Anyone Else Having Mold Issues?

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mcitinner1

Lifer
Apr 5, 2014
4,043
25
Missouri
@ Dan... Any experience I've had with mold and tobacco, the growth was fairly rapid.
Edit: But it didn't look like the pic. It was fuzzy like we are familiar with.

 

mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,861
8,805
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
"No, not all molds smell like "mold"
Indeed they don't Dan. Last year I posted some pictures of mould growing on some rubbed out 'Brown Sugar Flake' in one of my jars. It smelled quite devine and I kid you not. Very vinous and sweet. If anyone has ever smelled an aged bale of silage they would be familiar with the smell. (Silage is of course fermented grass but it has all manner of moulds growing on its outer surface just under the polythene. Some smell quite nasty and the cows tend to avoid it but a bale with that vinous smell, well they just love it!)
I had some under the microscope and could clearly see the fruiting bodies on the end of hairy stalks. The rest was a reticulated mass of green fibres from which the stalks had sprouted.
As for bloom, I've had that under the 'scope too and it looks entirely different. Minute flattened crystals laying stacked against each other at an angle. Very different from mould.
Regards,
Jay.

 

chiefwannapuff

Starting to Get Obsessed
Sep 13, 2017
124
0
Well. Fungus be among us. I purchase OHM because it's dry, does not require or involve additives, and I also dry out my otherwise damp tobaccos as well, (I'm not expert, it's just how I like it). I've read that anything over 14% in moisture content requires the use of anti-fungal or additives to prevent mold? Perhaps those crystals are it?

 

woodsroad

Lifer
Oct 10, 2013
13,014
22,151
SE PA USA
Oh, wait Jay. That was Mould that you had. We get Mold in the US. Entirely different behaviour behavior and colour color.

 

lazar

Can't Leave
May 5, 2015
470
98
Someone posted somewhere (I know, that's helpful :wink:) photos of different kinds of plume and mold taken with a high-powered microscope, and they are definitely different. If I can remember where the hell I saw it, I'll post a link.

 
May 4, 2015
3,210
16
More power to you? I'd just exchange it for a clean tin (which is no fuss), and not even risk it. Why risk it?! I've NEVER understood this line of thinking.
It's like being at a restaurant and finding something floating in your glass of water. Just ask for a new glass of water. They'll give it to you and apologize for the inconvenience.

 

sumusfumus

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 20, 2017
597
549
New York City
This might sound like some very silly question, but I will them ask anyway. Here it goes.....can tobaccos be frozen? Can our favorite tobacco(s) and blends be compressed into smaller packages, wrapped really well, or vacuum sealed, and then be frozen until needed?
I ask this because I have read that many guys keep tobaccos in jars, and store blends in cool cellars for aging, mellowing, etc. and sometimes the tobacco gets moldy. Can freezing prevent this when tobaccos are stored for months/years? If yes, when the tobaccos are thawed out will the flavors be compromised or changed?
What about storing tobaccos in a dedicated refrigerator?
Just curious.
Frank

 
May 4, 2015
3,210
16
Freezing won't kill mold spores. As soon as the tobacco is heated back up, the mold will come back to life to haunt you! Freezing wouldn't benefit tobacco at all that I can figure, but I could think of ways it could be harmed.
Compress, wrap, vacuum seal all you want - if there is mold, it will likely eventually grow.
Tobacco gets moldy because of a faulty application of anti-fungal agents, or various other environmental factors. It happens with organic products.

 
Jan 8, 2013
7,493
739
I don't understand Woodsroad's comment as "Go get a scope and check", but "In order to be 100% sure you need it to be checked under the scope"
I'm just sayin... now I want a microscope, as if I need to be spending any more money. And I'll probably go out and buy one. And I'm going to blame it on Woodsroad :nana:

 

mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,861
8,805
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
Freezing tobacco is a very bad idea. It will physically break the tobacco down into dust over time as the structures that bind the tobacco together slowly disintegrate themselves. This is not a good idea.
Anthony...I have a top quality Leica/Wild 'scope for sale...£1,000 and it's yours...case included :puffy:
Regards,
Jay.

 

brightleaf

Part of the Furniture Now
Sep 4, 2017
555
4
I would assume that all of our tobacco has mold spores in it already. Pulling out the few ribbons that look suspicious should be enough. I tried to find info on the dangers of smoking moldy tobacco but didn't come up with anything. The antifungal (most likely calcium propionate) would only slow the rate of mold growth, not eradicate it. The compromise would be if you want the flavor changed from the antifungal, or the mold. I think Cosmic makes the best point, if it smells like something you don't want to smoke, then don't smoke it. If you want to keep the mold from changing the tobacco further, Chiefwannapuff got it right, reduce the humidity. As far as sending stuff back at restaurants, I usually just take the hair, or whatever out with my own fingers (I draw the line at band-aids.) The real offense is only in a person's imagination.

 

mikestanley

Lifer
May 10, 2009
1,698
1,129
Akron area of Ohio
"It's like being at a restaurant and finding something floating in your glass of water. Just ask for a new glass of water. They'll give it to you and apologize for the inconvenience."
All the OP has floating in his water is an ice cube. There is no need to send it back. If you want to drive up tobacco prices, send back perfectly fine, opened tins, that's my opinion.
Mike S.

 

sumusfumus

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 20, 2017
597
549
New York City
Thank you for answering my questions about freezing tobaccos for storage. You guys pointed out the demerits that I did not consider. You took me to school, and now I know why freezing tobaccos is not such a good idea.
BTW, After posting, and a little more reflection, I kind of came to answer my own questions. If freezing was a good idea, then tobacconists would sell cold/frozen tobaccos, cigars, etc....or at least have a walk-in refrigerator for tobaccos products, etc. But they don't. That was my first clue. But I asked anyway. Embarrassing.
I wish this forum had a "delete" option.
Thanks for the information.
Frank

 

jvnshr

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 4, 2015
4,630
3,943
Baku, Azerbaijan
I wish this forum had a "delete" option.
Bribe any mod with a tin of Penzance :wink: Kidding aside, there is no silly question. If you go to my older posts, you can see how ridiculous questions I had asked, so no worries, we are all here to learn something.

 
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