I don't usually have a question that is appropriate to
rec.food.cooking, rec.woodworking, rec.pyrotechnic and
sci.med.nutrition. But I've been wondering about flaming salad.

I've been researching flax seed oil. It's great nutrition; it's very
high in omega-3 unsaturated fats, which are the very good kind. But
it's hard to work with; it oxidizes - goes rancid - very quickly.
People in the know say that the fresh oil, and oil that has been well
tended, tastes delicous. But that a lot of the flax seed oil you buy
has gone rancid already.

Along the way I found out that flax seed oil == linseed oil. Wow,
I said. They use that for drying paint and finishing furniture. When
I lived in Atlanta, they were doing furniture-finishing at the the
house next door to me. It burned down. The cause was linseed
oil-soaked rags, improperly stored. See, this stuff oxidizes so fast
it actually can ignite. Any rags that have linseed oil on them should
be placed in an old paint can, with a metal lid tightly closed.

So I've been wondering - if I use flax seed oil as a healthy salad
dressing, can I get it to burst into flames at the table? I realize
that this may alter the taste some, and the nutrient balance. But it
sure would an attention-grabber at the next church potluck. What
nontoxic thing could I do to speed up the ignition and make it more
certain?

David Throop