Everyone has leftovers...most have a leftover jar (or bag or tin, whatever). I decided to experiment with an idea I had for pressing tobacco on the cheap by using my scraps to make a couple loaves of crumble cake. Here's how I did it:
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I took a gallon sized bag of scraps- approximately 10oz
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I dumped them into an old bus pan and sprayed them liberally with distilled water, tossing the mix to ensure an even coating of moisture
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I used a 2 1/2" diameter paper clip basket for my mold. I lined it with plastic wrap, allowing plenty extra inches of wrap for later.
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I stuffed, jammed, and manipulated just under half the leaf into that little basket, and then I folded the plastic wrap closed on my bundle.
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I firmly wrapped the tobacco with two more layers of plastic and gathered the pieces of my press. The form is an enamel coated steel crock from an old restaurant salad bar set-up. I chose it because a) it was free and there were 6 to take, and b) it is heavy enough to handle the c-clamp. The c-clamps are a standard 4" that I acquired from Harbor Freight for $4 a pop. The two press plates are roughly cut from a piece of finish oak I had lying around.I had two pieces of wood in case the clamps dig in much to the top one, and so I didn't have to turn the screw as much.
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The baccy fit nicely in the crock since I selected my mold based on the crock's dimensions (I'm smarter than I look)
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I inserted the press plates and cranked her down with two clamps for even pressure. I went back each morning and tightened it until it had been pressed for 72 hours. Resulting in:
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You can see that I basically compressed a little under 5oz of tobacco into a 1"x 3"x 3" cake that is pretty darn hard
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The puck was nice and tacky on the outside, but there wasn't any juice pooled in the wrap. I'm guessing I did a decent job estimating the amount of distilled water to add because I obviously wanted it moist to marry the flavor and bind the leaf, but I didn't want to have to wring it out. On to the long wait...
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To give said flavors plenty of time to conduct their little mingling orgy, I put a couple layers of new plastic wrap on the puck and have placed it under a 10lb weight, where it will stay until a fortnight has elapsed. I will then pop it in a drying mechanism that I will reveal in a new thread and get the moisture level right for crumbling and smoking. I had the sense to sit aside a small jar of the mixture so that I can smoke a sample and compare it to my.......Tobias' 2013 Bastard Crumble Cake.If the final result is palatable I'll make future editions with each year's scraps.
