Cum se aromatizeaza tabacul de pipa ?

CASING – the sauce that brings out the good taste of pipe tobacco

When pipe smoking began to gain wide acceptance in the 1600s, tobacco manufacturers turned to ways of bringing out the best flavour in the tobacco. Essentially this meant emphasising the best nuances of taste in the raw tobacco for the optimal enjoyment of the smoker. For centuries the tobacco masters have sought to find the perfect casing for a given mixture.




Whenever there is talk of casing, to the pipe smoker the subject always seems shrouded in secrecy. But in fact casing simply means sauce, although in the world of tobacco the word casing has always referred to the particular sauce used to bring out the taste of the pipe tobacco. The only secret to casing is the recipe, the raw materials used and in which quantities. To develop a casing which brings out the taste of the tobacco without overpowering it is a true art. Every pipe tobacco factory has its own unique recipes, which have been developed and refined over many decades - if not centuries.

The tremendous work effort involved in finding the ideal casing for a given pipe tobacco is the reason why the recipes remain such closely guarded secrets, unknown to all except a few pipe tobacco masters at the factory.
In older days, seamen had problems trying to keep their tobacco fresh on long sea voyages. They experimented with ways of keeping the tobacco moist as long as possible and found out that different types of sugar mixtures kept tobacco fresh for extended periods of time. Word of this soon made its way back to the tobacco masters and soon it became an integral element in the casing. It is not possible to put an exact date on when casing was first used and by whom, but it most certainly dates back hundreds of years.

There is nothing mysterious about casing. In essence, it is easy to make. All that is required is water and a selection of good, natural ingredients. When we at Mac Baren produce a casing, we fill a boiler with water and then add the good, natural ingredients. The mixture is then boiled for about four hours and left to cool. When it reaches the right temperature, the finished casing is added to the tobacco. To achieve the optimal taste, the tobacco is left for 12 hours to allow the casing to impregnate the tobacco. The purpose of the casing is twofold: to bring out the taste and to keep the tobacco moist. The ingredients used in casing have not changed significantly for a long time. In fact, at Mac Baren we still use the same raw materials that were used by the old tobacco masters. Every tobacco mixture has its own unique casing, specially developed to complement the raw tobaccos that go into making each mixture special

Mac Baren casing is made from lots of good, natural ingredients including Liquorice, Chocolate, Cane sugar, Maple sugar, Cacao, Honey and fruit extracts.

After storage, the tobacco must be dried. This takes place on a large drum where the tobacco is heated; then the tobacco cools down to normal temperature and moisture level. The casing that the tobacco has not absorbed is now dried off, and the tobacco must be stored again so that the entire lot reaches the same temperature and moisture level again.

Articol preluat de pe Pipa Club Romania

Noul website Pipa Club Romania

Asa cum era de asteptat, Pipa Club Romania apare pe internet incepand de saptamana asta intr-o noua forma, profesionala.
Noul website care va fi gata complet peste cateva zile, va apartine in exclusivitate comunitatii de pipari din Romania, un loc unde piparii vor gasi suficiente informatii despre tainele pipelor si ale tabacului de pipa, un spatiu unde vor putea comunica cu alti pipari din tara.
Salutam aparitia website-ului si felicitari din partea Pipa Club Bucuresti !

Cristian Boerean la "A Journey into Wine"

Cunoscator experimentat al celor mai diverse bucatarii internationale si in egala masura al vinurilor de calitate, autor al blogului culinar de la vinul.ro, Cristian Boerean a fost invitat pentru a filma in serialul "A Journey into Wine" difuzat pe Travel Channel.


Serialul isi propune prezentarea celor mai importante regiuni viticole din lume cu accent deosebit pe soiurile indigene si mancaruri traditionale.
Marti 1 august 2008, a avut la Oprisor (cramele Carl Reh) o intalnire cu Isabelle Legeron, prezentatoarea serialului difuzat pe Travel Channel (travelchannel.co.uk).
Pana acum au fost prezentate regiuni importante din Spania, Portugalia , Africa de Sud si Australia.
Acum se filmeaza pentru episoadele din Ungaria, Romania si Bulgaria.
Cristian a filmat impreuna cu Isabelle o reteta clasica - un tort de mamaliga cu branza de capra (un strat de mamaliga, unul de branza rasa, unul de mamaliga etc...) pe langa care a savurat o Feteasca Regala, excelenta.


In timpul discutiilor preliminare purtate cu producatorii serialului Cristian
le-a trimis o lista de mancaruri traditionale romanesti cu vinurile potrivite si spre marea lui bucurie, au ales mamaliga, care declara Cristian "este chiar ceva original, numai noi si italienii o mancam curent - insa modul de preparare difera mult intre noi si italieni iar branza de capra a fost chiar din Oprisor ".
Bineinteles, s-au filmat si interviuri cu oamenii de la crama. Turneul lor prin tara mai cuprinde Stribey, Clos des Colombes, DaVino si SERVE.

Articol de Bogdan Dr.