September 7, 2001

  • A bit of journal from my Reviews:

    Unconventional Fun with Microwave Ovens - weblink, 3.5 stars

    To: guyd@zip.com.au
    From: "Anitra L. Freeman"
    Subject: Frankincense & Myrrh

    My partner referred me to your site after my own most recent discovery of things not to put in a microwave oven.

    Frankincense and myrrh are solid little nuggets of pitch which, when heated, give off a sweet, rich odor. The traditional way of heating them is in a gold brazier over a charcoal flame.

    Lacking either charcoal or a brazier of any metal, I attempted to heat some frankincense and myrrh that I bought this weekend in a plastic bottle cap in the microwave.

    This resulted in no release of scent, sweet or otherwise, but instead, some spectacular flashes of light. Evidently plant pitch is an excellent conductor of electricity, which I did not know until performing this kitchen experiment.

    The one drawback of this trick, as far as your webpage is concerned, may be that it did not actually destroy the microwave. Bits of pitch were scattered throughout the inside, including being stuck on the roof, and had to be cleaned out carefully or the oven continued to spark. But it was eventually restored to normal operation.

    If you wish, however, you may be able to overcome this drawback with persistence. At any rate, you should be able to get some lovely pictures for your webpage.

    If you should want to heat frankincense and myrrh cheaply and safely, by the way, you can do so in a small metal pan on a stove burner at very low heat. Make sure that the pan is one that is already no longer useable in cooking, like teflon-coated aluminum that already has half the teflon scraped off. If it's one that your partner will look for later, this might create more sparks.

    Enjoy, and thanks for the enjoyment --
    Anitra L. Freeman


    Does anyone ever read Reviews? It looks like they don't -- a Review can make Featured Content if it gets one reader and two eProps!

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    Read On!

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