Tried a liquid soap for the first time this week, for two reasons -- I want some potassium based soap for inseciticide to keep the squash bugs at bay, and it's nice to have some liquid soap in the kitchen.
My niece made some a couple years ago, probably one of those "make liquid soap from bar soap" ideas, she's not a chemist type (yet, working on that!), and I wanted to pay her back with some.
I used some GV shortening and left over beef and pork fat I had that needed to get used up, and it worked OK. Terrible separation during the cook, nearly wore my poor stick blender out trying to get it in suspension, and after the cook it was very cloudy with a white film when I test dissolved a bit. No zap, but obviously not totally saponified either.
My KOH is several years old, so I figured it was probably going to potassium carbonate, so I kept dissolving small amounts in water and adding to the soap until I finally got it to keep zapping after an hour of cooking, then titrated back to no zap with citric acid. Not ideal, but better than grease on my squash!
Today I dissolved some, and other than the solid meringue on the top that won't go away, it's good. Nice an clear, had to dilute to 2:1 to get a reasonable viscosity, and next time I dissolve some I'm just going to let it sit overnight with some heat rather than try to stir it, no need for upholstery foam on top of the soap!
Very nice soap, I'll be making more. I'm fixed for decades for insecticidal soap, I only need a ounce or so in a gallon, and that is two weekly sprays.
Canned 11 quarts of bread and butter pickles too, and now have to decide what to do with the other half of the cucumbers.....
Thanks to all the members here who provide all the answers if you look around a bit!
My niece made some a couple years ago, probably one of those "make liquid soap from bar soap" ideas, she's not a chemist type (yet, working on that!), and I wanted to pay her back with some.
I used some GV shortening and left over beef and pork fat I had that needed to get used up, and it worked OK. Terrible separation during the cook, nearly wore my poor stick blender out trying to get it in suspension, and after the cook it was very cloudy with a white film when I test dissolved a bit. No zap, but obviously not totally saponified either.
My KOH is several years old, so I figured it was probably going to potassium carbonate, so I kept dissolving small amounts in water and adding to the soap until I finally got it to keep zapping after an hour of cooking, then titrated back to no zap with citric acid. Not ideal, but better than grease on my squash!
Today I dissolved some, and other than the solid meringue on the top that won't go away, it's good. Nice an clear, had to dilute to 2:1 to get a reasonable viscosity, and next time I dissolve some I'm just going to let it sit overnight with some heat rather than try to stir it, no need for upholstery foam on top of the soap!
Very nice soap, I'll be making more. I'm fixed for decades for insecticidal soap, I only need a ounce or so in a gallon, and that is two weekly sprays.
Canned 11 quarts of bread and butter pickles too, and now have to decide what to do with the other half of the cucumbers.....
Thanks to all the members here who provide all the answers if you look around a bit!
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