integrity is concerned, since the cell walls may stretch to accommodate the minute amounts of frozen water without breaking.
Thinking further about it now, though...if the frozen moisture had any effect at all, it would probably affect the wrapper more than it would the binder or filler since it probably wouldn't penetrate that far inside.
I will put one in the freezer now and smoke it tomorrow night to test this out and get an answer.
moisture can evaporate from the cigar even when frozen. it is called sublimation. That is why, up here in yankee land, snow slowly dissapears even if the temperature is below freezing.
freeze it in a zip lock bag would be ok for short term, though the freeze thaw cycles of a self defrosting freezer could cause longer term problems.
If you are really into your humidor, you could use some solutions of dissolved salts in water to control the relative humidity
if anyone knows the best relative humidity for a humidor, i could look up the appropriate salt solution and post it here
"moisture can evaporate from the cigar even when frozen. it is called sublimation. That is why, up here in yankee land, snow slowly dissapears even if the temperature is below freezing."
Yup. I originally came from quite a bit further north of you, very close to Canuckistan. We would often see that in December, when it got very cold and dry, and Chapstick was sold in bundles.
But the process is so slow, that it doesn't seem that it would have much of an effect over a couple of days on a hunting trip, does it? And the process is enhanced by sunlight, so keeping the cigars out of direct sunlight should also help mitigate that effect.
If you add table salt to water until it wont dissolve any more salt, making a saturated solution of salt in water, you have a relative humidity of about 75%.
That is still high enough for some molds and yeasts to grow slowly.
i will look for some other standards you can make from household chemicals, for a relative humidity of 65-70
They mention proplylene glycol solution as a humidifying agent, which is what I use, though I've always wondered whether or not it imparts other chemicals into the tobacco, too. Since it's also used as a food additive, I'm more concerned about effect on taste than I am about toxicity.
Waterboy, i looked up a paper in the journal of agricultural and food chemistry, 2009,vol 57, pages 2339-45 where on page 2341 they have a graph with glycerol and water mixtures vs relative humidity (water activity)
70% glycerol, 30% water should get you to about 60% relative humidity. you should not have any mold growth or yeast growth at that level.
dont use propylene glycol in a humidor, it can evaporate a little bit and mix with your cigars. that could change their flavor upon smoking.
you could get a 100 ml beaker, add 70 mls glycerol, and 30 mls water, and check it every now and then for evaporation of the water, or to see if it absorbs water from the air.
make sure your glycerol is 100% pure, no water added. They should sell it at a drug store or wallmart.
22 comments:
A: WT Rare Breed and Sam Adams Whitewater IPA
T: Oliva Cain Straight Ligero w/Habano wrapper
F: Hate me alert - A K31 in very good shape I got for $100 Wednesday and 400 rds of the Swiss ammo for another $100!! I feel so dirty...
toothy
I've got a 10mm EAA at the shop right now.
Beautiful.
toothy
Where is Six?
(no offense...)
toothy
yup - you cant eat the rack
SIX IS BACK!!!!
THANK GOD.
I got yer back, man.
A: Russell's Reserve
T: Nothing
F: Continuing my shotgun porn, CZ Upland Ultralight.
As far as firearms go, does anyone know of a gun as bad ass as our beloved Nate? I am thinking the German MG-34 come close, especially compared to other mg's of the day.
Sincerely
cheddarman
Nate owns an Alexander Arms .50 Beowulf...
Cigar question.
Does the temperature you store your smokes matter if they are humid enough? Does it matter if they freeze?
No personal experience, but logic dictates that it wouldn't be good for them if they freeze.
Water expands when frozen, which would presumably tear the filler and binder apart in spots, as well as loosen the packing of much of it. All of these would have an effect on the draw and how it burns; you could have sudden flareups in the middle of the cigar should some interior portions burn faster than others.
If anyone has actual experience with frozen cigars, I would also be interested in hearing about them.
I know a little bit about food preservation, being a food scientist and what not. Freezing the cigar should not be a problem as far as ice crystal formation is concerned. There should not be any free water in a cigar that can freeze and form ice crystals. If there was free water, you would probably have mold or bacteria growing on the cigar.
I would suggest freezing in a ziploc bag. once the cigar is frozen, if you have an automatic defrosting refrigerator, you should store your smokes in a container so that you dont get ice crystals forming in the bag.
