Fruit 'n' Veg

[KiwiMoose]

After seeing @Mobjack Bay's soaps in the Photo Gallery, it has prompted a bit of discussion around using fruit and vegetables in soap.

Common ones are pumpkin, cucumber, avocado, carrot...

What have you used, and with what outcome? Benefits to soap? And to make a true puree did you need to cook some items first (carrot for example?) I'd be worried about lumps turning rancid if it wasn't thoroughly pureed.

 

[Obsidian]

I've used cucumber and carrot but I juiced them and used the juice, not puree.

I didn't notice anything as far as benefits but the carrot did give a nice light orange that faded to a buttery yellow.

I've also infused oil with dehydrate carrots, made a beautiful orange oil that is easy to work with. Need to make more for a face oil.

Carrot oil is prone to overheating, the cucumber is not. The cucumber may have added a tiny bit of lather boosting.

 

[Relle]

I've used pureed carrot, no probs, only added about 2 tblsps. I added the carrot to amount that I coloured orange, I had other colours in it as well. I make a 'bunny' inspired soap, so add fo's to match.

 

[user 29721]

I used celery juice. Great green color that eventually brows as the soap cures.

 

[Keaton]

I make a 'bunny' inspired soap, so add fo's to match.

That sounds adorable! I can't seem to DM you, so I'm sorry for being a little off-topic in this thread: do you sell the bunny soap online?

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I prefer to infuse organics in the oil to make not just soap but other products (lotion, lip balm, salve, liquid shampoo) as well. Here's a link to how I make Carrot Tissue Oil:
https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/zanys-miy-carrot-tissue-oil.73970/

"Cool as a Cucumber Soap" - I've use the whole cuke sans seeds -- they really get scratchy. The green color from the peel is nice; using just the pulp -- no seeds or peelings -- is best in terms of scratchiness. Cucumber is said to be good for the skin.
See Anne Watson's sage advice here:
http://www.annelwatson.com/soapmaking/creative/June/cucumbersoap.html

Avocado -- I use just the pulp blended into the batch that includes avocado oil as well. To my mind at least, avocado is one of the nicest oils to use on the the skin. Creamy & soothing.

"Cream of Tomato Soap" - Good for facial soap. High in vitamin A and antioxidants. I used tomato paste straight from the tin. Turns a nice warm shade of brown.
This soap is made using dried tomato... prettier red color than mine.
https://www.herbariasoap.com/tomato-surprise-soap.html

to make a true puree did you need to cook some items first (carrot for example?) I'd be worried about lumps turning rancid if it wasn't thoroughly pureed.

If using puree, I would recommend buying (all natural, organic optional) baby food to save time and trouble. TIP: Remember to SB for one full minute when adding to your warmed oils before adding the lye solution to make sure it's fully incorporated into the soap.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I’ve used pumpkin (canned purée), cooked carrot purée and raw cucumber purée. I’m calling what I made purées because I used a blender to break the veggies down, but cucumber has a very high water content and was at thick juice consistency. In all cases I used the purées as a replacement for part of my water. My pumpkin soap lathers nicely early on, but it’s too early to tell if the soap has any special qualities.

 

[KiwiMoose]

The only place I can get pumpkin puree in a can here is in the international aisle at the supermarket - it's American Costs more than buying an entire pumpkin ( but a hell of a lot easier than chopping it!)
Baby food sounds like a good easy option thank you @Zany_in_CO

Can we do potato? Sweet potato? Zucchini? Just wonderin'.

 

[Amonik]

The only place I can get pumpkin puree in a can here is in the international aisle at the supermarket - it's American Costs more than buying an entire pumpkin ( but a hell of a lot easier than chopping it!)
Baby food sounds like a good easy option thank you @Zany_in_CO

Can we do potato? Sweet potato? Zucchini? Just wonderin'.

What I do for pumpkin purée (haven’t used it in soap, but for cakes): I bake the whole pumpkin until it’s really soft. Then it’s easy to cut open and scrape the flesh off the skin, and chuck it in the blender.

 

[Dawni]

I regularly make a rice soap. That count?

I've also made banana soap. It's somewhere here, gotta find it. I added puree to my oils coz I was worried it might spoil if I added it after my cook.

My next experiments will be other local fruits.. Mangoes, tomatoes, guavas and I plan to tackle citrus fruits after some more research.

 

[Relle]

That sounds adorable! I can't seem to DM you, so I'm sorry for being a little off-topic in this thread: do you sell the bunny soap online?

No, sorry, it's more for people I know here who like bunnies that I give it too. Would cost an arm and a leg to post to the US anyway.

 

[KiwiMoose]

I found this which seems interesting:https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-...ricks/how-to-add-purees-to-cold-process-soap/

I use Aloe vera juice as my full water content in soap, and I understand you can do the same with cucumber juice/puree.

How about with an apple puree, carrot or pumpkin puree? Just substitute say, 100g of water for 100g of puree? How much puree is too much puree? Is up to half the water content OK?

 

[Relle]

Haven't a clue, how much is too much, don't forget that carrot and apple are high in sugar, pumpkin too. I do remember one batch I did was on the edge of getting squishy as I added it in on top of the liquid content..
I just wing it sometimes .

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I found this which seems interesting:https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-...ricks/how-to-add-purees-to-cold-process-soap/

I use Aloe vera juice as my full water content in soap, and I understand you can do the same with cucumber juice/puree.

How about with an apple puree, carrot or pumpkin puree? Just substitute say, 100g of water for 100g of puree? How much puree is too much puree? Is up to half the water content OK?

For my pumpkin soap, I used pumpkin to replace 1/3 of the water. For the recent batches with carrot and cucumber, I used the purées for 1/2 of the water. Here’s one of the threads I read before I made my pumpkin soap.

https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/pumpkin-puree-soap.64602/

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Here’s a Lovely Greens recipe for carrot soap where she uses the carrot purée as part of the liquid with the lye.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Here’s a Lovely Greens recipe

Love her! As far as gardening goes, I'm a voyeur. My gardening days are long gone. Now I like to watch! She makes pretty soaps too.

 

[dibbles]

One of Amy Warden's recent challenges was using food and drink ingredients in one soap. The guideline for adding puree was up to 1 part puree to 8 parts oils. So if you have 16 ounces of oils, you would add up to 2 ounces of puree (taken from the liquid amount for the lye solution).

I've used carrots, avocado, mango, banana, blueberry and cucumber. I don't have a juicer, so when I used the cucumber, I strained the puree. It was a very pretty green colored juice so I may have pureed the skins since I was straining it anyway. I really don't remember. And no, the green color did not stay green.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Here’s a pic of a two year old cucumber soap where the green color has held.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I’m making more cucumber soap today, so I thought I would take a photo of the purée. The purée in the bowl is still frothy from being in the food processor*. You should be able to see the bits of peel in the spoonful I spread out on a piece of cardboard to the right. DI water can be added to make the purée thinner and allow you to blend it smoother more quickly. It should also be possible to strain the purée to get just the juice, but I haven’t tried it.
* in other posts I mentioned using a blender, but it’s actually a mini food processor