Thanks to The Old Cajun (and, inter alia, Fred Hanna's amusing article about this topic), I baked a tin of Erinmore Flake and have now had both baked- and unbaked flakes.
I enjoyed the unbaked right-out-of-the-tin floral/citrus aroma so much I was hesitant about baking the tin (I like Lakelands too, especially 1792): in other words, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with the Erinmore as it was; however, in deference to Bradley's opinion, I decided to follow through with my plan to bake the tin.
Consider me a convert.
After six hours at 190 degrees, and resting for a couple of days, I opened the tin. The flakes had darkened a bit, but I did not notice a difference in the tin aroma.
After drying a flake out and cube-cutting it, I tried it in a corncob, then in an Ardor Dublin, which is one of my better flake pipes.
The difference was nothing less than extraordinary.
What had been a nice flake with a lot of competing tastes and aromas had settled down into a more well-blended combination of flavor and scent. Nothing is over-the-top. The flavor is fairly intense, but not in the raw way the unbaked flakes presented themselves.
The lemon-grass scent of the original was so strong I was tempted to look around to find the lawnmower. The scent after baking is as if the grass were cut yesterday instead of five minutes ago -- still there, but subdued.
The flakes after baking seem to be more pliable and can be easily cut with dull scissors without pieces flying off in all directions.
The baked flakes would not bite, which is, in itself, reason enough for me to bake these tins.
I have also tried the baked Erinmore in a pipe usually reserved for non-floral flakes, as it seems that the baked product is less likely to ghost than it is in its "natural" state.
If you like Erinmore, consider baking it. I'm well-pleased with the results. Thanks for the suggestion, Cajun!
I enjoyed the unbaked right-out-of-the-tin floral/citrus aroma so much I was hesitant about baking the tin (I like Lakelands too, especially 1792): in other words, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with the Erinmore as it was; however, in deference to Bradley's opinion, I decided to follow through with my plan to bake the tin.
Consider me a convert.
After six hours at 190 degrees, and resting for a couple of days, I opened the tin. The flakes had darkened a bit, but I did not notice a difference in the tin aroma.
After drying a flake out and cube-cutting it, I tried it in a corncob, then in an Ardor Dublin, which is one of my better flake pipes.
The difference was nothing less than extraordinary.
What had been a nice flake with a lot of competing tastes and aromas had settled down into a more well-blended combination of flavor and scent. Nothing is over-the-top. The flavor is fairly intense, but not in the raw way the unbaked flakes presented themselves.
The lemon-grass scent of the original was so strong I was tempted to look around to find the lawnmower. The scent after baking is as if the grass were cut yesterday instead of five minutes ago -- still there, but subdued.
The flakes after baking seem to be more pliable and can be easily cut with dull scissors without pieces flying off in all directions.
The baked flakes would not bite, which is, in itself, reason enough for me to bake these tins.
I have also tried the baked Erinmore in a pipe usually reserved for non-floral flakes, as it seems that the baked product is less likely to ghost than it is in its "natural" state.
If you like Erinmore, consider baking it. I'm well-pleased with the results. Thanks for the suggestion, Cajun!
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