# No More Fighting CO Out of the Jar!



## Susie (Mar 7, 2015)

I was fighting the last bits of CO out of a jar, and just had it with bits flying all over and knowing more was going to be left in the jar.  I popped it into the microwave for a minute and conveniently poured the remainder neatly into the bucket on the scale.  I though hmmm...about that new jar....so I put it in there for 2 minutes and poured my oil right into that bucket with no muss and no fuss.

Why, oh why have I never thought about this before???


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## Lindy (Mar 7, 2015)

I much prefer my solid oils in buckets.  Makes life sooo much easier.


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## DeeAnna (Mar 7, 2015)

Thanks for the tip, Susie!

I found out quite by accident that lard comes out of its bucket MUCH easier if I use a little metal spatula to remove it like taking a brownie out of the pan. Much nicer than a spoon or scoop, which is what I'd been using. I just grabbed the spatula out of total frustration one day -- the only thing that was close to hand. Twas a very happy accident!


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## Luv2Soap (Mar 7, 2015)

Oh! Love this tip!!! I had a heck of a time last night with the lard and the coconut oil because little pieces were flying out as I tried to get it out of it's container.


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## Cindy2428 (Mar 7, 2015)

I use a SS ice cream scooper. I tried cutting it, every type spoon I had and finally "borrowed" my husband's scoop. :roll:


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## Susie (Mar 7, 2015)

See, you give a hint, you get a hint.


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## dixiedragon (Mar 7, 2015)

I get my CO in 50 lb buckets from Soaper's Choice. I save all of my lard buckets, and then I melt the CO. In the summer I just put it outside, in the winter I put the whole bucket in a sink of hot water. Then I pour the CO into the lard buckets and label them.


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## Lindy (Mar 7, 2015)

I love the idea of ice cream scoop.   Hmmmm - need to hit the second hand store....


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Mar 7, 2015)

I don't know what brand you are using, but I thought of the microwave trick with the Luanna brand from walmart.... darn jar almost caught fire! LOL!


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## dixiedragon (Mar 7, 2015)

I melted a jar from Camden Grey in the microwave.


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## Susie (Mar 7, 2015)

It was exactly LuAnna from Walmart.  Just a minute for the partial jar, 2 minutes for the full one.  Our micro is not a really strong one, though.


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## DeeAnna (Mar 7, 2015)

Luanna CO -- if you want to microwave the container, make sure the little foil bits on the top of the container are ALL gone. Not a speck nor shred. 

That will help a lot. 

Don't ask me how I know this....


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## Susie (Mar 7, 2015)

Oh, yeah.  I hate those little foil bits left on anything.  It is one of my pet peeves.  I keep a utility knife just for that purpose.


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## Seawolfe (Mar 7, 2015)

I often put the jars in a Pyrex or bowl of water to heat it more evenly, poor soap makers double boiler


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## Dana89 (Mar 7, 2015)

LOL Susie. I have been doing that too for ten months before I thought to put it in the microwave. I get LouAnn CO and the mouth is so small! I would even put the jar in water on low heat on the stove. The microwave right above it just staring at me!! lol


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## madpiano (Mar 9, 2015)

Here in the UK CO is sold in bottles - glass bottles with a narrow neck, like old fashioned Coca Cola bottles and they have a metal ring on them, that is impossible to remove - I have no idea who thought about selling coconut oil (and Palm oil) like this in a country where the weather is too cold for CO to go liquid 12 months of the year.... 

I use CO for cooking as much as I use it for soaping and every time I look at the CO bottle I shake my head in disbelief....


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## hmlove1218 (Mar 9, 2015)

I tried that with a jar of louana once and my microwave lit up like the fourth of July lol. Apparently I didn't get all of the metal seal off of the mouth of the jar.


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Mar 9, 2015)

I am so blessed - I get my CO in 500g packs like butter.  Can cut off what I need and wrap it back up with no issues.  I pity you all with your jars and bottles and whatnot.


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## kchaystack (Mar 9, 2015)

Yeah it is just as easy to pop it in a crock pot with some water in it as a double boiler.  I do not have a microwave in my basement, and I climb those stairs enough as is so I just use that.  And it was how I got my CO and PO out of the stupid 1 gallon jug I got from Soaper's Choice that would not fit in my microwave anyway.  It is now in 1 qt paint buckets with lids.  

No need to worry about exploding microwaves!