I dont know what effect freezing will have on the flavor.
sincerely
cheddarman
I'm not trying to freeze them. This is a matter of wanting to get one more hunting trip in and wanting to take a cig or two along. The problem is that if I go there is a good chance that they will freeze and I hate wasting a good smoke.
chedderman: "There should not be any free water in a cigar that can freeze and form ice crystals. If there was free water, you would probably have mold or bacteria growing on the cigar."
Good point, though I was thinking more along the lines of water in the cells of the leaves themselves. There is already some moisture in the leaves; even though they're dried, they retain some of their original water. This is the purpose of a humidor, to prevent the moisture escaping and drying out the cigar entirely.
If a cigar is already dried, it can be partially restored by putting it in a humid environment where it can reabsorb some of the lost moisture. This moisture is soaked up by the material and stored somewhere, and I just assumed it was stored in the cells rather than free flowing between the layers.
Frozen skin cells is the condition known as frostbite, and it causes severe damage to those cells. However, there is significantly less water in cigar tobacco cells than in normal skin cells...so as Chedderman says, it may not be an issue at all as far as leaf integrity is concerned, since the cell walls may stretch to accommodate the minute amounts of frozen water without breaking.
Thinking further about it now, though...if the frozen moisture had any effect at all, it would probably affect the wrapper more than it would the binder or filler since it probably wouldn't penetrate that far inside.
I will put one in the freezer now and smoke it tomorrow night to test this out and get an answer.
Sorry, Cheddarman...I misspelled your name twice, above.
Waterboy,
moisture can evaporate from the cigar even when frozen. it is called sublimation. That is why, up here in yankee land, snow slowly dissapears even if the temperature is below freezing.
freeze it in a zip lock bag would be ok for short term, though the freeze thaw cycles of a self defrosting freezer could cause longer term problems.
If you are really into your humidor, you could use some solutions of dissolved salts in water to control the relative humidity
if anyone knows the best relative humidity for a humidor, i could look up the appropriate salt solution and post it here
sincerely
cheddarman
"moisture can evaporate from the cigar even when frozen. it is called sublimation. That is why, up here in yankee land, snow slowly dissapears even if the temperature is below freezing."
Yup. I originally came from quite a bit further north of you, very close to Canuckistan. We would often see that in December, when it got very cold and dry, and Chapstick was sold in bundles.
But the process is so slow, that it doesn't seem that it would have much of an effect over a couple of days on a hunting trip, does it? And the process is enhanced by sunlight, so keeping the cigars out of direct sunlight should also help mitigate that effect.
"the best relative humidity for a humidor"
Around 70%.
If you add table salt to water until it wont dissolve any more salt, making a saturated solution of salt in water, you have a relative humidity of about 75%.
That is still high enough for some molds and yeasts to grow slowly.
i will look for some other standards you can make from household chemicals, for a relative humidity of 65-70
sincrely
cheddarman
Cheddarman: "you have a relative humidity of about 75%.
That is still high enough for some molds and yeasts to grow slowly."
The Wikipedia entry on humidor humidity says that humidity over 75% can also promote the hatching of tobacco beetles.
They mention proplylene glycol solution as a humidifying agent, which is what I use, though I've always wondered whether or not it imparts other chemicals into the tobacco, too. Since it's also used as a food additive, I'm more concerned about effect on taste than I am about toxicity.
Waterboy, i looked up a paper in the journal of agricultural and food chemistry, 2009,vol 57, pages 2339-45
where on page 2341 they have a graph with glycerol and water mixtures vs relative humidity (water activity)
70% glycerol, 30% water should get you to about 60% relative humidity. you should not have any mold growth or yeast growth at that level.
dont use propylene glycol in a humidor, it can evaporate a little bit and mix with your cigars. that could change their flavor upon smoking.
you could get a 100 ml beaker, add 70 mls glycerol, and 30 mls water, and check it every now and then for evaporation of the water, or to see if it absorbs water from the air.
make sure your glycerol is 100% pure, no water added. They should sell it at a drug store or wallmart.
sincerely
cheddarman
R&R Reserve
Montecino, dunno what it is, dark and nasty.
F: Hi-Point 4595 45acp carbine.
wtf no batf tonight?
Thanks, Cheddarman. I appreciate your expertise.
Post a Comment