Generally tobacco means a leaf product containing 1-3% of the alkaloid nicotine which produces a narcotic effect when smoked, chewed or snuffed. The plant N Rustica provides tobacco in parts of Europe, but the tobacco of world commerce is N.
tabacum. During his voyage to America Columbus discovered the West Indians smoking tobacco in a hollow forked stick. Historians do not know who first brought tobacco to Europe, but most of them give credit to Jean Nicot in 1561. Nicotina and Nicotine incorporate his name.
Main Features : Solaneceous Annual, Alternate, Sessile, Oval or Lanceolate leaves. Rowers produced in a panicle.
Cultivation, Harvesting and Curing : The local soil type and climate within the country, or state determine the type of tobacco grown there. Generally tobacco grows best in warm, even climate on light, well-drained, carefully fertilized soils, that receive weekly moisture from rain or irrigation. Special seedbeds, either open or covered with cloth, glass or plastic provide transplants for the fields. Plants are usually topped (blossom removed) to allow the upper leaves expand. Harvest proceeds by cutting the whole stock or picking leaves successively as they ripen (primed). Primed leaves are supported on strings, wires or sticks. Curing (drying) is done in ventilated barns with natural or artificial heat. In some areas, machine harvested leaves are packed in special frames for curing in heat regulated, forced-air chambers.
Drying time (2-6 weeks) and temperature (70-170°F or 21- 77°C) influence the amount of changes that occur in proteins, carbohydrates, organic acids, alkaloids and enzymes in the leaf. Before inserting the leaves in cigars, cigarettes, pipes, chewing tobacco or sauf, lined leaves are fermented by storing them for 6 weeks to 2 years at about 15% moisture and 80-110°F (27- 43°C). The methods used for harvesting, curing and fermenting depend on the type of tobacco, intended use and local custom. A flat product made from ground up tobacco plus binding agents is often blended with tobacco leaves.
Economic Importance : Tobacco is economically important in 66 countries and is grown to some extent in all but a few countries.
Diseases Caused : Diseases cause production problems in all countries where tobacco is grown. Annual losses of tobacco products worldwide average 10% or more; in addition, production costs invariably increase. About 25 principal pathogens attack the crop right from the seed sowing stage to marketing. Root knot, caused by the Nematode Meloidogyne sp. is the most important disease. It occurs in all the warmer countries, particularly in sandy soils. Diseased plants are stunted and have wilted leaves that yellow prematurely. Knits or galls form on the roots. Infected plants become more susceptible to other diseases such as black shank and bacterial wilt.
Cigars : Cigars are formed by using three types of tobacco leaves :
Fillers : These are broken/crushed leaves which forms the centre of the cigar.
Binders : These are the leaves which are small in size and are bound around the filters.
Wrappers : These are the big leaves which are quite soft and elastic in nature so they can be wrapped to give the final smooth surface. The best wrapper leaves are found in flavours and these are grown in shade.
In order to bind all these leaves together, a special type of glue is used in manufacturing cigars and cigarettes. The leaves of tobacco are taken and put in bundles and then heated and cured by subjecting them to fire which helps in making the leaves sort of brittle in nature and increase the preserving quality. The bundles are then opened up and graded and used for the particular cigars. Cigars are usually made by hand but nowadays rolling is also done with the help of machines. The cigar should not be dry, some moisture should be there in order to have full satisfaction and should be stored in cedar wood boxes as they allow that much quantity of air and moisture which can maintain the quality of cigars.
T ypes of T obacco T y p e Major Production Area Use Curing Method Flue-cured United States (V irginia, Cigarettes
Primed leaves heat-
(bright)
North
Carolina,
South
cured to a bright
Carolina, Georgia Florida
yellow
colour
border); Canada (Ont
ario);
Europe; China; Jap
an; — Australia; India Light air- U.S. (Kentucky , Mary Blending in
Whole plant air
cured land, T ennessee); cigarettes dried in ventilated (Burley , Canada, Europe sheds Maryland) Orient al Greece (Macedonia), Blending for Primed leaves (T urkish) T urkey (Samson) aroma in cured in sun on cigarettes strings. Cigar filler Cuba; Phillippines; Central bulk
Whole plant air dried
Puerto Rico; of cigars in ventilated sheds US(Pennsylvania, Ohio);
Contd... T y p e Major Production Area Use Curing Method Cigar binder US (Connecticut River Binding the Same as above V alley , Wisconsin, filler into Pennsylovania) shape. Cigar Under Clotheshade; Outer leaf or Primed leaves heated W rapper US (Connecticut River wrapper of or air dried to a V alley , Georgia cigar uniform golden Florida border); Cuba; brown or a bright It
aly; new in Canada
& green. South America Dark air US (Kentucky , T ennessee, Pipe,
Whole plant air
cured and Virginia) chewing dried in ventilated fire cured snuf f sheds.
