Is drying/ curing necessary

SBNDB

Well-Known Member
Do you have to dry buds, or dry and cure before making bubble hash? Or can i just chop and throw straight in the freezer?
 

SBNDB

Well-Known Member
Follow up question…. Is flavor affected one way or another at all by not drying ? Or any other differences?
 

Billy the Mountain

Well-Known Member
I've never tried an A/B comparison, but I much prefer skipping the drying/curing period.
The reasons for curing just don't exist when making bubble hash.
 

Opklop56

Active Member
Hi

If the goal is to make water hash directly from harvest without drying/curring, why freeze the buds ? Meaning why put in a freezer something that will end in cold water and will be unfrozen before starting to agitate ? On top of that, I understand the process of freezing sth to keep it long (or to get more quantity in this case) but what about impact on product taste (we only freeze our vegetables, meat .... to keep it long and a fresh product is always/generally better than a frozen one).
 

nygaff1

Well-Known Member
Hi

If the goal is to make water hash directly from harvest without drying/curring, why freeze the buds ? Meaning why put in a freezer something that will end in cold water and will be unfrozen before starting to agitate ? On top of that, I understand the process of freezing sth to keep it long (or to get more quantity in this case) but what about impact on product taste (we only freeze our vegetables, meat .... to keep it long and a fresh product is always/generally better than a frozen one).
As far as taste goes, as long as its a clean freezer and the bag is sealed, you're fine. Terpene loss in frozen conditions is MUCH slower than if it had dried.
 

Opklop56

Active Member
As far as taste goes, as long as its a clean freezer and the bag is sealed, you're fine. Terpene loss in frozen conditions is MUCH slower than if it had dried.
Thx ! And between directly put in cold water after harvest versus freeze it 24 hours before starting the process ?
 

HydroKid239

Well-Known Member
I definitely agree with the members waiting for it to be freezing outside, unless you have an actual walk-in freezer of course. Lol
I set my buckets into a mound of snow to keep the ice solid while it’s being worked. I have a good pound of plant material just waiting for winter to crack that whip on my area. By then I’d have another indoor plant, and 4 outside to trim & add to the upcoming run. I grow on a small scale, so I do it every 2 years. Saving whatever trim I don’t dry sift in the meantime.
 

nygaff1

Well-Known Member
Honestly, as long as you chill the water in your sprayer room temperature doesnt make too much of a difference using a washingmachine and full mesh bags. Set the AC to 70 and I male sure to get extra ice - not ideal, but far from impossible like I was under the impressionthatit was.
 

Thundercat

Well-Known Member
Follow up question…. Is flavor affected one way or another at all by not drying ? Or any other differences?
I havnt made bubble hash, but I used to make a lot of QWISO. When I used fresh frozen material the hash tasted just like the plant smells at harvest, its got a bright fresh taste. When you use dried cured material, it tastes like dried cured buds, certainly not a bad thing, but definitely different.

I usually dried my material, because with qwiso it takes up much less space during extraction and doesn't have any water in it to get mixed in and have to be evaporated out. However I really did prefer/enjoy the fresh frozen taste because it was so vibrant.

With bubble hash the extra water should matter because you will dry it after you wash it anyway, so fresh frozen is definitely the direction I would go if I made some. I also imagine that freezing the material first would help it stay nice and cold during processing and also allow it to separate the trichomes easily once submerged in the ice.
 

Opklop56

Active Member
Huh? Why would you put it in cold water for 24 hours before freezing?
I don't want to put in ice water before freezing.

If the intention is to make water hash directly after harvest I don't understand the interest of freezing for 24h the buds before the process. Just cut and directly make water hash without freezing the buds at all before.
 

HydroKid239

Well-Known Member
I don't want to put in ice water before freezing.

If the intention is to make water hash directly after harvest I don't understand the interest of freezing for 24h the buds before the process. Just cut and directly make water hash without freezing the buds at all before.
Freezing makes the trichome stems brittle, and they break the heads off much easier when swirling around knocking into each other.

Edit: If you want to see the difference first hand on yield, flavor and potency you can always do a comparison.
 

Opklop56

Active Member
Freezing makes the trichome stems brittle, and they break the heads off much easier when swirling around knocking into each other.

Edit: If you want to see the difference first hand on yield, flavor and potency you can always do a comparison.
Yes ! Objective of the next run. Regarding the point that trichomes indeed "break the heads off much easier when swirling around knocking into each other", when you put the frozen buds in ice water then very rapidly and before you agitate it is not frozen anymore (considering that even with fresh material you wait - less than with dry material - before agitating).
Anyway, fresh frozen becomes more and more popular so it must be for a good reason :)
 

HydroKid239

Well-Known Member
Yes ! Objective of the next run. Regarding the point that trichomes indeed "break the heads off much easier when swirling around knocking into each other", when you put the frozen buds in ice water then very rapidly and before you agitate it is not frozen anymore (considering that even with fresh material you wait - less than with dry material - before agitating).
Anyway, fresh frozen becomes more and more popular so it must be for a good reason :)
 
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