I'm new here and I'm so confused. I have a bottle of oil and it says "Almond Sweet Oil" I don't know what exactly that means. Using a lye calculator the "Almond oil, sweet" has a different SAP value than "Sweet Almond Oil". What is the difference? I want to make sure I'm using the right amount of lye for my soap. Any help would be appreciated.
Help! Almond Oil, Sweet vs. Sweet Almond Oil
- Thread starter alkelle
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I thought they were one in the same....maybe not. I haven't used it in soap only in lipbalm and other B&B products. Now you have me wondering..
"Sweet almond oil" and "almond oil" and "almond oil, sweet" are one in the same thing. There is such a thing as bitter almond oil, but it is an essential oil used for flavoring or scent, not a "carrier oil" that you would use as a soaping fat.
According to Soapcalc.net, the NaOH saponification value of sweet almond oil is 0.139. According to the Majestic Mountain Sage calculator, the sap value is 0.1375. According to Brambleberry.com, it's 0.136.
Yes, the sap values I've quoted are all slightly different, but these numbers are close enough to be reasonable. Pick a calculator that you are comfortable with and don't obsess about slight differences. Sap values are variable for any given fat depending on genetics, weather, storage and handling, processing, etc. Recipe calculators have to find a happy average for each oil.
I have no idea why your recipe calculator shows two different values for the two different names, but I suspect that an oversight on the creator's part. Perhaps you should alert them to this issue.
According to Soapcalc.net, the NaOH saponification value of sweet almond oil is 0.139. According to the Majestic Mountain Sage calculator, the sap value is 0.1375. According to Brambleberry.com, it's 0.136.
Yes, the sap values I've quoted are all slightly different, but these numbers are close enough to be reasonable. Pick a calculator that you are comfortable with and don't obsess about slight differences. Sap values are variable for any given fat depending on genetics, weather, storage and handling, processing, etc. Recipe calculators have to find a happy average for each oil.
I have no idea why your recipe calculator shows two different values for the two different names, but I suspect that an oversight on the creator's part. Perhaps you should alert them to this issue.
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Lin
Well-Known Member
There is roasted almond oil in addition to sweet almond.
Thank you. I ended up just picking one and hoping for the best. I'm actually making liquid soap now and apparently I had bigger problems than the Almond oil. I used a lye calculator, plugged in my recipe, went and weighed my Olive Oil because I knew I might not have 11 oz which I only had 7.5 so I went back to the soap calc, chose a new soft oil plugged it in and went to work. It took forever for it to come together and I was happy when it did, I put down my stick blender, scraped the sides of the crock pot and gave it a final stir and it like magic it was instant gel. I thought I was cooking a little hot and used my infrared thermometer and the temp was fine so I let it cook. An hour later nothing changed, another hour still a Vaseline look but greasy/watery look so I let it cook with the lid half off thinking maybe I need to let some water evaporate out. Nothing changed. I went back to my computer replugged in my numbers and got a completely different lye amount. The soap calc I used was defaulted to solid soap and I didn't click liquid when I changed the oils so I was using the NAOH amount for the KOH :thumbdown:. Ugh, feeling defeated I weighed out the lye difference, threw it in the crock pot and it's cooking now. Hopefully it comes out okay because that's 2lbs of oil and hours of work. I learned an important lesson though, ALWAYS RECHECK YOUR RECIPE. So, I'll write it down next time, go back to the calculator and check again just to make sure nothing got unclicked, checked, misentered. Has anyone else done that? Will the soap paste turn out okay?
Roasted almond oil would be made from sweet almonds. The sap value should be the same.
Where 'n the heck do you find roasted almond oil, Lin?
Where 'n the heck do you find roasted almond oil, Lin?
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Lin
Well-Known Member
Whole foods lol. And at the time I wasn't sure how much of a difference there was. So I Googled on my phone (because the roasted was cheaper) and went with the regular sweet almond. I don't remember what I read at all at the time.
Thanks, Lin! My nearest Whole Foods is 4 hours away, so I'll have to wait until I get to the city. But it sounds interesting as a food oil.
Lin
Well-Known Member
I was there the other day to pick up some Walnut oil. I also noticed they have roasted hazelnut oil, and I wonder if that could be used in cosmetic products LOL. I'm an oil junky, I love trying out different ones on my skin for balms and butters. They had both regular and roasted walnut, so I got the regular walnut. I had passed on that one before and then I read something on swiftycraftymonkey (that I can't remember) that made me want to try it. Of course now I can't even remember where I put the little bottle.. It didn't make it to my supplies yet lol.
I lived in Austin Texas for a short while, and the Whole Foods there was AMAZING. I got super excited when I found out there was one here in Indy, but its about 1/6th the size haha. Still nice, its half an hour away by expressway (oppposite side of the city) so I only go when I'm already in the area for a Drs appointment. Its the closest place actually for this local organic yogurt thats to DIE for. And when I picked up the walnut, they were out of my fav flavor! So I bought a different one and its a bit disappointing. But it will be another month before I can go back so I decided to try this one.
http://www.tpforganics.com/yogurt/whole-milk-yogurt/
I lived in Austin Texas for a short while, and the Whole Foods there was AMAZING. I got super excited when I found out there was one here in Indy, but its about 1/6th the size haha. Still nice, its half an hour away by expressway (oppposite side of the city) so I only go when I'm already in the area for a Drs appointment. Its the closest place actually for this local organic yogurt thats to DIE for. And when I picked up the walnut, they were out of my fav flavor! So I bought a different one and its a bit disappointing. But it will be another month before I can go back so I decided to try this one.
http://www.tpforganics.com/yogurt/whole-milk-yogurt/
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