Sources

Apples, plums and oranges contain much pectin, and pectin is sometimes found in yogurt, while soft fruits like cherries and strawberries contain little pectin. For commercial utilisation, pectin is extracted from shredded fruit peel or pulp by adding hot water. The pectin dissolves into the hot water, and may then be precipitated as a gel by adding ethanol.

History of the cigar

The cigar was smoked throughout the islands of the Caribbean Sea and in Mesoamerica for centuries before the Europeans discovered the Americas in the late 15th century.

In the 19th century cigar smoking was common while cigarettes were still comparatively rare. The cigar business was an important industry, factories employed many people before mechanized manufacturing of cigars became practical. To this day, however, the higher-quality cigars are still made by hand (some boxes bear the phrase "Hecho a Mano", or "Made by Hand", as proof).

The cigar became inextricably intertwined with political history on February 7, 1962, when American President John F. Kennedy imposed a trade embargo on Cuba. The purpose was to punish the Cuban regime, but had the unintended consequence of punishing Americans who enjoyed smoking fine Cuban cigars. Interestingly, Kennedy supposedly ordered Pierre Salinger, then his press secretary, to obtain 1,000 Cuban cigars the night before issuing the executive order authorizing the embargo (according to Salinger's personal account of the events). Cigars obtained prior to the embargo were not contraband, and became referred to as "Pre-Embargo Cubans". To this day, Americans face difficulties obtaining and enjoying premium Cuban-grown cigars. As is usual with embargoes, a lively smuggling trade exists, coupled with elevated prices and rampant counterfeiting.

During the mid to late 1990's in America, numerous cultural phenomena caused the popularity of cigar smoking to skyrocket. Lavish dinner events, or "smokers", could be attended in virtually any metropolitan area of consequence across the country. Celebrities, radio and television talk-show hosts, politicians, blue-collar workers, and even a large number of women - a fact surprising to some observers, were drawn to the allure of the cigar. The sudden resurgence in cigar smoking created demand that was difficult to supply. Additionally, the significance of America's Cuban trade embargo – imposed some 30 years earlier, before many of the new aficionados were born - suddenly became very evident. Cigar retailers, a good number of them new establishments looking to capitalize on the craze, could name their price on virtually every type and brand of cigar. Some even refused to sell any one customer an entire box at a time, regardless of the fact that only a very few could afford to, as a courtesy to their other customers.

In the rush to meet demand, the quality of many premium cigars suffered for brief periods of time. Eventually, consumer demand so far outpaced supply that many of those who took it up had to cease the practice altogether. For many, this was mainly due to either lack of supply, or overinflated prices. For others, the newness of the fad had simply worn off. Today, cigar prices have descended to reasonable levels, and supply of the best brands is abundant for those who continue to enjoy cigar smoking – even in the face of public scrutiny and disapproval.

Cigar manufacturing

Tobacco leaves are harvested, and aged using a process that combines use of heat and shade to reduce sugar and water content without causing the large leaves to rot. This first part of the process, called curing, takes between 25 and 45 days and varies substantially based upon climactic conditions, as well as the construction of sheds or barns used to store harvested tobacco. The curing process is manipulated based upon the type of tobacco, and the desired color of the leaf. The second part of the process, called fermentation, is carried out under conditions designed to help the leaf die slowly and gracefully. Temperature and humidity must be controlled to ensure that the leaf continues to ferment, without rotting or disintegrating. This is where the flavor, burning, and aroma characteristics are primarily brought out in the leaf.

Once the leaves have aged properly, they are sorted for use as filler or wrapper based upon their appearance and overall quality. During this process, the leaves are continually moistened and handled carefully to ensure each leaf is best used according to its individual qualities. The leaf will continue to be baled, inspected, unbaled, reinspected, and baled again repeatedly as it continues its aging cycle. When the leaf has matured according to the manufacturers specifications, it will be used in the production of a cigar.

The creation of a quality cigar is still performed by hand. An experienced cigar roller can produce hundreds of exceptional, nearly identical cigars per day. The rollers keep the tobacco moist - especially the wrapper, and use specially designed crescent shaped knives to form the filler and wrapper leaves quickly and accurately. Once rolled, the cigars are stored in wooden forms as they dry, in which their un-capped ends are cut to a uniform size. From this stage, the cigar is a complete product that can, to the best of anyone's knowledge, be kept indefinitely - under the proper conditions. (Indeed, Sotheby's recently auctioned off cigars kept in the damp basement of an Irish castle for centuries. Reportedly, they still smoked well.) Cigars are known to have lasted for decades if kept as close to 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and 70% relative humidity, as the environment will allow. Once purchased, this is usually accomplished by keeping the cigars in a specialized wooden box, or humidor, where conditions can be carefully controlled for long periods of time. Even if a cigar becomes dry, it can be successfully re-humidified so long as it has not been handled carelessly.

Some cigars, especially premium brands, use different varieties of tobacco for the filler and the wrapper. "Long filler cigars" are a far higher quality of cigar, using long leaves throughout. These cigars also use a third variety of tobacco leaf, a "binder", between the filler and the outer wrapper. This permits them to use more delicate and attractive leaves as a wrapper. These high-quality cigars almost always blend varieties of tobacco. Even Cuban long-filler cigars will combine tobaccos from different parts of the island to incorporate several different flavors.

In low-grade cigars, chopped up tobacco leaves are used for the filler, and long leaves or even a type of "paper" made from tobacco pulp is used for the wrapper which binds the cigar together.

Historically, a lector or reader was always employed to entertain the cigar factory workers. This practice became obsolete once audio books for portable players became available, but is still practiced in some Cuban factories. Legend has it that it was because of one of these lectores' choice of reading material that one of the best known brands earned its name. At the H. Upmann factory in Havana, the lector had the custom of reading the works of Alexandre Dumas. So loved were Dumas' works by the workers, that they asked the factory owner to let them produce a cigar as homage. The new cigars were branded Montecristo, in reference to The Count of Monte Cristo, and the boxes that carried them bore the image of three swords, in reference to The Three Musketeers. The Montecristo brand continues to be one of the most popular in the world to this day. (See Cigar Brands).

In fact, the Montecristo brand was created when Alonso Menendez purchased the Particulares factory in July 1935, as Min Ron Nee documents in "An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Post-Revolution Havana Cigars." In that book, he reproduces an August 1935 issue of Habano magazine which announces the purchase of the factory and the launch of new cigar brand, Montecristo.(The first Montecristo cigars were made in the Particulares factory, not H. Upmann. The magazine does not mention the romantic story of the workers demanding a homage to Dumas. The logo (three swords surrounding a fleur de Lis) was designed by a British cigar importer John Hunter Morris and first appeared in print in August 1936. The cigar was made, for a time, in the H. Upmann factory, after Menendez bought it in 1937.

Westbury Square Cigar Shop Cliff Tomplait -- Proprietor 5425 W. Bellfort 638A Westbury Square Houston, Texas 77035 713-723-7200 E-Mail: cigars@WestburySquare.Com