Accelerating batter, Stinky soap

[ackosel]

I'm carrying this over from the "What Soapy thing" thread because obviously, I need help!

Recipe:
Tallow 40%
Lard 20%
Olive oil 20%
Coconut oil 17%
Castor oil 3%
Lye concentration 36%
Superfat 2%
Replaced 100% of the water with frozen goat milk cubes - dissolved the lye into the milk cubes
16 oz. batch oils

2 tsp. sugar syrup
1 tsp. Cocoa powder, dispersed in 1/2 tsp. batch liquid oils
0.5 oz. Peppermint essential oil

Background:
My batter has been accelerating lately, likely due to too much stick blending, high tallow, and temperature problems.

Current problem:
This batch, I followed the advice given me in the "What Soapy Thing" thread. I stirred the sugar syrup into the oils before adding the goat milk/lye solution. Lye was 98°F and oils were 110°F at mixing. I hand whisked only - NO stickblending. It took about 30 minutes of whisking to reach emulsion. I added the peppermint essential oil (forgot to warm it first), whisked it well and then split off 25% of the batter to keep white. I added the dispersed cocoa powder to the remaining 75% and whisked it in. The white cooled to 98° and accelerated. I poured over a hanger for a secret feather swirl on one side and a reverse swirl on the other. By the end of the pour, both the white and chocolate were nearing mashed potato consistency. I went ahead with the hanger swirl, banged the air pockets out of the mold as best I could, smoothed the top with a spatula and tucked it in on a heating pad to gel. Cut the soap about 18 hours later. When I've made this soap before, it smelled very good of peppermint. This one smells a little like peppermint, but mostly like cigarette smoke! The last batch I made had that smell, too, but I thought it was because the EO/clay/castor/orange peel powder slurry I used had been soaking on the counter for a month...

My thoughts:
1. Hand whisking took too long and allowed the batter to cool too much, causing the hard oils to begin solidifying, thus accelerating the batter.

2. The top of the loaf developed white crystal-like dots that do NOT zap - I think they're a mixture of soda ash and stearic spots.

3. I think I see stearic spots inside the soap as well. I also zap-tested the insides of the bars and they are zap-free as well.

4. But hey, the feather swirls turned out WAY better than I thought they would! I cut this whole batch into sample size soaps for the nurses at the hospital. But I can't give them away if they stink like cigarettes!

5. Is it possible my sugar syrup is causing problems? I made it a couple months ago and keep it refrigerated. A lot of the sugar has crystallized in the bottom of the jar, but I'm not using any of the crunchy stuff. No sign of mold or spoiling.

Your thoughts?

 

[2lilboots]

I use sugar syrup in my lard soaps and have not had this issue. My syrup crystalizes as well. As for the cig smell, has your EO gone bad? Perhaps the tallow or lard is old? Perhaps that smell will disappear after cure.

 

[ackosel]

I use sugar syrup in my lard soaps and have not had this issue. My syrup crystalizes as well. As for the cig smell, has your EO gone bad? Perhaps the tallow or lard is old? Perhaps that smell will disappear after cure.

The EO is less than 6 months old. Same with the lard. They don't smell or look bad. The tallow could potentially be a problem, just because I rendered it myself which leaves a margin for error.

I just realized that the smell might be from my lye/milk solution getting too hot! I usually use an ice bath to keep it under about 85°F, but I recently experienced false trace from the lye being 70° and my tallow/oils around 115°. Since I can't really let the tallow get much cooler before it begins solidifying, I decided to try letting the lye/milk solution get a little warmer. The last two batches (the ones that stink) got up to 104°F.

 

[bookworm42]

I just realized that the smell might be from my lye/milk solution getting too hot!

If that's the case the smell might dissipate during cure. At least that's what I've read. Hopefully someone who has done this can advise

 

[ackosel]

If that's the case the smell might dissipate during cure. At least that's what I've read. Hopefully someone who has done this can advise

The very first batch of soap I made smelled HORRIBLE for a week. I think the stinky batch I made on Saturday is starting to smell a little better. Here's hoping!

