We spent one evening together at the Mubarakiya Souq selecting some bukhoor. The hunt that night was for an everyday simple and beautiful scent to bring a smell of Kuwait to our Jaipur bungalow. So we decided to share a few tips on how and what to look for when purchasing your own.
- Firstly, look for a wood that is a bit dark and shiny with a smooth surface that indicates it has the coveted resin in it. To be sure that it contains the natural oils.
- Search for chips that when snapped, break in shards rather than in dust.
- You want larger thicker pieces- not splintered thin pieces.
- Be wary if the pieces are painted (this is a trick used to make the bukhoor seem more valuable).
- Once burned, you should see the oils and resin of the wood bubbling, releasing the scent.
A tip for once the bukhoor is burnt to allow it to linger on your clothing or interiors is to always have rose water present. The rose water when splashed onto cloth creates humidity, helps the bukhoor grab onto the garments, and keeps the scent longer. They are a great pairing.
For the bungalow, we purchases an everyday, less expensive bukhoor that had a floral scent. For ourselves, we bought a much more robust scented one, that held a more oily texture.
They are measured by tola. That is a unit of weight that generally equals 11.7grams. Why do you ask? It’s actually an Indian measurement that was created around 1830 and equaled the weight of a single silver rupee.
Depending on the value of the bukhoor- the price is given.
Noor
Shop our selection of Mubkhars here.