You can also play around with lower temperature toasting, say 160 f for 2 hours, cooking radically changes the flavor. You will of course have to rehydrate after. My Spanish Folly was a toasted Rustica. @doctorbeat - Where are you located? I have a source for some heavenly whole leaf Virginia in the US. Glad your homemade snuff is turning out!
I’d like to try toasting. Well, what I should say is that I’d like to successfully try toasting. I tried once, but I actually toasted the tobacco as in partially carbonized it. I’ll try your suggested time and temperature and report back. I’m in NY, and I am definitely interested in getting hold of some Virginia.
Well, NY is doable. I will send you a PM. Toasting has to be done low and slow, my raw tobacco takes anywhere from 2 to 4 hours at about 160 degrees. Don’t go any higher, what you are trying to accomplish is converting the tobacco, driving out moisture, converting starches and sugars. I call it toasting, I guess slow baking is more like it. Be aware that copious amounts of noxious fumes will ensue. All that Raw “stuff” being cooked out. if you do this, please be careful not to get a lung full of the fumes, nasty!
Yeah, I already know not to breathe the fumes! Toasting is a bit of a misnomer really isn’t it? I guess it’s more like fractional distillation, getting rid of the more volatile components.