Heidi Norton
Incense is made from aromatic plant materials such as resins, barks, seeds, flowers, roots, leaves, and spices. Popular ingredients include copal, frankincense, myrrh, and sandalwood, each valued for their distinctive aromatic properties. These materials are typically ground into fine powders and combined with binders to form the incense base mixture. Binders are essential in the incense-making process as they hold the powdered ingredients together and ensure a consistent burn. Common binders include natural gums and tree resins such as gum arabic, tragacanth, and makko powder. The mixture is then formed into shapes such as sticks and cones, which are then left to dry before burning.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Ingredients | Aromatic plant materials such as resins, barks, seeds, flowers, roots, leaves, and spices. Popular ingredients include copal, frankincense, myrrh, and sandalwood. |
| Preparation | Ingredients are ground into fine powders and combined with binders to form a base mixture. |
| Binders | Natural gums and tree resins such as gum arabic, tragacanth, and makko powder. Binders hold the powdered ingredients together and ensure consistent burning. |
| Liquids | Water, tea, coffee, milk, fruit juices, herbal teas, and wine are used to activate the binder and moisten the mixture. |
| Essential Oils | Rose, lavender, jasmine, and other oils enhance the scent profile and provide therapeutic benefits. |
| Shape | Incense can be formed into various shapes, with sticks and cones being the most common. |
| Drying | Incense shapes are allowed to dry for several days to a couple of weeks before burning. |
| Burning | Light the tip of the incense shape with a flame. Allow it to burn slightly until the tip turns red and smokes freely, then place it on a fire-safe surface. |
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What You'll Learn
Choosing the right ingredients
Aromatic Plants
The foundation of your incense recipe is aromatic plant materials. You can use a wide range of plant materials, including resins, barks, seeds, flowers, roots, leaves, and spices. Popular choices include copal, frankincense, myrrh, and sandalwood, which are valued for their rich aromatics and distinctive scents. However, you can also explore commonly found botanicals in your area, such as lavender, cinnamon, sagebrush, rose petals, juniper berries, and fir needles. These plants can provide unique scents and therapeutic benefits. For example, lavender promotes relaxation, while cinnamon adds a warm, spicy note.
Binders
Binders are essential in the incense-making process as they act as a binding agent, holding the powdered ingredients together and ensuring a consistent burn. Common binders include natural gums and tree resins such as gum arabic, tragacanth, guar gum, xanthan gum, and makko powder. Makko powder, a traditional Japanese binder, is a blend that often includes tabu-no-ki (the bark of the tabu-no-ki tree) and may also contain clove and sandalwood. Wood binders like joss powder or "tabu no ki" are easy to work with and can act as both a base and a binder. However, they may require a larger quantity in the recipe. Gum binders, on the other hand, are more potent, requiring only a small amount, and they do not contribute any additional scent to the blend.
Liquids
Liquids are used to moisten the incense mixture and help bind the ingredients together. While water is the most common liquid, you can also use herbal teas, wine, hydrosols, floral waters, or other liquids that are mostly water. These liquids not only activate the binder but can also add fragrance to your incense. Essential oils, such as rose, lavender, and jasmine, can be added to enhance the scent profile and provide therapeutic benefits. However, it's important to note that essential oils do not contain water, so you'll need to adjust the amount of water or other water-based liquids accordingly.
Additional Ingredients
You can also experiment with other ingredients to enhance your incense. Dried fruits like raisins, prunes, or apricots can be added to your incense mixture to create incense pellets. Additionally, consider using charcoal or a heat source for non-combusting incense forms. Charcoal briquettes can be lit and placed in an incense dish, providing a slow and consistent burn for your incense.
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Mixing and forming a dough
Selecting Ingredients:
Start by choosing high-quality natural ingredients, including aromatic plants such as resins, barks, seeds, flowers, roots, leaves, and spices. Popular choices include copal, frankincense, myrrh, and sandalwood, each valued for their distinct aromatic properties. You can also experiment with various herbs, flowers, and spices like lavender, cinnamon, sagebrush, rose petals, rosemary, and thyme.
Preparing the Ingredients:
Before mixing, it is essential to pulverize the ingredients into a very fine powder. This step ensures that your incense cones or sticks will burn properly. You can use a mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder, but be cautious as electric coffee grinders can generate too much heat, causing the loss of vital chemicals from the ingredients. If you're using resins, try freezing them for a short time (around 15 minutes) to make them easier to pulverize. Woods can be particularly challenging to pulverize with a mortar and pestle, so consider using a hand crank coffee grinder or starting with powdered wood.
Mixing the Dough:
Once you have your finely powdered ingredients, it's time to mix them together. Combine your chosen aromatics with a binder, such as gum arabic, tragacanth, makko powder, or natural gums, to create a homogeneous mixture. Makko powder, a traditional Japanese binder made from the bark of the tabu-no-ki tree, is a popular choice as it simplifies the incense-making process and enhances the scent. The mixture will initially look crumbly, but as you continue mixing, it will start to form a dough.
Adding Liquids:
To form a pliable dough, you'll need to add liquids to moisten the mixture and help bind the ingredients together. Water is the most common liquid used, but you can also use hydrosols, floral waters, tea, coffee, milk, fruit juices, or wine for added fragrance. The amount of liquid added is crucial—aim for a fairly dry dough that holds together without becoming crumbly or runny. Essential oils can also be incorporated at this stage to enhance the scent profile and therapeutic benefits of your incense.
