DIY Vacuum Sealing Jars For Aging Tobacco

sailorjeremy · Jul 12, 2014

Hey Gents! I was wondering if anyone here has any experience with vacuum sealing their bulk tobacco in mason jars for aging. It's pretty simple and inexpensive to do (material wise of course :wink

but I would like to know what kinds of results you have gotten from doing so.
Here's what I'm talking about for some of the newer folk who may not know what it entails. Its pretty straight forward.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGfUwEf810g

andrew · Jul 12, 2014

Seems like alot of hassle, you can just put the jars in hot water or at low heat in the oven, once they're warm you close them and when they cool off the lids pop in and they're sealed

tbradsim1 · Jul 12, 2014

Am I assuming that you need some air for ageing? Might be wrong.

sailorjeremy · Jul 12, 2014

Yea that's what I thought. I wasn't sure if this method produced different results than what Andrew suggested. I would assume though, that difference is not too significant. But who knows...

igloo · Jul 12, 2014

No air no ageing them little microbes need air ,tobacco is a living thing even after the leaf comes off the plant .We need a microbiologist to chime in ,is there a microbiologist in the house .

phil67 · Jul 12, 2014

Seems like alot of hassle, you can just put the jars in hot water or at low heat in the oven, once they're warm you close them and when they cool off the lids pop in and they're sealed

Actually it's less of a hassle. No pan, heating the water and no mess.

I have one of the higher end Food Savers and I also use the Mason jar vacuum sealer which literally only takes a few seconds to use. Of course I've been using it for food stuffs, but out of curiosity I've tried on a 8 ounce jar for some 1-Q that I no longer smoke. I haven't tired this yet, but you don't necessarily have to remove all of the air which I imagine would be similar to tinned tobacco. Either way, I can't imagine any longer being without a Food Saver and the Mason jar sealer.

leacha · Jul 12, 2014

I can't view the video, tablet unfriendly. Here is what I use and it has worked for me perfectly. About 10-12 seconds and enough air is purged to create a seal. There is still enough air inside to age. No heat, no water, no nothing just a seal.

cortezattic · Jul 12, 2014

Here's a similar thread from about a year ago: "I Can Vacuum Seal My Canning Jars. Should I?"

antbauers · Jul 12, 2014

You know I was wondering this myself yesterday. Glad you posted this and Cortez for the link.

sablebrush52 · Jul 12, 2014

I've heard some say that heating the jars before tightening the lids is necessary and others who say that it is not. Anyone able to speak to this?

phil67 · Jul 12, 2014

I've heard some say that heating the jars before tightening the lids is necessary and others who say that it is not. Anyone able to speak to this?

That all depends on if you wish to vacuum seal the jar. Of course the whole purpose of using Mason jars is to simply store the tobacco in an air tight container so that you can go back to it again and again to grab a bowl when you wish to do so. With that said, heating the jar and creating a vacuum would certainly defeat the whole purpose. But, there are numerous tobaccos that can be had in bulk form so, in my opinion, and I might very well be wrong, the option of being able to use a Mason jar and only remove some of the air would be akin to having the ability to storing/aging it (as in an unopened tin). Any thoughts on this?

jitterbugdude · Jul 12, 2014

You need air for tobacco to age. Think about all the food you buy. It is either vacuum packed or flushed with nitrogen. Both these methods prevent oxygen from aging the product. Aros would be good for vacuum sealing because they are loaded with goop that prevents microbial growth and therefore aging. So vacuum sealing an aro would keep it fresh indefinitely. For all others you want some air in that jar.

phil67 · Jul 12, 2014

For all others you want some air in that jar

As I pointed out:

... the option of being able to use a Mason jar and only remove some of the air

I fully understand what aerobic and anaerobic bacteria is as I used to have several salt water reef tanks and such bacteria was an integral process of sustaining one properly.
My thought was that there being so many great tobaccos that can be had in bulk form (obviously cheaper than tinned) that one could then place them in a Mason jar and only remove some of the air as is done with a tin. I don't see how the removal of only a small portion of air can be done with a 'heating' method, but I do know that it can indeed be done with a vacuum sealer attachment. As I see it, the only difference would be that it is in a glass container rather than a tin.

andrew · Jul 12, 2014

Alot of my jars just naturally sealed themselves the last time I jarred up baccy and didn't do any heating. It took over a month and my basement is quite cool though, but the lids popped in.

sailorjeremy · Jul 12, 2014

My thought was that there being so many great tobaccos that can be had in bulk form (obviously cheaper than tinned) that one could then place them in a Mason jar and only remove some of the air as is done with a tin. I don't see how the removal of only a small portion of air can be done with a 'heating' method, but I do know that it can indeed be done with a vacuum sealer attachment. As I see it, the only difference would be that it is in a glass container rather than a tin.

Thanks Phil. This was exactly my rationale behind it. Breaking the seal was also one of my concerns and why I'm not really interested in naturally sealing. I was thinking something more along the lines of long term aging. As I understand it, it is pretty much the same as aging in tins assuming you seal the jars in the same temperature in which they will be stored to minimize the risk of breaking the seal some time down the road.

phil67 · Jul 12, 2014

Airtight is good. Vacuum takes away the significant first part of aging tobacco.

Once again, I never said a full vacuum, but only the process of removing some of the air. The tin is not some magical environment, nor is the process when the tobacco it is tinned.

eightywon · Jul 13, 2014

I've always thought that any type of vacuum sealer/heat method was never effective enough to remove so much air as to not make it effective enough for aging. No matter how much of a vacuum you create I always thought there was enough air in the jar to be similar to that of a sealed tin. If enough air was absent in between say 4 oz of baccy in an 8 oz tin to say there's no oxygen in there would make me think that the glass would shatter from the force of the vacuum.

I graduated college with a B.A. in recreation and leisure studies and I'm drunk. True story. I don't like vacuum sealing me jars. I love pipe smoking.

cosmicfolklore · Jul 13, 2014

+1 ae1pt, I started off with several dozen jars worrying about heating them and canning like I do my canned foods. But, then I read some of GLP's stuff and some things Russ has said, and now I just put them in jars without doing anything else. It takes longer for the jars to ping, but they all eventually do after the first stage of building microbes has started. I sometimes walk by my boxes of jars and hear them ping weeks after I canned them. I always check the seals on the previous jars when the next month's haul arrives. So far, they all have seal down before a month has passed, none have failed to ping.
The idea is that you allow the tobacco to build a good strong culture, so that when the anaerobic process starts you have a strong culture going when the air runs out, which is when the microbes turn into little elves and fairies to make the tobacco taste good : puffy

:

curl · Jul 13, 2014

I assume smaller mason jars are preferable to larger ones because once you open the jar, the aging ceases. In other words, if you open a 4 ounce jar, the other 4 ounce jar keeps aging. Do I assume correctly?

cosmicfolklore · Jul 13, 2014

This is why I keep all of my VA and VaPers in 4oz jars and all of my stronger blends like ODF and Nightcap in 2oz jars. But, I got a great deal on a truck load of small jars from an estate sale. I usually only smoke one strong blend a day, so this keeps most of my jarred bulk in the aging process, while I slowly work on that 2oz jar.

DIY Vacuum Sealing Jars For Aging Tobacco

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