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## dixiedragon (Mar 9, 2015)

madpiano said:


> Here in the UK CO is sold in bottles - glass bottles with a narrow neck, like old fashioned Coca Cola bottles and they have a metal ring on them, that is impossible to remove - I have no idea who thought about selling coconut oil (and Palm oil) like this in a country where the weather is too cold for CO to go liquid 12 months of the year....
> 
> I use CO for cooking as much as I use it for soaping and every time I look at the CO bottle I shake my head in disbelief....


 
How bizarre! Can you post a pic? Is it weird that I want one of these bottles?


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## Trix (Mar 9, 2015)

madpiano said:


> Here in the UK CO is sold in bottles - glass bottles with a narrow neck, like old fashioned Coca Cola bottles and they have a metal ring on them, that is impossible to remove - I have no idea who thought about selling coconut oil (and Palm oil) like this in a country where the weather is too cold for CO to go liquid 12 months of the year....
> 
> I use CO for cooking as much as I use it for soaping and every time I look at the CO bottle I shake my head in disbelief....



Madpiano, is it possible to put this bottle in a warm water bath for a while (so as not to break it) and then pour the contents into a little bucket or any wide mouthed jar?


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## Susie (Mar 9, 2015)

I am about to order some CO from ED in those gallon jugs.  I am planning on using a pot of water on the stove to warm it enough to get it out.  I thought to pour it into some plastic food storage tubs that are lined with plastic wrap to let it harden in.  Anyone done that before that could give some pointers?  I thought one lb chunks should be the most useful.


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## AMyers (Mar 9, 2015)

The Efficacious Gentleman said:


> I am so blessed - I get my CO in 500g packs like butter.  Can cut off what I need and wrap it back up with no issues.  I pity you all with your jars and bottles and whatnot.



This would be great in the winter months, but around here, my CO melts at "room temp" during summer!  We tend to keep the house around 78-80 F, because the cooling costs are so awful!  If it were in a little foil or paper wrapper (like we get our butter), it would be quite the mess!! I'm happy with the wide-mouth jar (which would never fit in my microwave) and the giant SS spoon I use.


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## kchaystack (Mar 9, 2015)

Susie said:


> I am about to order some CO from ED in those gallon jugs.  I am planning on using a pot of water on the stove to warm it enough to get it out.  I thought to pour it into some plastic food storage tubs that are lined with plastic wrap to let it harden in.  Anyone done that before that could give some pointers?  I thought one lb chunks should be the most useful.



Just curious, why the plastic wrap?


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## Cindy2428 (Mar 9, 2015)

I break down my large Soaper's Choice oils into food service containers I now buy from The Webstaurant store.- They are the 16 and 32oz PP #5 like the kind you get from Chinese restaurants for soup. I used to buy them from my favorite restaurant but I find I need larger volume now. A 7# jug fits into my crockpot to melt - stir/shake well and pour, label including batch numbers. Once my base recipes are finalized, I can have them ready to go. (At least that's the plan)....


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## Susie (Mar 9, 2015)

kchaystack said:


> Just curious, why the plastic wrap?



So I can unmold them and put them into Ziploc bags for later use.  I tend to use CO for liquid soaps in 16 oz increments, so that would be really easy to use later.


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## kchaystack (Mar 9, 2015)

Susie said:


> So I can unmold them and put them into Ziploc bags for later use.  I tend to use CO for liquid soaps in 16 oz increments, so that would be really easy to use later.



I see.  I was able to pop my palm oil out by just pulling at the edges of the container.  I also melted my shea and put it into a silicon ice tray.  So much easier to work with


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## cmzaha (Mar 9, 2015)

The flat Ice Cream Spatulas work great for scooping hard oils


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## TVivian (Mar 9, 2015)

One more reason to love summer!


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Mar 10, 2015)

AMyers said:


> This would be great in the winter months, but around here, my CO melts at "room temp" during summer!  We tend to keep the house around 78-80 F, because the cooling costs are so awful!  If it were in a little foil or paper wrapper (like we get our butter), it would be quite the mess!! I'm happy with the wide-mouth jar (which would never fit in my microwave) and the giant SS spoon I use.




I have to say, until I read your post, I never thought about the numbers after the co as being Fahrenheit. Makes sense, though, as if they were Celsius then they would be solid a lot longer than they are!


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## madpiano (Mar 12, 2015)

Lol, if anyone wants a bottle of that coconut oil, I can probably send one. Yes, waterbath is the only way to get the coconut oil out of them, I generally melt it and then pour it into an old Margarine tub so it's easier to use for cooking (the soaping oil I just melt and use). The glass is really sturdy, so no need to be careful. 

Here is a link to the product - it's the KTC brand in the bottle (they sell it in tubs as well, but not every shop carries it)
http://www.latiendagreece.com/product/ktc-coconut-oil/


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