What size mason jars?

[Dan-O]

Have a couple lbs of pipe tobaccos inbound. How much tobacco will fit in a 8oz, 16oz, etc. mason jar?

Obviously I know it depends on the cut, but is there a general ratio?

 

[steveclarkus]

I use quarts and it takes about three per pound. Leave air space if you are intending to age VA. The microbes need oxygen for a good while.

 

[KellyG]

I used wide mouth pint jars, four per pound. I now use pint 7 mil Mylar bags, five per pound with cut tobaccos. I like the pint size as it is less to open at a time. My smoking stock is in four ounce jars.

 

[Kentos]

My philosophy is the smaller amounts you can jar the better long term as you can open a little at a time when you dip into your cellar. When I started I stuffed one pound into the large jars, but if I want a few ounces to smoke I’ll have to disturb the aging process for the rest of the jar. I don’t know how much that matters but my master plan is to have tobacco with 10-15 years of age to smoke when I retire...so actually opening up a pound jar at that time probably won’t be that much of a factor. Then again if I live to a hundred it will be.

 

[Dan-O]

Cool. Thanks for the replies.

 

[Chef455]

Please follow up with your decision and results. I am a firm believer in "a pint's a pound the world around" so I will want to know if it holds true here.

 

[ChefJohnBoy-ardee]

Please follow up with your decision and results. I am a firm believer in "a pint's a pound the world around" so I will want to know if it holds true here.

I'm lucky if I can get 8 ounces in pint jar. I like the half pints best. They old a 2 ounce tin about perfectly. Plugs take up a lot of space. I think I got 250mg in a pint jar. If I sliced or cube cut it first it would have fit better but that is half the fun of a plug; slicing it before you want it. Flakes vary because of the length or if they're already flaking out on their own from the packaginig. Mac Baren flakes fit perfectly in a half pint right from the tin. A lot of bulk flakes are longer and you need to slice or fold them nicely to get them in a jar. Weight will vary a bit.

If you're trying to plan out how many jars you need that is a slight guide line that I think holds true to most of us. Always have more jars than you think you will need. Baccy won't sit right, you luck into something nice at the smoke shop you stop by once in a while and they have gold bagged goodness... It happens. I'm lucky we can food from the garden but I just bought two more cases for cellaring tobacco and store another wide mouth pint for a 250gr roll of Brown Twist.

 

[opsimath]

The main thing -- whatever size you choose, get "Wide Mouth" jars. I bought some smaller mouthed jars for tobacco, and they work fine -- just a lot more work getting the tobacco in & out again.

 

[Dan-O]

Pint, quart, and 1/2 gallons are inbound.

Already have some unused 4 and 8 oz jars from the wife’s mason jar stash in the basement

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Please follow up with your decision and results. I am a firm believer in "a pint's a pound the world around" so I will want to know if it holds true here.

Our fluid ounces were a bit bigger than yours, and we had 20 in a pint. I can cram around 25g of ribbon or 40g of flake in a 120ml jar... which probably doesn't help anybody here

 

[ChefJohnBoy-ardee]

Our fluid ounces were a bit bigger than yours, and we had 20 in a pint. I get around 25g of ribbon or 40g of flake in a 120ml jar... which probably doesn't help anybody here

It is a four ounce aka half quarter pint or half cup. I cheat. I bake a lot of bread on a baker's ratio. Metric is easier to scale.

Fixing my pre-coffee brain mistake.

 

[AimlessWanderer]

It is a four ounce aka half pint. I cheat. I bake a lot of bread on a baker's ratio. Metric is easier to scale.

A four ounce is a half pint? I thought you had 16 or 18 to the pint? Or is that Chef speak again? If I bought a pint of beer on those measures, I'd be VERY disappointed

 

[ChefJohnBoy-ardee]

A four ounce is a half pint? I thought you had 16 or 18 to the pint? Or is that Chef speak again? If I bought a pint of beer on those measures, I'd be VERY disappointed

Quarter pint! Sorry, not enough coffee. had the 4 oz right... US pint 16 oz. Crikey. Isn't foot into mouth, other on rear.

A lot of places have a tall and it is 22oz depending on where you go. It is usually a better value. My pub has a mug club. You pay $70 a year, get admittance to events early. 22oz beers for the price of 16. Dollar off said beers on Wednesday and Thursdays and they have over 30 pinball machines.

Edited my original post... but left the no-coffee brain mistake there and crossed out.

 

[brandaves]

A good rule of thumb I have used with success is to divide by 4 and thats how many ounces of ribbon will fit in a jar. I use mainly 8oz. jars for that reason. An 8oz Mason will generally fit an entire 2oz tin of ribbon cut tobacco. I do have several 4oz jars which I use to break up tobaccos into smaller servings for aging long term. Smaller is better because once its opened the process stops.

I took Kelly's advice a while ago and have also invested in mylar. Bagged tobaccos like my Esoterica stays in its original bag and us then mylar bagged for added protection. Flakes bag particularly well and I will often mylar them as opposed to jarring.