Subject: barbecue skewers

From: LOBUE BEN J <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 6 May 1996 09:13:49 -0600 (MDT)

Made some skewers this weekend for a neighbor. At the end of the work
session took them to the kitchen, and coated them with a light coat of
vegetable oil.  I put them in the oven and set the temp at 350 let them
reach temp and stay there for 5-10 minutes. After cooling down they were
sticky. Wiped them off and stuck them under the broiler- come out better
but still sticky. 
Too much oil?
Too hot? 
Not hot enough?
Or does sticky come with the process?

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From: Ralph Snel <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 06 May 1996 18:02:59 METDST

> Or does sticky come with the process?
1) wrong oil, or
2) too impatient, or
3) too low temperature.

If you want a black finish, use higher temperature, we're talking smoke
and self-ignition here. If you just want a protection from rust, wait a
few days. Most vegetable oils will air-harden after a few days or weeks.
Or you could add japan dryer (haven't tried this myself though). If you
were unlucky you used the wrong vegetable oil. I always use boiled linseed
oil, but if you want to stick these in your food or your mouth you'd have
to check if the oil doesn't have any nasty preservatives in it.

Ralph Snel
[email-masked]
Sweden

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From: Steve Smith <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 6 May 96 10:40:53 MDT

> Or you could add japan dryer (haven't tried this myself though). 

> but if you want to stick these in your food or your mouth you'd have

Make sure the oil doesn't have any japan drier either!! Japan drier is
definitely not good on food items.

--
Steve Smith
[email-masked]

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From: Michael Spencer <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 6 May 96 14:44:55 EDT

> ...coated them with a light coat of vegetable oil.  I put them in
> the oven and set the temp at 350 let them reach temp and stay there
> for 5-10 minutes. After cooling down they were sticky.

Linseed oil polymerizes. That is, the molecules link up into long
chains. Then it isn't oil any more, but a natural "plastic". Heat and
oxidation (exposure to air) catalyse this process, so it happens quite
quickly when you put linseed oil on hot metal. Cobalt (the active
ingredient of Japan dryer) also catalyses the process. I've been told
that the intermolecular linking takes place in a slightly different
way when catalysed by cobalt but the practical result is pretty much
the same.

"Boiled linseed oil" isn't boiled any more. It has cobalt in
it. That's why "boiled" linseed has a warning on it about not feeding
it to livestock. Rediculously small amounts of cobalt are necessary
for health but noticable amounts are toxic.

Tung oil is the only other natural oil that I know of that has similar
polymerizing ("drying") properties. Common edible vegetable oils
(corn, safflower, rapeseed, cottonseed, olive) don't behave this way.

- Mike