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Curing of tobacco
Tobacco is cured to dry and age it in preparation for human consumption. The color of the leaf changes with aging, also known as color curing. Tobacco is cured directly after it is harvested in nearly all instances where it is to be used for smoking or chewing.
Curing tobacco is necessary to prepare the leaf for consumption because in its raw freshly picked state the green tobacco leaf is too wet to ignite and be smoked, and too acrid to chew. In recent times, traditional curing barns in the United States have been replaced with prefabricated metal curing boxes. Temporary curing boxes are often found at tobacco farms.
Curing and subsequent aging allow for the slow oxidation and degradation of carotenoids in the tobacco leaf. This produces various compounds in the tobacco leaves that give cured tobacco its sweet aroma, characteristic flavor, and degree of "smoothness" to the consumed product. Non-aged[citation needed] or low quality tobacco is often artificially flavored with these otherwise naturally occurring compounds. Tobacco flavoring is a significant source of revenue for the flavor and fragrance industry.
Aging continues for a period of months, and often extends into the post-curing process.
After tobacco is cured, it is moved from the curing barn into a storage area for processing. If whole plants were cut, the leaves are removed from the tobacco stalks in a process called stripping. For both cut and pulled tobacco, the leaves are then sorted into different grades. In colonial times, the tobacco was then "prized" into hogsheads for transportation. In brightleaf tobacco regions, prizing was replaced by stacking wrapped "hands" into loose piles to be sold at auction. Today, most cured tobacco is baled before sales are made under pre-sold contracts.
Cut plants or pulled leaves are immediately transferred to tobacco barns (kiln houses), where they will be cured. Curing methods vary with the type of tobacco grown, and tobacco barn design varies accordingly, including the newer use of field-side curing frames.
Air-cured tobacco is hung in well-ventilated barns and allowed to dry over a period of four to eight weeks. Air-cured tobacco is low in sugar, which gives the tobacco smoke a light, sweet flavor, and a high nicotine content. Cigar and burley tobaccos are air cured.
Fire-cured tobacco is hung in large barns where fires of hardwoods are kept on continuous or intermittent low smoulder and takes between three days and ten weeks, depending on the process and the tobacco. Fire curing produces a tobacco low in sugar and high in nicotine. Pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, and snuff are fire cured.
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Curing of tobacco AI simulator
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Curing of tobacco
Tobacco is cured to dry and age it in preparation for human consumption. The color of the leaf changes with aging, also known as color curing. Tobacco is cured directly after it is harvested in nearly all instances where it is to be used for smoking or chewing.
Curing tobacco is necessary to prepare the leaf for consumption because in its raw freshly picked state the green tobacco leaf is too wet to ignite and be smoked, and too acrid to chew. In recent times, traditional curing barns in the United States have been replaced with prefabricated metal curing boxes. Temporary curing boxes are often found at tobacco farms.
Curing and subsequent aging allow for the slow oxidation and degradation of carotenoids in the tobacco leaf. This produces various compounds in the tobacco leaves that give cured tobacco its sweet aroma, characteristic flavor, and degree of "smoothness" to the consumed product. Non-aged[citation needed] or low quality tobacco is often artificially flavored with these otherwise naturally occurring compounds. Tobacco flavoring is a significant source of revenue for the flavor and fragrance industry.
Aging continues for a period of months, and often extends into the post-curing process.
After tobacco is cured, it is moved from the curing barn into a storage area for processing. If whole plants were cut, the leaves are removed from the tobacco stalks in a process called stripping. For both cut and pulled tobacco, the leaves are then sorted into different grades. In colonial times, the tobacco was then "prized" into hogsheads for transportation. In brightleaf tobacco regions, prizing was replaced by stacking wrapped "hands" into loose piles to be sold at auction. Today, most cured tobacco is baled before sales are made under pre-sold contracts.
Cut plants or pulled leaves are immediately transferred to tobacco barns (kiln houses), where they will be cured. Curing methods vary with the type of tobacco grown, and tobacco barn design varies accordingly, including the newer use of field-side curing frames.
Air-cured tobacco is hung in well-ventilated barns and allowed to dry over a period of four to eight weeks. Air-cured tobacco is low in sugar, which gives the tobacco smoke a light, sweet flavor, and a high nicotine content. Cigar and burley tobaccos are air cured.
Fire-cured tobacco is hung in large barns where fires of hardwoods are kept on continuous or intermittent low smoulder and takes between three days and ten weeks, depending on the process and the tobacco. Fire curing produces a tobacco low in sugar and high in nicotine. Pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, and snuff are fire cured.