Strength
1. C Means Colorado—a dark and strong cigar. 2. C.C. Means Colorado Claro—medium cigar. 3. C.C.C. Means Claro—a light cigar.
4. C.M. Colorado Maduro—a very strong cigar. 5. M. Maduro—an exceptionally strong cigar and
darker in colour. Common Cigars
— Esquitos (in tubes) — Hebeaneoros (in tubes) — Club No. 4
— Cafe Creme Corona
Casings (sweetening agents) are added to give flavour to the cigarettes. Snuffs are made by fermenting the fire cured leaf and grinding stems and adding salt and flavourings. Cigars are made by wrapping a blinder leaf round a bunch of cut filler leaves and overwrapping with a fine wrapper. Stems and scraps are grounded down to make reconstituted sheets something like the paper-making process which can be used as substitute cigar binders or wrappers. These are also used to supplement natural tobacco in cigarettes.
Names and Sizes of Cigars
1. Corona—A 9 inch long straight cigar with a round end. It gives a slant cut or cut with a cigar cutter in V-shape. 2. Petit Corona—Same shape, 5 inches long.
3. Tres Petit Corona—4½” long/ same shape. 4. Half Corona—3 ¾” long.
5. Lansdale—The strongest cigar, 6 ½” long. 6. Ideals—Torpedo shape cigar 6 ½” long. 7. Bouquet—Small torpedo shape, 42
8. Panatella—It is opened from both the ends. 3" long with a golden foil to show from which side to smoke. 9. Churoot—Smaller cigar but bigger than bidis and darker,
they are tapered at the stroking end and are 6 ½” long. 10. Whiffs—English cigar open at both ends, 3½".
Cigarettes : These have long thread-like, shredded tobacco prepared by using machines which are capable of manufacturing 10,000 cigarettes in a minute.
These are never individually made but there is a long cigarette paper in which tobacco is placed and the paper is glued and then cut accordingly and the filter is inserted at the end which has a diameter longer than the cigarette but has been compressed and fitted on the end with a golden brown paper covering.
Filter : This helps in reducing the amount of nicotine that goes along with the smoke to the person’s body and is made up of cellulose fibres which are very fine.
There are certain cigarettes like Phillip Moris which have a double filter namely, regular filler and triangles of charcoal. Synthetic filters are also being used in order to fight the competition in the market like ‘Charms’.
Virginia Tobacco : This is the best and the different cuts available are Navy, Silk, Flake and Fine Cut.
How to Judge a Good Cigar : Basically, before they come into the market they are judged by an expert team of connoisseurs. But if a person wants to judge then the foremost point is the reputation of the Company and goodwill, and not an attractive box or packing. It’s odour, flavour, aroma, taste should be checked which can be done by smelling and smoking. Colour of the Ash : It should be dark greyish, firm and should not fall on its own. The longer it stays the better it’s quality is.
Cigars, if taken near the ear and rolled with the hands, produce cracking sounds when dry and means that the cigar are of poor quality.
Older Cigars : You can see spots on the cigar.
Cigarettes : These can be stored for a period of 6 months after which yellow spots appear on the paper and they have a sweet taste when puffed.
Hukka : Desi tobacco is used. Pipes : Flecked tobacco is used. Brands
American : Camel, Pallmall, Cheterfiled, Kent.
English : Thon Player’s Special, 555, Dunhill, Benson and Hedges.
Mentholated : Cool, Salam
Double Filtered : Phillip Moris (Charcoal and cotton/silk filter)
Internationally Famous Cigars American — Robert Burns
Cuban — Romeo Juliet
Danish — Ducados
Holland — Ambapsado, Rothman’s—120 m.m. Dutch — Corona delux, Diplomat
Jamaican — Corona delux, Diplomat (delux) Indian — Bengal Tiger
Usually all cigars are derived from N. tobacom except for air-cured Khorka (USSR) which is derived from N. rustica. Its leaf has a coarse texture, it has Nicotine and has citric acid of a higher level than lemon.
Culture
Seeds : The choice of seed is contingent upon the type of leaf desired. Most strained varieties of N. tobaccom are local in their adoptions and are not suited for the production of widely divergent leaf.
