Drying / Curing

[KenG]

I guess I'm missing some thing here, and this may be a lame question, but what is the difference between drying and curing.

[FreakNature]

Curing is what you do after you dry; to maximize taste, potency, smoothness.

Why Curing Increases Potency - Tutorial

[Screwnuts33]

Drying remove the bulk of the moisture from the bud. Curing is like aging wine. Although there is still moisture leftover during the curing phase. Dried and cured correctly can turn moderate grade of smoke into something special. By the same token improper drying and curing can make the best strains not worth smoking.

[RandyL]

So once it's had a good 2 week drying, it's ready to go. Then, if you want to fine tune it some more, you continue to cure it more.

Correct?

[Screwnuts33]

Hang the buds in and open area with a fan gently blowing on them. When the stems snap when bent they are ready to be placed in jars. The jars need to be opened a few times each day (burped) in order to vent the remaining moisture and prevent mold. Most commercial growers do not do this. That is why the weed tastes like lawn clippings and is very harsh.

[Irish]

Originally Posted by RandyL

So once it's had a good 2 week drying, it's ready to go. Then, if you want to fine tune it some more, you continue to cure it more.

Correct?

What do you mean by "continue to cure it more?" What, in your mind, constitutes curing?

[Irish]

Originally Posted by KenG

I guess I'm missing some thing here, and this may be a lame question, but what is the difference between drying and curing.

Drying is simply that, the removal of water from the bud. Curing is the manipulation of that water to start, maintain, and control the chemical reaction of decomposition within the bud structure while keeping it from actually doing so.