Questions about Frankincense & Myrrh Tears

March 30, 2006

Morning Folks:

Some questions for those of you that have worked with Frankincense & Myrrh

tears, please. A good friend made a gift of both tears to me, and I've been

working a bit with them.

She noted that there was no way to crush them with a mere mortar & pestle.

hmmmm So I have been infusing them in Sunflower oil in a double boiler. Since I

use both oils in lots of things, I'm infusing them together. They have imparted

a nice lemony smell into the oil, but.....not melting enough to impart as much

of the base product as I would like.

Should I put them on direct heat?

Second, when I finish the process...Should I dry & clean off the tears and try

to either extract into alcohol, or should I try to grind these hard suckers?

If I should grind them, what do you recommend to do it with. Hate to ruin the

food processor. <grin> Wonder what processors use to grind these hard resinous

tears?

Has anyone extracted tears into alcohol? If so, what kind of results did you

get?

Any other input would be most appreciated.

Thanks a bunch for any thoughts.

A most fragrant day to you,

deb

March 30, 2006

Deb,

I make a lot of incense from scratch and that means using lots of different

resins. Most of them are hard to find in powdered form, and sometimes if

they are pre-ground, there are additives to keep them from solidifying again.

I keep a coffee grinder that is specifically for resins (and another for

herbs/spices, and a third for coffee). It works very well, and very quickly.

Once you use it for resins, you'll never get it completely clean again,

although I've found that putting orange peels in and grinding them after the

resins, helps a lot.

Tina

_The Essential Herbal Magazine_ (http://www.essentialherbal.com/)

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