URL: https://postharvestreport.com/glossary/enzymatic-cure
The slow biochemical activity during cure that develops aroma, stickiness, and smoke quality. Requires residual moisture to work.
Glossary
Enzymatic cure activity is the slow biochemical breakdown of sugars, chlorophyll, and precursor compounds that occurs during a controlled cure. It develops the aroma, stickiness, mouthfeel, and burn quality associated with top-shelf flower.
Enzymatic activity needs residual moisture to run. Snap-dried flower has no substrate for the cure to work on — the mechanism behind the common complaint that over-dried flower never gets its aroma or stickiness back.
The pushback we hear most, that a crispy outside means the flower will never get sticky, doesn't hold up. Well-grown flower run through the right dry-and-cure protocol will stick to a clean mirror at the end of cure.