Orinoco Group : In production of Flue-curing tobacco. Pryor Groups : In production of dark, air-cured and fire- cured tobacco.
Havana Seed, Sumatra, Luban represents outstanding varieties used in the production of cigar leaf.
Specification of Seeds : Seedlings are small and are produced in cold farms or outdoor beds covered with thin cloth or something like a straw bed.
Specification of Soil : Soil which is selected should be : 1. Fertile
2. Have good tilth 3. Drainage
4. Be fully exposed to sun
Sterilisation of soil iodine by burning, steaming, using chemicals, such as methyl bromide to destroy used seeds, nematode insects etc. is done 8 to 10 weeks after transplanting the field.
Shortly after the flowering, it is topped (disbudded) that is, the terminal growth is removed. Leaves are large and vary from 10-20 in number. Burley, dark air-cured, fire-cured, cigar requires silt loam, clay loam with clay sub soils.
Oriental: Unfertile sandy hill slopes. Flue-cured : Heavy black clay-like soil.
Use of Fertilisers : NPK Fertiliser are used one ton per acre and can vary in small quantities.
Disease of the Plant 1. Pusarium Whilt 2. Black Root Rot 3. Tobacco Masaic Virus 4. Bacterial Leave Spot 5. Downy Mildew Insect Pests
1. Green June Beetle Larvae 2. Cutworms
3. Flea Beetles 4. Horn Worms 5. Grass Hoppers 6. Nematodes
These are controlled by various methods including fumigation. The harvesting time is 70-140 days.
Effects of Tobacco : Tobacco can affect the health. Passive smoking places unborn children at serious risk. Smoking and chewing of tobacco can also lead to cancer. It is also bad for lungs and heart. Research has found that smoking mothers account for 50,000 miscarriages in the US each years, the culprit being Nicotine. Premature deliveries are also associated with this.
T
HES
HOPSOne method of classifying food and beverage outlets is outlined above. The basis of this classification is the distinction between commercial catering on the one hand and subsidised or welfare catering on the other. In the case of the former a further distinction is made between those outlets which serve a restricted market and those which serve the general public at large. In the case of the latter a distinction is made between institutional catering and employee catering.
There are two reasons for using this classification here. First, it provides a very broad coverage of food and beverage outlets-broader, for example, than many of the official definitions and classifications of the hotel and catering industry. The 1968 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC), for instance, excludes from the hotel and catering industry, all subsidized catering unless operated by a catering contractor as well as take-aways. The exclusions from the 1980 SIC are much less but it still excludes much of the employee and institutional catering.
The second reason for using this classification is that it is based on distinctions which have a significant bearing upon most aspects of the operation of the catering activity. For example, the difference between subsidized catering and commercial catering not only embraces differences of objectives but also covers differences in markets served, differences in organizations involved and differences in marketing and business strategy.
Based on this classification, the aim of this chapter is to list out the different types of food and beverage outlets and to identify their main characteristics. This then serves as a basis for a consideration of issues of relevance to food and beverage service in general.
Major Commercial Sectors : Commercial food and beverage outlets may be defined as those operations in which profitability is the primary concern. Such outlets exist not only in private ownership but also in the publicly-owned sector of the economy where, for example, the British Railway seek to operate their catering outlets on commercial lines. Also, it is worth noting that in the commercial sector, catering may be the main activity of the organization or company or it may simply be a secondary or additional service to customers, for example, catering in departmental stores or theatres.
A broad distinction can be made between catering for a restricted market and catering for a general market. In the case of the former the market can be restricted in a number of ways:
by way of membership criteria as in the case of catering in clubs or by the fact that the catering is only available to those engaged in a specific activity as in the case of transport catering or employee catering. Clearly, there will be some overlap in a few cases. For example, catering at a railway station is normally open to the traveller as well as to the general public.
Commercial Catering for General Market : The provision of food and beverage facilities in hotels ranges from the self- services style often adopted for specific meal periods by transit or motel-type hotels, to waiter silver service used by luxury and resort hotels. In the latter establishments, the food and beverage facilities are usually presented as one of the many features of the hotel because the guests may be staying at the hotel for some time rather than just a night or so as may be the case in transit hotels. The types of food and beverage found in hotels include silver service restaurants, licensed bars, coffee shops and snack bars, and buffet restaurants, room service and banquet facilities. Some of these facilities are only available to hotel residents, or ‘In-House trade’, for example room service; while the others, for example banquet, coffee shops and other restaurants, are advertised outside the hotel in order to attract outside customers.