chongo bongo
Active Member
Will the dehydrator work for this? I just found one in my house and It just kinda hit me.
food dehydrator to speed up curing?
- Thread starter chongo bongo
- Start date
Jack Harer
Well-Known Member
ONLY for a quick dry to test a few buds. Don't try drying your whole crop. The process of drying and curing really can't be sped up. Quick dry enough to last ya a bit, properly cure the rest.
researchkitty
Well-Known Member
I've dried a quarter ounce before in a Nesco dehydrator I used for mushrooms. The trick is to make sure the heat is off or on low, 95(f). It'll be dry in about 2-3 hours and smoke like shit, but work!
Jogro
Well-Known Member
Food dehydrator will definitely dry your buds, but it won't cure them, and there is a big difference.
Drying is just removing water. If you wanted to do it fast, you could get it done in a day or two with a food dehydrator, oven set on low temperature, radiator, or any other low heat source including the hot sun. The problem is that with a fast-dry you end up with buds that create harsh smoke and don't taste good. This is OK if you just want something fast for smoking, want to make hash, or cook with them, but its definitely not the way to go for the best quality smoking product.
Curing is a process where the buds "age", and the purpose of the cure is to break down various compounds inside the plant (including chlorophyll) into simpler ones. In a typical cure, the buds will go from bright green to dull green then even beige or brown, and the smoke becomes smooth with a nice taste. If you want the best possible buds for smoking, there is no substitute for a good slow cure.
There are multiple ways one can cure buds, usually just involving a really SLOW drying under controlled temperature conditions. For example, after an initial partial drying at room temperature in open air for a few days to get rid of some (but not all!) of the water content, the buds are put in a sealed glass jar or similar container. The jar is opened up at regular intervals (first a few times per day, then once a day) to let out excess moisture, the buds are turned over to ensure uniform drying and prevent mold, and the lid re-sealed. The process is repeated every day for a few weeks until you have perfectly cured weed.
If you can't wait a few weeks, there is a water-cure, where buds are immersed in water to dissolve out soluble compounds. The water is changed every day for a week to make sure all the soluble stuff leaches out, and then the buds are quick-dried. This is faster than the traditional cure, but it leaves you with a sort of ugly brown weed with no flavor.
Drying is just removing water. If you wanted to do it fast, you could get it done in a day or two with a food dehydrator, oven set on low temperature, radiator, or any other low heat source including the hot sun. The problem is that with a fast-dry you end up with buds that create harsh smoke and don't taste good. This is OK if you just want something fast for smoking, want to make hash, or cook with them, but its definitely not the way to go for the best quality smoking product.
Curing is a process where the buds "age", and the purpose of the cure is to break down various compounds inside the plant (including chlorophyll) into simpler ones. In a typical cure, the buds will go from bright green to dull green then even beige or brown, and the smoke becomes smooth with a nice taste. If you want the best possible buds for smoking, there is no substitute for a good slow cure.
There are multiple ways one can cure buds, usually just involving a really SLOW drying under controlled temperature conditions. For example, after an initial partial drying at room temperature in open air for a few days to get rid of some (but not all!) of the water content, the buds are put in a sealed glass jar or similar container. The jar is opened up at regular intervals (first a few times per day, then once a day) to let out excess moisture, the buds are turned over to ensure uniform drying and prevent mold, and the lid re-sealed. The process is repeated every day for a few weeks until you have perfectly cured weed.
If you can't wait a few weeks, there is a water-cure, where buds are immersed in water to dissolve out soluble compounds. The water is changed every day for a week to make sure all the soluble stuff leaches out, and then the buds are quick-dried. This is faster than the traditional cure, but it leaves you with a sort of ugly brown weed with no flavor.
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