Frozen Palm oil

[HayBond]

My palm oil arrived frozen. Will that have an impact on the soap? Specifically could it cause separation ?

 

[KimW]

Short answer: No. (yay!) Long answer: How you get it to a usable state will depend on the type of Palm Oil.
What kind of palm oil? No-stir? Palm Kernel? Refined Palm Oil? Unrefined Palm Oil (usually red/orange)?

 

[HayBond]

Dang Kim, I have no idea!! How could there be so many choices?? I gotta go check the bag from Bramble berry it just says natural palm oil. Max 30% in cp. which might explain problems with first two batches since I had it at 33%.

 

[KimW]

I had a look on BB's site and it looks like their only Palm Oil is refined Palm Oil. I'm guessing, then, that it's not completely solid at room temp, but either a thick liquid or similar to Crisco in viscosity?

I only work with unrefined palm and palm kernel oil when I use palm, but if it is as I described then I would bring it in to thaw for a few days and then give a really good and thorough stir before dipping out of the bucket. I know there are a lot of folks here that work with palm who could give more sure instructions (@TheGecko maybe??)!

ETA: Tagging @Misschief and @cmzaha as old post confirm they use palm.

 

[bluebirdwing]

natural palm oil. Max 30% in cp. which might explain problems with first two batches since I had it at 33%.

What was the problem you experienced?

 

[TheGecko]

My palm oil arrived frozen. Will that have an impact on the soap? Specifically could it cause separation ?

It's already solid at room temp, so it shouldn't cause any problems. I bought a bucket of the stuff from BrambleBerry and broke it down to one gallon bags (which requires completely melting all 35 lbs of it down first). I just let it get to room temp before I re-melt it (I master batch) and I haven't had any issues.

 

[cmzaha]

How much did you buy and how is it packaged? If it is in a bucket you can just let it thaw out or cut out what you want to use from different areas of the bucket. If it is in one of their microwaveable bags you can thaw it in the mico and squish it around to mix it. When I did buy Palm in 35# buckets I never melted it down and repackaged I just scooped from different areas of the bucket. I now purchase Palm Shortening from a restaurant supply which is the same as no-stir palm oil.

Using over 30% palm oil does not cause problems in soap other than it traces faster, I use 40% in my vegan recipe.

 

[Misschief]

I can't see any issue with frozen fats. From what I've seen, freezing does not negatively affect fat. We freeze our butter all the time, with no adverse effects. Just let it sit at room temperature until it's thawed and use as you normally would.