Frankincense ✦

Oliban

What it is

Frankincense is a wound response: the tapper scores the bark and comes back a fortnight later to lift off the hardened tears. The palest grades, the hojari, come from trees on the dry inland side of the Dhofar mountains, where less rain means slower growth and cleaner resin.

In the kitchen

Freeze the tears and grind them cold, or the resin gums up the mill. A gram to a litre of cream is already a great deal; steep it and then strain, because the resin never fully dissolves and the grit is unpleasant.

Goes with

Honey Cream Date Coffee Lamb Orange blossom water

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