Sugar or Mold

[fireground_piper]

What can be done to prevent mold?
I know to clean glass jars.
But can something be added, some little packet like those oxygen absorbers?

Just leave it as is. Each manufacture has their inhibitors and moisture levels for their blends. Most of the time, there shouldn’t be a problem.

 

[karam]

What can be done to prevent mold?
I know to clean glass jars.
But can something be added, some little packet like those oxygen absorbers?

I reckon not a lot actually, keeping things clean, for sure, but mold spores are everywhere.

 

[Chasing Embers]

What can be done to prevent mold?
I know to clean glass jars.
But can something be added, some little packet like those oxygen absorbers?

Lucky rabbit's foot.

 

[mingc]

Lucky rabbit's foot.

View attachment 102401

A foot severed from a rabbit unlucky enough to have lost that foot--and likely more--is somehow lucky. I've never figure that out. ?‍

 

[stevecourtright]

Since sugar is water soluble and mold is not, a simple rinse with a bit of water on a sample bit of baccy should give a pretty definitive answer. Fortunately, I haven't had to try out my theory. OTOH, I used to have to tell the difference between sugar and fat bloom on chocolate when I worked QA at a chocolate factory. Almost the same test.

 

[chopper]

Mold spores are microscopic and designed to proliferate through the air we breath. Mold is ubiquitous and can be harmless or potentially deadly depending on species. Do not think that breathing in abnormal mold is harmless, or that mold can't grow in you lungs. Do not think that messing around with unknown mold is safe. Unless your a mycologist and know exactly what dealing with, I suggest thoughtful caution to my words. Penicillin grows on bread in your kitchen because spores are floating in the air, along with a lot of other spores.

Black market tobacco [called chop-chop] is big here since tobacco taxes are outrageous.
It's imported and sold crispy dry so tobacconists need to bring it back to case.

In the early days [around 20 years ago] most tobacconists had no clue how to do that so they simply used water.
A lot of baccy turned mouldy. One health professional at a city hospital around that time said they had an entire ward full of patients with antibiotic resistant lung infections due to smoking mouldy chop-chop.

 

[mikecronis]

G'Afternoon Pipe friends,

For folks who have been around a bit this may seem like a silly question.

I was hoping some people could help me in understanding how to tell the difference between various expressions of sugar crystal development and what may be a mold.

I thought I could tell the difference but I got a couple of older samples from my uncle and I wanted to see some photos and hear some knowledge.

Thanks for the help as always.

Sugar bloom will be white and it means the tobacco has nicely aged and is more mellow and tastier.
Mold bloom will be blue or green and it means you should dump it.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Sugar bloom

Try licking it. It bacterial growth and salt formation from the tobacco off gassing ammonia.