I couldn’t find a post anywhere on the net on drying out snuffs which have turned moist.

I need to carry out this experiment for one of the snuff which is very moist in the tin and the flavours are just too subtle.

Any advice? Other suggestions? And yeah, I live in a place which is humid on the lower to higher side throughout the year. Coastal city in India.

Thanks

what

Water moistened, or oil moistened?

Water moistened

OK, so I am assuming that due to the ambient conditions, leaving the lid off a snuff (which for the rest of us loses moisture) hydrates it rather than dries it out. The next thing that comes to mind for me, which always dries out my snuff, is put it in your snuffbox and put it in your pocket. Your body temperature will promote evaporation of the excess moisture. When you fill the snuffbox, be sure to have plenty of airspace for that moisture to go to. In effect, don’t fill the snuffbox by more than 20%-25%. Maybe you’ll have to carry a snuffbox today to prep the snuff for tomorrow, along with the snuff that’s already dried down to normal levels for use today. This is just thinking off the cuff as it’s totally different to my own circumstances, but maybe it will work out for you

Brilliant. @50ft_trad I agree and will try. 

I totally welcome moist snuff, but the issue to be addressed is mainly the taste and fragrance. I have been also told that airing the snuff for a couple of hours should make it better and bring out the taste and fragrance. 

I’ll try both methods and report.

I’m guessing due to your climate that your snuff is picking up moisture due to the ambient temperature. That happens in high humidity areas. When I was stationed in Guam, if I left pipe tobacco open outside for any length of time, I would have soggy pipe tobacco( I wasn’t into snuff at that time). If you leave it open to your climate in an area that doesn’t have air conditioning, it will most likely get more moisture. If you have air conditioning, the snuff should lose moisture if you leave it open. I’ve never done this, but maybe if you put your open snuff in the fridge for awhile, it should take some moisture out of it. Just a guess though.

@Psicko - Interesting viewpoint. I shall try. Thanks! However, I am just vary of airing these for a long time since I fear losing more of the already lost flavor and strength. 

Is it possible to use one of those silica packs found in some food packaging to keep the moisture low?

@WickedPissah Thats next on my list… I will try that (its called a desiccant - found commonly in silica gel packs). You wont believe but I was just searching it online on amazon. Hope it works. :) 

These may help if you decant right away.https://mrsnuff.com/univac-green-vacuum-p-2487.html 

Name:  Univac Green Vacuum Jar 28g
Type:  accessories
Category:  snuff tools
Color:  selected color

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Univac vacuum jar. Seals out air and moisture, and has a capacity of approx 1oz. Available in a variety of colours.

@basement_shaman - Thanks buddy. However, ordering from overseas would be too expensive considering the exchange rate vis-a-vis India. I am trying some other method and will report in a week

@newbiesnuffer Rice absorbs moisture quite well and it is inexpensive . It’s a known hack when you get your cell phone wet. Just put it in a bag of rice. I use it in salt shakers and keeps the salt flowing when it swamp ass hot here.

 You would have to rap some between two piece of insect screen  Place it in the bottom of your snuff container and keep the snuff on top. For larger storage, stick the whole can in a big plastic lidded box, full of rice. :-B 

Dry pasta may work too but not as fast.

If you want to add scent to it use dehydrated fruit, like strawberries,banana chips or apple, you could also use dry herbs, flowers or spice even a tea bag  [Earl Gray would be nice]. If you don’t have a food dehydrator; All these things can be made in the oven on the lowest setting with the door open.  Good luck!

@basement_shaman - Yes sir, excellent points. Similarly, as @WickedPissah mentioned, I have ordered some desiccants (silica gel pouches). For a small batch (5 grams) I tried two 1 gram sachets of desiccant from my new shoes box after airing them. Just put them in right in the box for 24 hours. The moisture was balanced and thats when I moved them out. Worked well for a small experiment. Now have to try for a tin. Let me try that and report. 

Interesting points about flavoring. I love Earl Gray! Maybe I’ll try that with some mildly scented and tobacco snuffs. Thank you so very much for the wisdom. 

@newbiesnuffer those silica gel pouches are okay for small scale though they do not absorb alot of moisture before the silica gets saturated. As basement_sharman has suggested, rice would be a good substitute when you are dehydrating on a larger scale.

Yes, I agree. Will try the rice.

@basement_shaman - A question. I have a plastic lidded box with a clamp, so I think its fairly airtight. Its big enough to fit a tin. Now I’ve filled it 1/4th with rice and placed the tin on top of it. 

Now - Do I keep the tin open and close the lid on the plastic container? 

Or do I close the tin as well and pour rice on top of tin as well (closed tin surrounded by rice)? The picture will help you to guide further. Thanks!

And yes, for how long you’d think it takes for the moisture to leave?

@newbiesnuffer how did the rice go?

Hairdryer? =))

LOL @50ft_trad

@Aamon - Sadly, I didnt get a result because I may have used a small container. I guess I’ll have to use at least a kilogram of rice and try in a bigger container, but cant do that as of now. When I am able to, I’ll report back the findings. As per basement_shaman, that should work and I trust him. 

Looks like canned cat food your trying to dry out.

Yeah, exactly, this is the moist snuff and I guess the jar I was trying to get the rice experiment in with is too small. I’ll get a bigger one. 

@newbiesnuffer the rice should work, though the key is not to open the container. As soon as you do that you are right back where you started.

@Aamon - so for how long must the tin sit there with lid unopened?

@newbiesnuffer Due to your high humidity its hard to say, though I would leave it completely shut for a day then check it, then if its not satisfactory try two days and so on. The problem is having up to 20mls of water per M^3 in the air, the rice would need to take this out first before the snuff can be dehydrated properly. Just experiment and find the method that works for you