 

[bookworm42]

The very first batch of soap I made smelled HORRIBLE for a week. I think the stinky batch I made on Saturday is starting to smell a little better. Here's hoping!

I'll cross all my fingers and toes for you!

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Congratulations on making very pretty soap!

With respect to getting the batter to the right place trace-wise, it seems like you nailed it. Do you have a better sense of what late-stage emulsion and early trace look like for your recipe now that you've tried hand stirring? Adding a couple of 1-2 second pulses of the stick blender at the beginning could speed things up just enough for you get the soap made before the batter begins to solidify. You mentioned that the white batter accelerated, but I wonder if the cooling just made it a bit sludgy. Sometimes batter in that state will loosen up and be pourable again after a little stirring.

 

[AliOop]

I just realized that the smell might be from my lye/milk solution getting too hot!

Animal milk can definitely make for a smelly soap at first. Unlike butter or ghee in soap (the stink of which never seems to fade), the ammonia-like smell in animal milks has always gone away during curing of my soaps. Hang in there!

 

[ackosel]

Animal milk can definitely make for a smelly soap at first. Unlike butter or ghee in soap (the stink of which never seems to fade), the ammonia-like smell in animal milks has always gone away during curing of my soaps. Hang in there!

The peppermint soap is already smelling MUCH better. The striped one still has a smell, but I think it's taking longer because the bars are bigger than the sample-size peppermint ones. I am feeling much better about it now!

Congratulations on making very pretty soap!

With respect to getting the batter to the right place trace-wise, it seems like you nailed it. Do you have a better sense of what late-stage emulsion and early trace look like for your recipe now that you've tried hand stirring? Adding a couple of 1-2 second pulses of the stick blender at the beginning could speed things up just enough for you get the soap made before the batter begins to solidify. You mentioned that the white batter accelerated, but I wonder if the cooling just made it a bit sludgy. Sometimes batter in that state will loosen up and be pourable again after a little stirring.

I'm going to make another small batch today. I will try a modified recipe and use the stick blender just at the beginning. One color, no design this time. Yes, I am sure the white got thick just because it cooled too much. The batter on the sides of the jug stiffened first. I did get it to loosen up a little with stirring, but not enough to be pourable.

 

[AliOop]

The peppermint soap is already smelling MUCH better. The striped one still has a smell, but I think it's taking longer because the bars are bigger than the sample-size peppermint ones. I am feeling much better about it now!

Hooray, I'm so glad!

 

[ackosel]

Congratulations on making very pretty soap!

With respect to getting the batter to the right place trace-wise, it seems like you nailed it. Do you have a better sense of what late-stage emulsion and early trace look like for your recipe now that you've tried hand stirring? Adding a couple of 1-2 second pulses of the stick blender at the beginning could speed things up just enough for you get the soap made before the batter begins to solidify. You mentioned that the white batter accelerated, but I wonder if the cooling just made it a bit sludgy. Sometimes batter in that state will loosen up and be pourable again after a little stirring.

I'm going to have to make quite a few more batches before I feel confident in spotting the emulsion or trace I want, but hand stirring is definitely helping me control it. I made another batch this morning with a modified recipe. I went back to mixing the lye with milk in a cold water bath and kept it under 85°. Hopefully that eliminates the cigarette-smoke-in-a-leather-jacket smell. I did allow myself 3, 1-2 second bursts with the stick blender at the beginning, because of the lower tallow/higher lard & olive oil in my recipe, and because the oils cooled much faster than I was ready for. My batter was 103° once the milk/lye solution was mixed in and cooled to 98° before it reached what I judged to be emulsion. At that point, I added and stirred in a Lavender, Litsea & Rosemary EO blend that I had warmed to 98° in a water bath.

