Ever Wondered Why Molasses Was/Is Added To Tobacco?

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mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,385
7,295
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
This is a snippet from the history of the Hudson's Bay Company and their use of substandard fur trade products in 1811...
"A considerable portion of the HBC's trade goods was inferior: tobacco that wouldn't light despite attempts to improve it with small doses of molasses, and guns that exploded in hunter's hands."
It would appear it aids combustion which thinking about it makes sense knowing that most if not all sugars are combustible due to being ~75% carbon.
It would be interesting to hear what such folks as Russ has to say on this matter as it pertains to tobacco manufacture of modern times.
Regards,
Jay.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
As a footnote, and as I've mentioned before, the light aromatic flavoring of Granger is said to be molasses. It's tawny sweetness suits a tobacco-forward aromatic.

 

hawky454

Lifer
Feb 11, 2016
5,338
10,220
Austin, TX
That is interesting. I also like the taste it provides. I also like treacle but I assume it’s pretty similar to molasses?

 

xingpao

Starting to Get Obsessed
Mar 11, 2019
119
89
That is the original poor Yelp review. Bad tobacco and exploding guns...

 

mikethompson

Lifer
Jun 26, 2016
11,289
23,318
Near Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Interesting tidbit Jay. Are you delving into the history of the Hudson's Bay Company? I went to the store in Montreal once and they had a mini museum on one floor. Very interesting history that intertwined with Canadian history.

 
Yehhhhh, when I can't get the campfire lit, I just poor some honey on it... fires right up. Car doesn't start, try poring some sugar in the gas tank. I don't see any problems at all with your quote. Sugars make thing burn easily... right?
I have never heard of a tobacco not being easily combustible being a quality of a poor tobacco. It's a quality of FVF. Maybe FVF needs some sugar. Maybe FVF is of poor quality?
No, sugars are added to slow down combustion. And, I wouldn't say that this is an indicator of poor quality. Great tobaccos benefit from a little casing also.
Now, rifles blowing up in your face, that could be cured with some molasses. :puffy:

 

jpmcwjr

Moderator
Staff member
May 12, 2015
24,565
27,066
Carmel Valley, CA
I always thought some tobaccos are cased in molasses. Mostly Burleys? (That's a question for someone who might know for sure.)

 

cranseiron

Part of the Furniture Now
May 17, 2013
586
49
McHenry, MS
hawky, I'm pretty sure treacle and molasses are the same thing. Treacle is what the Brit's call it. Correct me if I'm wrong, Jay.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
And Hudson Bay Company as always been romanticized as the purveyor of sturdy dependable goods for the outdoors. Only some of the purchasers of the exploding rifles survived to complain.

 

mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,385
7,295
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
"Treacle is what the Brit's call it. Correct me if I'm wrong, Jay."
Eric and Hawky, rather than have me describe the differences, I would point you in the direction of Wikipedia ..... their descriptions are better than I might put forward.
It's rather like crude oil giving off certain products depending on how it's distilled.
I always assumed that molasses and such were added for flavour enhancement only but this article suggests it was to aid combustion. How it was added is not mentioned and also beyond me.
Hopefully someone in the know might chime in.
Regards,
Jay.

 

davek

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 20, 2014
685
952
Sugar, or anything with sugar in it, added to tobacco will change the PH of the smoke making it more acidic. More acidic smoke will give more nicotine salts instead of nicotine base and thus less nicotine absorption. It also makes for less "throat catch" and alkaline bite. However, too much burning sugar can burn hot thus biting, and also IMO cause an acid burn.
I smoke chopped up whole leaf, primarily Burley. Pure, unadulterated Burley is strong and will bite. It's surprising what a difference a quite small amount of honey makes, mellowing the bite and the strength. Burley is generally cased commercially, I think.
I *think* that uncured or partially cured tobacco (actually fermented) is higher in ammonia, so sugar or molasses might tame it down some. I know it will turn you green with it's kick.
"Acid forming constituents (carbohydrates) and basic

constituents (ammonia) can have a significant effect on

smoke pH. Figure 8.7 shows the cumulative effect of

successive puffs on the pH of water through which

smoke has been passed. In a study ofover !50 brands of

cigarettes, Elson, eta/. (1972), concluded that brands

with low sugar content generated more alkaline smoke

than those with high sugar content (which become progressively more acidic).

As nicotine is a major volatile base present in

cigarette smoke, the pH ofsmoke plays an exceedingly important role on the sensory impression imparted.

The higher ammonia level of air-cured tobacco containing low or negligible sugar content would pre- sumably have two major effects. It has an effect on the ratio of nicotine/nicotine salts delivered on smoking relative to high sugar and/or more acidic tobacco types wherein the nicotine and other alkaloids are complexed (more) as salts in the smoke.

Since the pH of smoke in air-cured tobacco is con- siderably more alkaline than flue-cured or Oriental, the ratio of nicotine base to nicotine salts increases. This causes the sensory and physiological perception of increased nicotine strength"
https://www.leffingwell.com/download/Leffingwell%20-%20Tobacco%20production%20chemistry%20and%20technology.pdf

 

cranseiron

Part of the Furniture Now
May 17, 2013
586
49
McHenry, MS
davek, very informative post-- thank you.
Here's a link to a quick and dirty treacle vs. molasses article. Treacle receives less distillation, thus a higher sugar content and so less bitter than molasses. Molasses is the dregs of cane sugar distillation.
Jay, if you've not read this already, it's a pretty good read: The Sugar Barons: Family, Corruption, Empire, and War in the West Indies. It's all about England's global sugar trade and the enormous wealth and excesses of the principles.
Eric
http://www.theoldfoodie.com/2012/10/things-to-do-with-treacle.html?m=1

 

davek

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 20, 2014
685
952
I read somewhere, so AFAIR, that the rum trade kind of started because it was a convenient thing to do with the molasses…. a by product of the British sugar cane plantations.

 

mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,385
7,295
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
Eric, thanks for the book tip, it is now ordered from Amazon :puffy:
"...the rum trade kind of started because it was a convenient thing to do with the molasses…. a by product of the British sugar cane plantations."
Davek, I too have read that from several sources.
Another tidbit, the origin of the term 'firewater' meaning strong liquor refers back to the fur trading days where rum was a highly prized trading commodity with the Indigenous Peoples.
Due to it being cumbersome to ship via canoe (and also to curb over drinking) it was quietly watered down. Once the natives twigged this they would take a mouthful of grog and spit it out over a fire. If it doused the flames it was declined, if it roared the fire then it was good stuff!
Regards,
Jay.

 

cranseiron

Part of the Furniture Now
May 17, 2013
586
49
McHenry, MS
You're welcome, Jay. A little late with my reply-- touring through the Mississippi Delta on the Indian with the wife on our way to Arkansas.
davek/Jay, I remember from middle school history learning about the American/British Caribbean molasses trade . Funny, there was no mention of all that molasses being used to produce rum. Hmm, imagine that! Rum was also called "kill devil" as it wasn't aged so it was a horribly burning beverage, not at all like contemporary rum. And men, typically, drank it by the gallon. Drunkenness was everywhere. Read that in the book, Jay. :)

 

mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,385
7,295
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
".....touring through the Mississippi Delta on the Indian with the wife on our way to Arkansas."
Eric, by pure coincidence, last night I watched a fascinating BBC documentary about the Mississippi River. I never knew it was so large and had so many tributaries covering most States of the US!
Regards,
Jay.

 
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