re-melting rosin

[Thomas Erickson]

I've done this before, experimenting with a few different combinations of rosin scraps. Made some nice messes, but finally had good luck melting it (gently) in a cup made from aluminum foil over a little alcohol lamp, then cooling in the fridge. Before it gets really hard I peel off the foil, re-warm a bit and wrap little bricks in parchment paper (like you use for baking - it's silicone coated paper so it peels off cleanly). Works great. And why rosin always comes in round cakes I can't figure out; bricks work a lot better!

[Scott Pope]

Knowing that rosin is reactive, when my cake of rosin starts to get hard and brittle, I also use the microwave...but only about 10 seconds at a time until slightly softened, then quit. Fortunately, I've never had to re-melt pieces of the cake back together again.