The batter spent a long time (10 minutes or so) at the point where it was a little thicker than oil, but not leaving any trace on the surface, as shown in the first picture. I finally decided to start pouring at that thin consistency, when the temperature started going down. I know I said I wasn't going to make any design, but I decided to do cocoa powder pencil lines in this batch, in case the alkanet-infused oil I used fades to nothing like the indigo-infused oil I've used. Then at least, the soap would have something visual in it. Also, the batter looked like it would cooperate.

Anyway, I poured about 1/3 of the batter and sprinkled cocoa powder over it. I was able to pour another 1/3 of the batter very slowly over a spatula on top of the pencil line. I might have broken through in one or two small spots, but I think most of the line stayed intact. I sprinkled one more pencil line, and by this time the batter was close to medium trace, but still pourable. The rest of the batter got poured on top of the second pencil line and was stiff enough to hold a chopstick swirl topping. It's gelling on a heating pad as we speak. So far, so good, and no stink!

 

[ackosel]

I watched a Brambleberry video about identifying trace last evening. I think I have been confusing emulsion with light trace. According to her, light trace occurs before the batter actually "traces". So when I think I have reached emulsion, it is more likely the batter is already at light trace.

Also, my recipe, technique and temperature have been combining to make some super heavy-duty soda ash! It forms in the first 8 hours or so and leaves a bumpy texture that can't be steamed off.

 

[justsomeguy]

I watched a Brambleberry video about identifying trace last evening. I think I have been confusing emulsion with light trace. According to her, light trace occurs before the batter actually "traces". So when I think I have reached emulsion, it is more likely the batter is already at light trace.

Also, my recipe, technique and temperature have been combining to make some super heavy-duty soda ash! It forms in the first 8 hours or so and leaves a bumpy texture that can't be steamed off.

I get the heavy ash too! It does not disappear with the steamer. It does get better though...

 

[dmcgee5034]

Also, my recipe, technique and temperature have been combining to make some super heavy-duty soda ash! It forms in the first 8 hours or so and leaves a bumpy texture that can't be steamed off.

Try this - once the top of your soap in the mold sets up well, cover it with plastic wrap. Disclaimer - I don’t CPOP, so use caution there. Then cover your freshly cut bars for about 3-7 days. This has stopped the ash for me.

 

[ackosel]

Try this - once the top of your soap in the mold sets up well, cover it with plastic wrap. Disclaimer - I don’t CPOP, so use caution there. Then cover your freshly cut bars for about 3-7 days. This has stopped the ash for me.

I have had success with covering the soap, but only when I put the plastic wrap on right after I pour it. That leaves "plastic wrap tracks" on the top of the soap. This ash began to develop within a couple hours of pouring, before it reached gel phase.

 

[AliOop]

I have had success with covering the soap, but only when I put the plastic wrap on right after I pour it. That leaves "plastic wrap tracks" on the top of the soap. This ash began to develop within a couple hours of pouring, before it reached gel phase.

I had the same problem, so I starting using a cardboard "tent" over the soap - just a piece of thin cardboard, creased to make a tent shape. I put the plastic wrap or a dish towel over that, and voila, the top of the soap is protected. I learned this from watching some YouTuber, but can't remember who it was in order to give credit where it is due. Maybe Holly of Kapia Mera/ Holly's Soapmaking?

 

[ackosel]

I had the same problem, so I starting using a cardboard "tent" over the soap - just a piece of thin cardboard, creased to make a tent shape. I put the plastic wrap or a dish towel over that, and voila, the top of the soap is protected. I learned this from watching some YouTuber, but can't remember who it was in order to give credit where it is due. Maybe Holly of Kapia Mera/ Holly's Soapmaking?

I've seen Holly from Holly's Soapmaking do that. What do you think, have the children make me some tents for arts & crafts this afternoon? Any child that can make replicas of the battleships Hood and Bismark out of diaper boxes should be able to make a soap tent for Mother, right?

 

[AliOop]

I've seen Holly from Holly's Soapmaking do that. What do you think, have the children make me some tents for arts & crafts this afternoon? Any child that can make replicas of the battleships Hood and Bismark out of diaper boxes should be able to make a soap tent for Mother, right?

Absolutely!!