Can You Dry Weed in a Food Dehydrator to Save Time?

I thought it was in fact chlorophyll that harshed the smoke? and I am under the impression a longer drying/curing period breaks down more chlorophyll which creates smoother smoke.

xtsho said:

I have a dehydrator but I use it for drying fruits and vegetables. It's been running for awhile now as I try and keep up with the tomatoes.

Click to expand...

Lucky! My tomatoes hardly get past my kids.....

vitalsine said:

I thought it was in fact chlorophyll that harshed the smoke? and I am under the impression a longer drying/curing period breaks down more chlorophyll which creates smoother smoke.

Click to expand...

I hang my weed until it's dry and smoke able and start smoking it right away. No curing at all. It tastes great and is smooth. It's green so I'm not convinced chlorophyll leads to harsh smoke. If it did then most all weed would be harsh and you'd only get smooth smoke from brown weed.

xtsho said:

I hang my weed until it's dry and smoke able and start smoking it right away. No curing at all. It tastes great and is smooth. It's green so I'm not convinced chlorophyll leads to harsh smoke. If it did then most all weed would be harsh and you'd only get smooth smoke from brown weed.

Click to expand...

Personally I think it’s carbohydrates and other small metabolic products that are reduced by the usual slow-drying regimen. Water has a regulatory role here, but doesn’t contribute to flavor directly.
There is not much chlorophyll (weight basis) in bud.

xtsho said:

I hang my weed until it's dry and smoke able and start smoking it right away. No curing at all. It tastes great and is smooth. It's green so I'm not convinced chlorophyll leads to harsh smoke. If it did then most all weed would be harsh and you'd only get smooth smoke from brown weed.

Click to expand...

I do believe most of the chlorophyll is removed during drying. If you do a long dry, 7-10 days, most is removed by the end of it. At least that's what I've read.

vitalsine said:

I do believe most of the chlorophyll is removed during drying. If you do a long dry, 7-10 days, most is removed by the end of it. At least that's what I've read.

Click to expand...

That's what I do. Then jar it up and forget about it until I want to pull some out to smoke or give away to friends. But it's still green unless it's a purple strain. But that brings up another issue. I've found purple weed to be lacking in taste, boring, and without character. So maybe I like a little chlorophyll in my weed. It's still smooth and doesn't make you cough unless you take too big of a bong hit.

xtsho said:

I've found purple weed to be lacking in taste, boring, and without character. So maybe I like a little chlorophyll in my weed. It's still smooth and doesn't make you cough unless you take too big of a bong hit.

Click to expand...

Try "forbidden fruit"

xtsho said:

That's what I do. Then jar it up and forget about it until I want to pull some out to smoke or give away to friends. But it's still green unless it's a purple strain. But that brings up another issue. I've found purple weed to be lacking in taste, boring, and without character. So maybe I like a little chlorophyll in my weed. It's still smooth and doesn't make you cough unless you take too big of a bong hit.

Click to expand...

For sure, it's green because of the presence of chlorophyll, but an excessive amount can lead to harsh smoke. I am sure there are other factors, but the general consensus from research leans towards it being chlorophyll... if you dry the bud too fast, you remove all of the water, but not the chlorophyll. That's why it's important to maintain humidity, if there isn't enough it drys too quickly leaving more chlorophyll than you'd want, but if there is too much you end up with mold.

vitalsine said:

For sure, it's green because of the presence of chlorophyll, but an excessive amount can lead to harsh smoke. I am sure there are other factors, but the general consensus from research leans towards it being chlorophyll... if you dry the bud too fast, you remove all of the water, but not the chlorophyll. That's why it's important to maintain humidity, if there isn't enough it drys too quickly leaving more chlorophyll than you'd want, but if there is too much you end up with mold.

Click to expand...

From research?

xtsho said:

I hang my weed until it's dry and smoke able and start smoking it right away. No curing at all. It tastes great and is smooth. It's green so I'm not convinced chlorophyll leads to harsh smoke. If it did then most all weed would be harsh and you'd only get smooth smoke from brown weed.

Click to expand...

I'm with you on this one. I love fresh weed. Don't believe in curing, in the traditional sense. I don't really keep anything on hand that is older than maybe 3 or 4 months.

Johnny Lawrence said:

I'm with you on this one. I love fresh weed. Don't believe in curing, in the traditional sense. I don't really keep anything on hand that is older than maybe 3 or 4 months.

Click to expand...

I like both....depends on the mood.

cannabineer said:

From research?

Click to expand...

Personal research lol. Not like official papers or anything. Trying to soak up as much as possible, still my first grow, but spent a lot of time reading. I've cured some fresh buds from a homie a few times but never finished a plant in my life. Not really trying to make an argument about it lol. Your smoke isn't harsh because you take the time to dry it properly. Whether it's the chlorophyll or not, a proper dry reduces harshness. Agreeing with what you're saying, just trying to get into the science behind it. lol.

darkstar01 said:

The key to using food dehydrators is to get a thermostat timer, Have it turn the dehydrator on when it goes below 70f and off when it goes above 86f which is 20-30c (Ideal curing temperature)

Click to expand...

Drying has less to do with temperature then with humidity.
There is a huge difference if you want to dry something with a temperature of 77F/25C and a humidity of 30%, or a temperature of 77F/25C and a humidity of 85%.

darkstar01 said:

I also do a short 30min shock curing with Ozone since it prevents the terpenes from evaporating as quickly as long as you keep the time around 30mins to 1hr.

Click to expand...

Do you have a link to support this statement?

cannabineer said:

Personally I think it’s carbohydrates and other small metabolic products that are reduced by the usual slow-drying regimen. Water has a regulatory role here, but doesn’t contribute to flavor directly.
There is not much chlorophyll (weight basis) in bud.

Click to expand...

Is any part of your weed still green? That's chlorophyll. It doesn't have to be a weight contributor to have an effect, look at THC.