I now have around 70 snuffs a mixture of tins and plastic containers and a couple in plastic bags. I know this is a topic which can divide opinion and am not sure what to do for the best. I placed an order with Greens today and Paul told me snuff starts to go off after around 3 to 6 months and the tins start to rust, so as you will understand this has caused me to fret. I do have freezer space but there s also a lot of food in there as well, at the moment i have my snuff stored in drawers with tins sealed with high quality electrical tape and the plastic dispensers just as they are. Any advice would be greatfully received.

Lots of little condiment glass jars.

Step up your snuffing!!! I use flat, airtight plastic containers, same as TupperWare, and let it sit in the door of the freezer. I can tell you, I used some Toque Espresso a week ago which has been sitting in the freezer for 4 months. When I opened the plastic bag in which it is stored, I could still smell the ammoniac. Fresh as a virgin’s lips

My freezer is a big old chest freezer so no doors, i do have plastic containers and some ceramic jars with airtight seals which i have earmarked for some snuff i have ordered today in larger amounts. Yes i agree i am clearly not snuffing enough, of course my ambition is to match Napolean but still have a long way to go.

I think you must be careful with the ceramic in the freezer? Might crack, not so? The plastic containers which I use is fitted with fold over grips, hard for me to explain, but it’s not only a lid which you press down. It grips the sides of the box to make it 100% tight. Otherwise you might spoil the food in the freezer if any of the snuff smell should leak. And if that happens to me, it will be the end of my snuffing career!!

I have just thought of a lovely large plastic box i could keep the snuff in to put in the freezer just have to convince the wife to clear out some space. Does it matter how many you have in a single box or not as the one i am thinking of will hold about 30 25g tins.

Just place each of the tins in a plastic bag and tie them up untuill they’re sealed. I would also suggest you throw in an active silica gel pack insides the larger container (only after sealing each tin , and each bag with a tin) and then sealing the container itself. Leave it outside for a few good hours and after that place it in the freezer . The pack will draw all the moisture so you don’t get any ice inside at all. later edit: If the silica packs are “used up”. put them in the oven at 120* C ( 250* F) for two hours.

I use small plastic bags for each tin or box, same as the ones Roderick packs his snuff in. The silica is a good idea, did not think of that, thanks Jack! You can then pack all your tins in one plastic box, the aromas won’t mix. And, I can asure you once more, your snuff will stay fresh. Happy snuffing, see you in the chatroom? Pieter

How long an individual snuff lasts depends a lot on how its stored. If you just leave a unopened tin out on its own, then yes 3-6 months is about right. But under the right preparation you can keep it fresh a lot longer than that. As far as rusted tins, I’ve never had a tin rust on me. But I also don’t buy many really moist snuffs. I think the climate in which its stored has plays a factor as well. If you live in an area of high humidity or near the ocean then yes you might be more prone to rusty tins. Tupperware/Rubbermaid style containers work good. Also canning jars are available in sizes from very small to over 1 gallon. Military style ammo cans can be used, most have a rubber gasket & are water/air tight. Kilner jars or other kitchen storage jars. Food saver vacuum bags, igloo style ice chests like the kind you might bring to the beach. For the ones prone to drying out, before I store them, I individually bag them in the extra thick ziploc style bags, I suck the air out before I complete the seal. Been working good for me. Here is another option. Tightvac jars Watch the short video when the page loads. My sister uses these for her coffee & loose leaf tea as she keeps many different ones open at any given time & they do work.

Thank you gentlemen for your sage advice some really good ideas here. So how do you work out what you keep out and what you store i expect everyone has their own system. I enjoy a lot of different pinches throughout the day and finding it difficult to decide.

Thats where things like various snuff boxes & smashboxes comes in handy. Pull out various snuffs you think you might enjoy over the next day or two & fill up snuff boxes or other with vaioius snuffs so you don’t have to keep the original tin out. That way if a small amount dries out of goes stale in one of these boxes, its a lot better than your whole tin.

Hi Trout, Big Al…that’s the way I do it. I fill small containers with snuff and keep it in a cabinet in my office. I rotate this snuff about 3 times a week so that everyone gets a chance. By doing this, I use all my snuff regularly. The bulk of my snuffs sit in the freezer and every time a small container is empty, I fill it up from the freezer. Want to join me in the chatroom?

I have now ordered the necessary equipment for a nice freezer setup as per the suggestions sealed airtight bags in an airtight plastic box. How can you tell when your snuff is on the turn and what should i watch out for as time passes to ascertain whether or not the setup is working well.

Just a word of warning on the bags bigblue suggested. I used them for freezing snus and they allowed frost to get inside. These bags are good for the fridge but not the freezer. I imagine freezer burn would be BAD for snuff.

I’m surprised you had that problem bigmick as thats what the bags are made for, freezer storage & keep out freezer burn?. Or maybe a faulty bag? I’ve never tried them so don’t know. Is it possible the moisture came from the snus & thats what caused the frost inside? I know for dip like copenhagen, I just keep in the freezer as they are. When I found a good deal on a log, I would just put the whole log in the freezer. Never had a problem with freezer burn. The cans are always as fresh and taste as good as a new can.

Big Al, I don’t keep my snuff in the freezer but just keep an eye on the individual moisture levels in your tins. If you do get some that dry out, you can rehydrate & save the snuff so don’t throw it away. Keep an eye on the tins to make sure that rust isn’t developing or ice isn’t growing on the tin.

