Ciaglia Method

[Mobjack Bay]

@dmcgee5034 @dibbles I just finally bought a new one a few weeks ago after checking the local thrift store for used. I think the folks around me are still very much into into home cooking because I never see salad shooters, electric roasting pans or crock pots. On the other hand, if you need a used George Foreman grill, let me know. I think the fine shredder attachment on the salad shooter would be extra super for Ciaglia method soaps, but mine came with the regular/medium shredder. It makes very short work of shredding soap.

 

[AliOop]

I will say, the grating disc on my Breville food processor did a fine job with shredding all my soap except the 100% CO stain sticks. It might have even worked with those, but they were like bricks, and I didn't want to risk it. It went through all my other bar soaps like butter. Plus, the disc and bowl have never looked so sparkly clean as they did after washing up.

 

[TheGecko]

@Zany_in_CO - now I’m regretting donating my old Presto Salad Shooter! I bet my garage sale queen mom can find me one… that sounds like a good plan for the bars I failed at stamping to prep for a batch. Thanks!

Look for a vintage Salad Master (see picture below); you can find them on eBay for varying prices. I've used mine to shred Cocoa Butter and soap, and I use it to shred cabbage, carrots, potatoes and cheese for salads, hash browns, au gratin and tacos. Mine is 61 years old...same as a me, but in better shape. LOL

Guess I should add the picture.

 

[user 29214]

@Mobjack Bay These soaps are so pretty, I love the colors. I didn’t think of meat soap until I read what you wrote. Were the shreds in the pink and white the same color (pink and white?) They came out so even

 

[Mobjack Bay]

@Mobjack Bay These soaps are so pretty, I love the colors. I didn’t think of meat soap until I read what you wrote. Were the shreds in the pink and white the same color (pink and white?) They came out so even

Thanks @glendam I will stop worrying about the meat soap impression. The shreds I used in the pink sections were pink and white from a swirled section of a failed batch. The shreds in the white and teal sections were white, from the lower section of the same failed batch. I shredded the original batch because I used a new impression mat and did a terrible job getting the bubbles out of the detailed design. Here’s the top of the original soap. I had to add more pink mica to get the final pink colors in the Ciaglia soaps.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

What’s the biggest batch size anyone has made using the Ciaglia method? I have a lot of soap shreds that I want to turn into nice bars for the food pantry at my friend’s church. I’m thinking of scaling up from my usual batch size of 500 to 1000 g of oils before adjusting for the shreds, but I’m wondering if I’m going to run into trouble with stick blending or something else that I’m not anticipating.

 

[dibbles]

What’s the biggest batch size anyone has made using the Ciaglia method? I have a lot of soap shreds that I want to turn into nice bars for the food pantry at my friend’s church. I’m thinking of scaling up from my usual batch size of 500 to 1000 g of oils before adjusting for the shreds, but I’m wondering if I’m going to run into trouble with stick blending or something else that I’m not anticipating.

I've done at least close to 1000 g without problems. I'll check to see if I can find my notes, but I think I used 25-30% shreds. I chop them to a fairly small size before using them so my stick blender doesn't have to work so hard.

 

[basti]

What’s the biggest batch size anyone has made using the Ciaglia method? I have a lot of soap shreds that I want to turn into nice bars for the food pantry at my friend’s church. I’m thinking of scaling up from my usual batch size of 500 to 1000 g of oils before adjusting for the shreds, but I’m wondering if I’m going to run into trouble with stick blending or something else that I’m not anticipating.

I did a 2 lb oil batch with 10 oz scraps and didn't have any issues with stick blending. It was enough to fill a 48 oz/10 inch mold with a little leftover.

 

[KiwiMoose]

I've done minimum 1kg - and the biggest is 2kg.

 

[BWt]

First time using this technique of “rebatching” scraps

Love the color and cut of your rebatch soaps! Elegant.

 

[Servant4Christ]

I recently had a field day cutting soaps by hand with the sole intent of figuring out what size bars are my favorite. Yeah, I got carried away and ended up with a LOT of scraps and small pieces. My older Ninja blender turned them all into dust in a matter of a couple of minutes. The soap I made ended up looking so much smoother than I ever thought rebatch could be. I can't wait to try it again.
@TheGecko I love that! But then, I love older non-electric kitchen gadgets in general, due to their better quality and durability.

 

[dmcgee5034]

I know this thread is a year old, but I’d like to revive it for some questions, please and thank you

@Jersey Girl - I wonder if you’d share what color you used in the pic/post that got this convo going? It’s just the best shade of gray out of all 50 of them . I have a pewter I might try.

@TheGecko and @Zany_in_CO - ever have one of those moments…. Hey, don’t I have something like that in the kitchen?? Last night I was checking eBay, then pulling out a small food processor, then other kitchen gadgets and it dawned on me - I do have something with those cones in your pic, TheGecko! Brand new, in the box, had the attachment for my KitchenAid for oh about 15 years! So there I am at 1030p last night - honey, get my big mixer down, I need to try and shred soap! DH - if you want to shred soap at 1030p, let’s do it! Worked like a dream!

@Mobjack Bay - that pink in your pics, it’s perfect. May I ask what pink that is? I just love your soaps - so pretty with those layers and the cute heart embed

Anyone else made a Ciaglia soap recently?

