Dawni
Well-Known Member
I've not looked enough but I don't recall if we have them here as well, maybe coz I can buy fresh so that's what I always use... Maybe she meant the preservatives?
Coconut Milk
- Thread starter KiwiMoose
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Alfa_Lazcares
Well-Known Member
Yeah. Preservatives, TD, sugars, that kind of stuff. Also on the canned stuff. But not so many different “brands”, anyway.
JasonPatton
New Member
I was also under the impression coconut milk causes overheating for some people, I'm not sure specifically which brand/type they use(and it doesn't happen to everyone[different brand or technique]) so I figured it was a sugar content issue. The more sugar the hotter it goes, I've read.
So their advice was use cooler oil/lye(as low as room temp) an even after trace/molding you can process it in the fridge or even freezer.
On one page they had a boil over so they cooked another batch and left half out at room temp, it got 100% gel. The other half in the freezer got maybe 30-50% gel in a circle from the center out.
In my understanding a deeper mold will heat up or hold more heat than a shorter mold, same thing for width...a 2 inch log should cool quicker than a 4 inch wide log, hopefully reducing overheating. But I'm really guessing at this point.. :-/
So their advice was use cooler oil/lye(as low as room temp) an even after trace/molding you can process it in the fridge or even freezer.
On one page they had a boil over so they cooked another batch and left half out at room temp, it got 100% gel. The other half in the freezer got maybe 30-50% gel in a circle from the center out.
In my understanding a deeper mold will heat up or hold more heat than a shorter mold, same thing for width...a 2 inch log should cool quicker than a 4 inch wide log, hopefully reducing overheating. But I'm really guessing at this point.. :-/
Overheating is generally caused by too much liquid. The more you have the quicker and hotter it gel for me. I generally soap at 33% so insulating is needed to gel. This past weekend I soaped at 30% with full coconut milk and it gelled pretty quickly and easily. Also got glycerin rivers. Never overheats though. Also will depend if you add any other additives like sugar, honey etc......
Yes - we have about 10 different brands available in can at our supermarket. But I found one with NO additives. Only the one, though!
penelopejane
Well-Known Member
Wow! It never ceases to amaze me that you are only across the ditch and your groceries look the same on the net but everything is different!
penelopejane
Well-Known Member
The cans are cheapest for me. And I can make it whenever I want (we live 35 miles from the closest shop).
If you look at the canned coconut milk look for no additives, no sugar, no preservatives.
Lin19687
Well-Known Member
If you get the Organic coconut milk (in a can) it has only the gar gum (I think that is what it is) in it, and that is organic too.
Most of the others I have seen have other things in them.
Thanks for the no- heating answers
I will still watch it but I do gel my soaps so I'll just keep an extra eye on them.
Most of the others I have seen have other things in them.
Thanks for the no- heating answers
I will still watch it but I do gel my soaps so I'll just keep an extra eye on them.
So - you will see the results of my Coconut milk soap in the Photo Gallery. It looks good now - but it was a bit of a worry for a while there. I will never know if it was the coconut milk or the naughty FO that caused the overheating. Unless I do two two smaller batches trialling each to see who was the culprit!
But - besides all that, I reckon it smells funny. Would that be because I burnt the coconut milk, or because the heat affected the FO? It's not entirely unpleasant, but it's NOT gardenia, which is what it's supposed to smell like.
But - besides all that, I reckon it smells funny. Would that be because I burnt the coconut milk, or because the heat affected the FO? It's not entirely unpleasant, but it's NOT gardenia, which is what it's supposed to smell like.
Dawni
Well-Known Member
I could be wrong, but since I HP and woke with high temps, and I do not use FOs.... I will say it could be the coconut milk. I've had a couple of batches that have a distinct smell that I can't really describe, but it's not bad.
It still could be the FO though... Is it a known one? Maybe someone has experience with it before..
It's gardenia - but since no-one else on here orders from NZ I doubt they will have the same brand.
penelopejane
Well-Known Member
There are very few FO makers in the world. Most of the Australian FO suppliers buy their FOs from the US. Where did you buy it from and what was it called?
I've never had Coconut milk heat or burn but I use the split method. But I often add coconut milk powder to make up the water to 100% Coconut Milk. It is not milk it is the juice of Coconut.
I buy my FOs from Pure Nature. They don't have a brand - they have a Pure Nature label on them. I've also bought from Zen Designs, NZ Candle Supplies, NZ Soap and Candle, Candle Creations - and I've satisfied myself that the best quality and advice comes from Pure Nature who are the only ones who put info about soap performance on their website.
I've just send them an email to find out what brand they stock.
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penelopejane
Well-Known Member
Pure Nature sell FOs from:
<CandleScience (USA)
The largest candle supply company in America. CandleScience deliver a range of ingredients unmatched by anyone in the market. We are proud to be their sole distributor here in New Zealand.>
https://www.purenature.co.nz/pages/about-us
The good thing about knowing this is that you can use the SMF's FO reviews and the Candlescience website reviews to assess an FO.
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Yes! Thank you so much Pen! Onto it right now....
Carolyne Thrasher
Well-Known Member
@KiwiMoose I do what most of the coconut milk users here are doing. After running recipe through a lye calculator, I divide the water amount in half. Half I use to make my lye mixture (make sure it is a smidge more in weight than your lye so all the lye will dissolve at least 1.1:1). Then add coconut milk to warmed oils before the lye water. Note: I soap between room temp and 90 degrees F. The only time I had cracking was when I dissolved 1 t ppo in my water. I’m using 50 oz silicone loaf molds. Wood probably insulates more. I also put my soap in mold on a wire shelf for circulation all around. I don’t gel my soap recipes. The room I soap in is fairly cool but I always check in at 15 and 30 minutes and feel the sides of my molds. I don’t think you will know until you try it because conditions vary greatly.
I would think it could add to the bubble factor of CO if one does not calculate for the fat in the CM. When I use CM I always deduct the fat content from my CO.
I use quite a lot of canned CM in my vegan soaps and have never had overheating from it. I do have to admit I use whatever brand is on sale at the time figuring the additives in the canned CM are so slight by the time it is added to the batch of soap
Ravens Craig Apothecary
Active Member
Not sure if this is too far off topic.... I recently started making cheese. Needless to say, I have gallon jars of whey. Do you think I could incorporate that into soap?
Hendejm
Well-Known Member
Hoping not to hijack the thread but Soapy Queen did some testing with whey and shared results. Interesting experiment to try sometime.
https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/using-whey-in-cold-process-soap/
Yes, you would use it as full or partial water replacement. When I use whey I use my 50/50 lye solution and use the additional 50% as the whey blended directly into my oils. When I purchase yogurt I always drain it for awhile because I like thick Greek yogurt and do not like the price, so I buy plain regular yogurt and drain it. I also drain my sour cream. I freeze my whey until I have enough to use
Just looked the link posted above, I agree that it does not really make much difference in the soap, but does not waste the whey
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