Whenever you pass by an ancient temple with incense, the smell of sandalwood is fascinating.
Incense is also an integral part of traditional Chinese culture.
As a literary ornament, the old mountain sandalwood bead bracelet is also a versatile king, known as a moving perfume bottle.
Note: Indian old mountain sandalwood black meat hand skewers
I always wanted to write some articles about Old Sandalwood before, but due to insufficient materials, I never wrote it.
What exactly is sandalwood?
What are the origins of each?
What's the difference?
What is the difference between black meat, red meat and yellow meat?
……
A series of problems, often troublesome, the market price is messy, even if there is the idea of buying, do not dare to start, after all, it is close to wear and there is a fragrance, not to buy well not only waste money, but also pose a threat to physical health.
Origin and name of sandalwood
Sandalwood, also known as zhān sandalwood, belongs to the core part of sandalwood plants, produced in India, Indonesia, Australia, Tonga, Fiji and so on.
"Oranges born in Huainan are oranges, born in Huainan are oranges", one side of the water and soil to raise one person, one side of the water and soil to raise trees is the same, all grow sandalwood trees, but the taste is very different.
The old sandalwood in Mysore, India, that we often hear about, is produced in India, and Mysore is a regional name in India.
Australian sandalwood is produced in Australia, Dongjia sandalwood is produced in the Kingdom of Tonga, and Fiji sandalwood is produced in Fiji.
Whether it is the northern, western or southern sandalwood of Australia, it is called Australian sandalwood.
There is also a term called Sydney sandalwood, Sydney is another name for the city of Sydney, Australia, sandalwood wood from other countries are imported into China through Australia, so these are called Sydney sandalwood, Sydney sandalwood is not a name of origin.
Old sandalwood refers specifically to the sandalwood produced in Mysore, India, the old refers to the mellowing decades or even hundreds of years after cutting, the mountain refers to the wood cut in the deep mountains and old forests, which meet these conditions can be called old sandalwood, and the beads made by the old sandalwood produced in the main area give people a very dry feeling.
Johor Bahru refers to newly cut sandalwood, or sandalwood from other regions other than Mysore, India, such as the Australian sandalwood, Fiji sandalwood, and Dongga sandalwood mentioned above.
Note: Raw material for sandalwood carving in Laoshan, India
India has banned the export of sandalwood from Laoshan, so the domestic carved flowers are often found, that is, after the surface is carved, it is exported in the form of carved crafts.
Sandalwood specimens
The reason why I have not dared to write before is the lack of physical specimens, because no matter what you do, it is impossible to produce real cognition without practice. By chance, I got these precious sandalwood specimens from a friend.
Why precious?
Because there are too many imitations, most of them are sold as imitations of the old Indian sandalwood, and it is still easy to collect a specimen, and it is too difficult to collect such a complete specimen!
Compare from the cross-section of the collected specimens, exclude the difference in color, and the difference is almost invisible from the texture.
Therefore, it can be inferred that if the finished product is made, there is no way to make a judgment from the texture.
Therefore, the method of polishing odor recognition was adopted, and it can only be judged by the method of odor.
After polishing, the existing specimens are used as the basis:
Indonesian and Dongka sandalwood flavors are closer to those of Old Mountain Sandalwood in India, but lack a mellow feel.
Secondly, there is Fijian sandalwood.
Again, it's Australian sandalwood, which is spicy and sour.
Sinking water black flesh red flesh yellow meat
Many people have different interpretations of submerged water and flesh color.
As we all know, wood sinking is more difficult, and the density is generally lower than that of water.
For spices, only the core material part with high oil content and high density can achieve submergence, and the submerged part is more explosive, so the yield is extremely low.
Due to the pursuit of submersible materials, many bad merchants have come up with a crooked idea, using lead injection to increase weight and average density, so as to achieve the effect of submerged water.
It is undeniable that the fat content of the black meat is indeed high.
If it is purely for the sake of aroma, in fact, yellow meat and red meat are not necessarily worse than black meat.
If you take into account the aesthetics, black meat and reddish flesh are still preferred.
Regarding the black, red and yellow color of the flesh, the industry does not have a fixed standard, in fact, a more accurate description should be black, red, yellowish material.
Even if the raw materials are black, they will not be particularly black, because from the perspective of raw materials, this is impossible.
The scent of old sandalwood
Taste, the way this thing uses words, voice, and even video can't be described appropriately.
People who have smelled the smell of old sandalwood will not forget this smell.
Old sandalwood is also a kind of wood, and the fragrance is also emitted through the pores of the wood texture. After long-term wearing and playing, the surface will form a pulp shell, which will block the emission of fragrance to a certain extent.
Therefore, long-term wear of old sandalwood will make the taste lighter, which is also a normal phenomenon.
As a bracelet, it is a tangible thing.
As a spice, it seems to be a consumable, as if the perfume we buy is a truth.
The higher the oil content of the material, the less likely it is to volatilize the fragrance.
Note: Indian Old Mountain Sandalwood Powder
Even the bracelets made of the most yellowish material cannot be volatilized for decades, and there will be a fragrance.
The old mountain sandalwood log is the best example, stored for decades or even hundreds of years, the smell of the skin is still very fragrant.