Forming the Dough:
Once you have a properly mixed batch of incense dough, you can shape it into various forms. The most common shapes are sticks and cones, but you can also get creative and form the dough into any shape you desire. Roll the dough into skinny, tall cones or form it into pea-sized balls, which can be rolled in powdered herbs to prevent sticking. Place your formed incense on a flat surface or a ceramic plate and allow it to dry for several days to a couple of weeks, depending on the humidity of your climate.
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Adding binders
Binders are essential in the incense-making process as they hold the powdered ingredients together and ensure a consistent burn. There are two basic types of binders: gum binders and wood binders. Wood binders, such as joss powder (also called jiggit) and "tabu no ki" (sometimes mislabelled as "makko"), are easy to work with and often act as a base material in addition to being a binder. However, they are not as strong as gum binders, and recipes may require up to 75% wood binder.
Gum binders, such as guar gum or xanthan gum, are much more potent than wood binders. A typical incense recipe will use just 1/8 teaspoon of binder for every 2 tablespoons of material. Adding too much gum binder can cause the incense to bind too strongly to burn. Gum binders have no scent of their own, so they do not affect the fragrance profile of the incense blend.
Makko is a special blend of base and binder that simplifies incense-making. It typically includes tabu no ki and clove, and possibly sandalwood, though recipes vary. Magic Makko, for example, includes two wood binders, one gum binder, and additional ingredients to improve the burn and enhance the scent.
When preparing your incense mixture, you should aim for a stiff, dough-like consistency. The mixture should be crumbly but stick together when squeezed. Liquids are used to moisten the incense mixture and help bind the ingredients together. While water is most common, any water-based liquid can be used to activate the binder, such as tea, coffee, milk, fruit juices, herbal teas, or wine. Essential oils can be added to enhance the scent but do not contain water, so they cannot be used as a replacement for water. The amount of liquid added should be just enough to form a pliable dough without making it too wet, as this is crucial for achieving the right consistency for shaping the incense.
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Shaping the incense
Shaping incense requires a stiff dough-like mixture that is slightly crumbly but sticks together when squeezed. This is achieved by adding a binder to the incense mixture. Common binders include natural gums and tree resins such as gum arabic, tragacanth, and makko powder (a traditional Japanese binder made from the bark of the tabu-no-ki tree). Wood binders such as joss powder or "tabu no ki" are also popular, especially for beginners, as they are easy to work with and act as a base material. However, they may require larger quantities compared to gum binders, which are much more potent.
Once the desired consistency is achieved, the incense mixture can be shaped into various forms, with sticks and cones being the most common. The mixture can be rolled into pea-sized balls, which can then be coated in powdered herbs to prevent sticking, and placed on a ceramic plate or parchment paper to dry. For incense cones, a small pinch of the mixture is formed into a tall, skinny cone shape and allowed to dry for about 5 to 7 days, or until it burns well.
Alternatively, incense pellets can be formed by combining all other ingredients first and then adding them to a pliable resin such as labdanum, commonly used in Japanese recipes. The mixture is then kneaded well and dried in a covered ceramic jar for 2-3 weeks. Dried fruit, such as raisins or dried apricots, can also be used to make incense pellets.
The choice of shape depends on personal preference and creativity, as incense can be formed into any shape imaginable. It is important to note that the drying and curing process may vary depending on the climate and humidity levels.
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Drying the incense
First, prepare a stiff dough-like mixture of your chosen ingredients. This mixture should be dry and crumbly but still hold together when squeezed. Form this mixture into your desired shape, such as cones, sticks, or pellets. For cones, form a small pinch of the mixture into a tall, skinny shape. For sticks, roll out the mixture into a thin sheet and cut it into strips. For pellets, roll the mixture into pea-sized balls and coat them with powdered herbs to prevent sticking.
Place the shaped incense on a flat, dry surface such as a ceramic plate or parchment paper. Leave them to air-dry for several days to a couple of weeks, depending on the humidity of your environment. Turn the incense pieces over every day or two to ensure even drying. The drying time can range from about five to seven days in arid climates to up to three weeks for incense pellets in a ceramic jar.
During the drying process, the incense will become firmer and less fragile. However, it is important to note that incense made with certain bases, such as sandalwood, may still have difficulty burning even after the recommended drying time due to their strong scents. In such cases, allow the incense additional time to dry before attempting to burn it.
Proper drying is essential for the quality and performance of the final product. It ensures that the incense burns effectively and releases its fragrance as intended. By following these steps and allowing sufficient drying time, you can create incense that is ready for use and provides a pleasant aromatic experience.
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Frequently asked questions
You will need a combination of aromatic plant materials such as resins, barks, seeds, flowers, roots, leaves, and spices. Popular ingredients include copal, frankincense, myrrh, and sandalwood. You will also need a binder such as gum arabic, tragacanth, or makko powder.
You will need equipment to grind your ingredients into a fine powder, such as a mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder. You will also need a container to mix your ingredients in, such as a bowl, and something to mix them with, such as a spoon.
First, grind your ingredients into a fine powder. Then, mix them together with a binder and a small amount of liquid to form a stiff dough. Next, shape the dough into cones, sticks, pellets, or balls and allow them to dry for several days or weeks. Finally, burn your incense by lighting the tip with a flame and placing it on a fire-safe surface.