Cheers TS will do

I find rust is the biggest problem with the tins, but only with the very moist snuffs. That includes tins from Sam Gawith and Wilson’s of Sharrow. I recently had to pretty well destroy a large tins of WoS Brunswick to get into it! Once open I just put the snuff into a different container of course.

Troutstroker, it may have been a bad bag or it may have been that I overfilled it or something no one ever would think of. All I know is I don’t trust my snus to them anymore. How about I modify my statement and say be cautious when using these bags? The may work better for snuff. I have a rather large order coming in soon, so I’ll test them again, with small quantities of my newest addiction.

I just thought about an idea. When I store my black cast iron pots, I put some newspaper cuttings in it. The paper absorbs any moisture left in the pot and prevents rust. I’m going to put some “newspaper” paper in my containers in the freezer, just for in case there is some moisture in there. Should do the trick.

Pieter, i am lucky enough to have some silica packs lying around doing nothing so i will give those a go but thanks for the tip. ermtony, how do you store your tins.

Some/most brands of kitty litter are in fact silica.You can wrap it up in a coffee filter.

Jack thats genius your contribution is both brilliant and disturbing in equal measure and appeals to my warped sense of humour i will definately check this out. My only concern would be that kitty litter usually has something in it to cover up the pong, wouldn’t that affect the snuff.

Just be sure after grinding to run the litter through silk before snuffing. Or…(aren’t you going to be drying out your snuff with this method?)

Generally I keep tins in ziploc bags which in turn are in airtight plastic boxes. The long term storage is a cupboard and some drawers on a north facing wall. They stay cool even in the summer. I must stress that it’s only the tins with the moist snuffs that seem to suffer. Clearly it’s the moisture in the snuff which causes the rusting of the tin.

I have just discovered you can get kilner airtight storage tubs that have four locking hinges and a silicone seal and are freezer, dishwasher and microwave safe at a reasonable price so i have ordered one of these as they sound perfect for snuff storage. Biggest i could find was 4.5L but this should do for now if its as good as i think it will be i shall get another one to keep it company.

Big Al, that’s what I use!!! Perfect. And yes, you need two at least. I have four, two are sitting in the freezer and two in my cabinet in my office. It was actually made for storing snuff but I see some people use it to keep foodstuffs in. Ah well, just as good, I guess!!

Like they say Pieter great minds think alike, could you tell me how many 25g tins one of these hold and do you think there is advantage to using the freezer or would it be equally good in a cool dark place

Can’t help you with that one because I keep my 25g tins in my steel cabinet. Same with my 10g Roderick tins, they seal perpectly and I just keep them in a zipped bag. Other snuff in the plastic boxes like Poschl, Dholakia, Molens etc., I keep in the airtight plastic box. I always have doubles of each snuff I use; open ones which are in use, I store airtight in my office in a cool place, the “spares” I store airtight in the freezer. That’s the way I do it but I’m pretty sure if you have a nice, cool place, that would be just as good. Main thing is, your container must be airtight and that is what your kilner box is.

So if we all moved to space and it’s near vacum we’d have no trouble storing our snuff?

Yep , pretty much. It’s cold enough that you wouldn’t need a freezer either , at least in the shade. You wouldn’t want to spill any tho , it would be a pain to clean up.

and imagine getting hit with one of the clumps some snuffs get.

If your not careful, some of the snuff might float out of your nose. That would be sad! :~(

But then you could swim around inhaling like crazy to catch it all , you’d very much resemble a whale filtering out plankton.

@jack, have you been looking in my window again

I deny everything.

How about film cansiters? I have some extra snuff in these right now. Do you think its safe?

I use old 35mm film canisters to store some of my own blends. Never had a problem with them and they are airtight.

I’m not sure what plastic it is , so it might leech chemicals into your snuff. I wouldn’t be using them. They should have a triangle somewhere on them with some letters inside , see if you can find it. That tells what kind of plastic it is.

Jack, Its a #2.

#2 is ok , it’s HDPE , also used for milk jugs.

not sure I’d use film canisters as some of the chemicals from the film might not be good (just a thought). No science behind this. Though I know some of the chemicals in older film are not healthy in larger enough amounts over a prolonged period…

I did wash them out before use!

Well i guess the chemicals can be bad. However if you have no alternative i suggest using only canisters that held the new film (which is in an aluminium thingy). Not ones that held open rolls of film. And if washing , do it properly like so: -fill with cooking oil and let it sit for an hour -wash with detergent -fill with alcohol -wash and fill with water -let it dry. The reason for this is that different chemicals need different solvents. Some go away with fat , some with water , etc.

I don’t think it would be super horrible but some film chemicals can do strange things after long exposure. There isn’t much info on getting in your nose.

Well, these film canisters haven’t had film in them in 10 years or longer. I wasn’t too worried on that. Some have had salt and spices in them from time to time for camping trips. Others have had coins. paper clips, thumb tacks or whatever odds and ends I have the need for. I just keep them around as they are so handy. When I needed something to put some spare snuff in, they were the first thing I thought of. As yet, I have not tried the snuff that is in them, so I’ll report back if it smells or tastes tainted. They have been washed in the past with just soap and water.