 

[dibbles]

So there I am at 1030p last night - honey, get my big mixer down, I need to try and shred soap! DH - if you want to shred soap at 1030p, let’s do it! Worked like a dream!

I love how your hubby can just roll with it!

 

[TheGecko]

@TheGecko and @Zany_in_CO - ever have one of those moments…. Hey, don’t I have something like that in the kitchen?? Last night I was checking eBay, then pulling out a small food processor, then other kitchen gadgets and it dawned on me - I do have something with those cones in your pic, TheGecko! Brand new, in the box, had the attachment for my KitchenAid for oh about 15 years! So there I am at 1030p last night - honey, get my big mixer down, I need to try and shred soap! DH - if you want to shred soap at 1030p, let’s do it! Worked like a dream!

I used to have a Food Processor and I liked it for the most part since it a slimmer model and didn't take up as much room, but it couldn't handle Parmesan Cheese and snapped a part. The bowl was the perfect size for whipping up Deviled Eggs though and chopping up leftover meats for sandwiches.

I love my Salad Master. Just pulled it out the other night to make hash brown. And if I need to chops nuts or other small amounts, I have a little mini chopper I picked up at a garage sale for a couple of bucks.

I do have a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer, but man...attachments for that puppy are expensive. And I already many of them and they are quieter has they are hand operated. Though...I wouldn't mind a motor for my Pasta Machine and thus would use it more.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

@Mobjack Bay - that pink in your pics, it’s perfect. May I ask what pink that is? I just love your soaps - so pretty with those layers and the cute heart embed

I'm 99% sure the pink is Love Song from Nurture. Have fun!

 

[Jersey Girl]

I know this thread is a year old, but I’d like to revive it for some questions, please and thank you

@Jersey Girl - I wonder if you’d share what color you used in the pic/post that got this convo going? It’s just the best shade of gray out of all 50 of them . I have a pewter I might try.

@TheGecko and @Zany_in_CO - ever have one of those moments…. Hey, don’t I have something like that in the kitchen?? Last night I was checking eBay, then pulling out a small food processor, then other kitchen gadgets and it dawned on me - I do have something with those cones in your pic, TheGecko! Brand new, in the box, had the attachment for my KitchenAid for oh about 15 years! So there I am at 1030p last night - honey, get my big mixer down, I need to try and shred soap! DH - if you want to shred soap at 1030p, let’s do it! Worked like a dream!

@Mobjack Bay - that pink in your pics, it’s perfect. May I ask what pink that is? I just love your soaps - so pretty with those layers and the cute heart embed

Anyone else made a Ciaglia soap recently?

I just used a bit of activated charcoal!

 

[KiwiMoose]

I just used a bit of activated charcoal!

I find that my activated charcoal can tend to turn greenish if i don't used enough. Although I never used such a little amount as that to create a grey - maybe I'll give it a try? I love the look.

 

[Vicki C]

Early in this thread it was mentioned that this would be a great method for stone soap - after making stone molds for the March challenge I have been going a little nuts making ciaglia stone soaps. I’ve been learning as I go - but here are a few pointers I have figured out.
1. The ratio I have been using is 2:1 oils:shreds (by weight). I stick blend the oils and shreds to varying degrees. It helps to have the oils pretty hot, like 130F, just to get things blended.
2. I don’t stick blend after I mix in the lye. I have not had a problem with lye separating out. I stir with a spatula for a few minutes, add my fragrance, and use a spouted pitcher and a wooden stick to get it into the mold.
3. if the batter is under blended the soap is fine but the shreds will sink so that one side is more plain colored except for the hole where the batter goes in. That’s not a great explanation, but I’ve learned that there is a delicate balance between too thick and too thin batter. I can’t blend too much or use super fast accelerating fragrances because it’s just too hard to fill the molds completely, I end up with big air pockets on the outside of the rock that are hard to patch.
4. I have to add heat to get these to gel and leave them in the mold for >24 hours or I get ash. Although the ash can make them look rock like.
Here are a few examples:

 

[dmcgee5034]

Early in this thread it was mentioned that this would be a great method for stone soap - after making stone molds for the March challenge I have been going a little nuts making ciaglia stone soaps. I’ve been learning as I go - but here are a few pointers I have figured out.
1. The ratio I have been using is 2:1 oils:shreds (by weight). I stick blend the oils and shreds to varying degrees. It helps to have the oils pretty hot, like 130F, just to get things blended.
2. I don’t stick blend after I mix in the lye. I have not had a problem with lye separating out. I stir with a spatula for a few minutes, add my fragrance, and use a spouted pitcher and a wooden stick to get it into the mold.
3. if the batter is under blended the soap is fine but the shreds will sink so that one side is more plain colored except for the hole where the batter goes in. That’s not a great explanation, but I’ve learned that there is a delicate balance between too thick and too thin batter. I can’t blend too much or use super fast accelerating fragrances because it’s just too hard to fill the molds completely, I end up with big air pockets on the outside of the rock that are hard to patch.
4. I have to add heat to get these to gel and leave them in the mold for >24 hours or I get ash. Although the ash can make them look rock like.
Here are a few examples:

View attachment 72525 View attachment 72526View attachment 72527

Those are completely awesome, @Vicki C
Thank you for inclus=ding all your lessons learned along the way, too!

 

[Vicki C]

Those are completely awesome, @Vicki C
Thank you for inclus=ding all your lessons learned along the way, too!

I should post photos of all the failures!