Speed curing

I am new to growing, but I have certainly smoked cured and quick-dried weed. I say quick-dried because I can't say that I believe you can "quick-cure" ANYTHING... think about curing pork as an example, if you speed up the process with higher temps, etc you will just dry it out and the flavour disappears.

I'm a wine lover too, but would rather relax with a nicely aged red than to mix grape juice and rubbing alcohol... sure you might get hammered drinking both in quantity, but why waste good grape juice for a much less enjoyable experience?? good things come to those who wait

On that note though, is it crazy to suggest the microwaving your weed would essential break down / destroy THC molecules just as light does, but at a faster pace? At what temperature does THC start to break down?

EDIT: https://www.rollitup.org/harvesting-curing/76176-thc-breakdown-temp.html found this thread.

So then what temperature does THC reach while being microwaved?? Wouldn't it release THC into the microwave just as a vapourizer would>?

Cool thread link. I've never microwaved weed. I really don't like microwaving food either but I do it sometimes. I'd rather smoke green/hay/chlorophyll buds than stick them in the microwave. Rippers are usually the people interested in quick drying. They have all that fresh cut and need to smoke it now. Real smokers can wait. No offense you quick-dryers that aren't rippers.
Peace.
Oh and if I were to microwave, opening the door, putting your face in it and breathing deep sounds like a good idea.

that microwave stuff is horrible! But when I I tryd it I thook a different approach . I put the microwave on it lowest level or u cud use defrost .even after 20 mins it is no where near dry but u can tell its slowly drying. U can smell the sweetness from the buds. I used the microwave for about 3-4 hours to start my drying process. Then I hung and dryd them for only 3 days
I cured them for a week and 4days. Sooooo 2week process. Very good smoke. U cud say midz. But I've had better way better from the same weed ( super Cali haze) that was dryd outside for a week and cured for two weeks.

My opinion nuthen less than 3 weeks. 4 Weeks plus for best results.

Bynk said:

I'm still somewhat new to this, but I think most of you are confusing drying and curing as the same thing

You obviously can dry the herb quickly, but i can't imagine how to speed up the chemical changes involved in the curing process

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Excellent points.

Drying is one thing, curing is something completely different. This being said, it is possible to bring out product fairly quickly with the illusion of a cure, but several constraints have to be met:

1. The concept is strain-specific. We have to be working with very dense flower mass almost totally devoid of vegetative matter.

2. A strain with a quickly-developed smell - like Afghan Kush as an example - is a must.

3. The moisture has to distributed evenly throughout the product. This takes a little times, especially when the products is very dense. A hygrometer inside the jar is really the only way to do this and know when it's good to go.

FWIW, the absolute quickest I've been able to bring something out and have the product seem like it was cured is ~2 weeks after harvest.

Simon

A proper cure requires at least a couple of weeks of slow drying time to get the big molecules and starches in your plant to break down to yield the best flavor and mildest smoke. I really don't think there is any way around this. Increasing the temperature a little bit might make the cure go a little faster, but its still going to take weeks for a thorough cure.

Its not exactly the same thing, but as an analogy, burley tobacco is typically air-cured in barns for eight weeks to get all the starches and pigments to break down. A flue or fire-cure can also be done, using heat to speed up the process, but these still usually take over a week.

With week, you can do a water cure, where you basically use multiple changes of water to dissolve out out all water-soluble molecules, but this will still take a week, you'll end up with something that has no taste, and you still have to dry the stuff out at the end.

If you just want "something" to smoke ASAP, then pretty much ANY fast-drying technique can get you there, so long as you are willing to accept poor flavor and potentially harsh smoke. Ways to do it?

-Food dehydrator.
-Oven set on low temp.
-Wrap herb loosely in aluminum foil and place on top of radiator, light bulb, other heat-generating appliance.
-Sunlight.
-Microwave, etc.

Chemical dessicants would probably work, though I can't see a good reason to use them. (Might as well use low heat). I think a better option would be to substitute dry rice grains as a natural dessicant.

i take it nobody has tried my "fast dry" method? just a little lamp, bout a 75w bulb, right now im using a small reptile light. put the bud on a plate, let it sit under the light. have the light bout 1.5inch above the plate. put the herbs on the plate. it wont be fast by any means, but IT WILL give you the closest effect to the high you would achieve if it was dry, not cured. i do this with all the little wispy lower buds. they are mostly just stigmatas and a few leafs, but i cut them off. i also have another GREAT method. i take a 4 quart cooking pot. i place a fork and a metal skewer on the pan. i take a little nug and bend the stem around the fork. the bud floats in the air and the heat form the pan evaporates the moisture in a bud. like i mentioned, i do this with smaller lower wispier buds. it gets me hella blazed. and veteran smoker who is hella picky and has a hard time achieving a good high because i have such a high tolerance. and i get blazed off this methods. oh, and guess what? it dont taste that bad, AT ALL!!