Is it mostly calcium? calcium malate? That’s all I could come up with online. If so, I think it might cause soap scum or use up some of your NaOH. disclaimer: not a chemist!
Maple sugar sand
- Thread starter Servant4Christ
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Oh wow. Guess I'll go do some research.
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Ok I found this. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230453104_The_Chemical_Composition_of_Maple_Sugar_Sand
@DeeAnna Could you weigh in on this? Will this cause a problem in soap if I add it the same as I would pumice?
@DeeAnna Could you weigh in on this? Will this cause a problem in soap if I add it the same as I would pumice?
Easiest way to find out is to do an experiment with your particular sand.
Either NaOH (bar) soap or KOH (liquid) soap is fine, but it has to be really truly lye-based soap not a syndet cleanser. And ~distilled~ water is important too -- don't use water from the tap even if it goes through a filter. The soap and water mix should be clear pretty much like plain water.
Stir some of your maple sugar sand into the soapy water and let it sit long enough so any undissolved solids have time to settle out. If the soapy water is remains clear, the dissolved portion of the maples sugar sand hasn't reacted with the soap. If the water becomes cloudy, the sand has reacted with the soap.
Either NaOH (bar) soap or KOH (liquid) soap is fine, but it has to be really truly lye-based soap not a syndet cleanser. And ~distilled~ water is important too -- don't use water from the tap even if it goes through a filter. The soap and water mix should be clear pretty much like plain water.
Stir some of your maple sugar sand into the soapy water and let it sit long enough so any undissolved solids have time to settle out. If the soapy water is remains clear, the dissolved portion of the maples sugar sand hasn't reacted with the soap. If the water becomes cloudy, the sand has reacted with the soap.
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
@Zany_in_CO That is the same link I posted above, I just don't know how to do it the same way you do! 
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
Magic!I just don't know how to do it the same way you do!
NaOH bar soap is the plan. So if I'm reading your post correctly, I can just grab a bar of my cured soap and lather up in some distilled water and stir a bit of maple sand in it and allow it to settle in order to see if the sand and soap react? What will this tell me in regard to if the sand will cause soap scum? Sorry, I'm under the weather and not thinking at 100% today.
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If the liquid turns cloudy that tells you the sand has enough free calcium (or other minerals) to react with the soap and form soap scum. If you see that, it probably isn't the best idea to use your particular sand in soap making.
Thank you! I'm going to warm up some distilled water and lather up right now!
Whoa! I microwaved a pint jar half filled with distilled water for 1 minute. Then, I dropped in a fully cured bar of ZNSB for 1 minute and pulled it back out. The water was soapy, but clear. I proceeded to add a half tsp of sugar sand and the water instantly went a bit cloudy and the sand mostly fell to the bottom of the jar same as it always does in water. So then, I gave it all a quick stir with a stainless butter knife to incorporate and it turned opaque bright white! I'm waiting to see if the sand separates back out and if the water goes back to clear or not. I love this kind of science!
Glad you did a little "kitchen chemistry" today -- well done, you! 
Well, for the sake of curiosity, I repeated the exact same process with powdered pumice and have a very similar (cloudy) reaction. I'm waiting for it to settle now. Could the ZNSB soap made with faux seawater be the cause of this reaction? 
I think I'll do the same test with a non-saltwater bar soap.
I think I'll do the same test with a non-saltwater bar soap.
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I repeated the earlier experiment using the exact same process with my coconut dish soap that I used distilled water to make.
When I checked 2 hrs later, the pumice was on the bottom of the jar. The maple sugar sand looked like curdled separated milk on the bottom-ish of the jar and the water was clear.
I will not be using the maple sugar sand as a soaping ingredient based on these findings. Thank you, @DeeAnna !
When I checked 2 hrs later, the pumice was on the bottom of the jar. The maple sugar sand looked like curdled separated milk on the bottom-ish of the jar and the water was clear.
I will not be using the maple sugar sand as a soaping ingredient based on these findings. Thank you, @DeeAnna !
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Squeakie
Member
So
I'm late to this thread, but it came up when I was searching for something else, lol
We also make Maple Syrup (see my profile pic), and I've never thought about using nitre in soap, but totally get why you'd want to use EVERY LAST BIT of what we do as 'sugarers' because, well, it's a LOT of work!
It did get me thinking about using Maple Syrup as a sugar source in one of my recipes. I regularly use sugar to increase bubbles, and I've used honey (turned soap an amber color due to scorching), and I was searching about using powdered sugar when this thread came up.
If I do use Maple Syrup as a sugar source (it's about the same sugar content as table sugar), should I expect it to color the soap as honey does? And I would use late season syrup, which is really dark to begin with. This isn't a bad thing for the soap I'm thinking of - a favorite 'Warm Spice' soap - which I don't mind taking on an amber/dark amber color. I'm thinking Maple Syrup won't scorch like honey can because it's a high heat product to begin with?
Thoughts?
I'm late to this thread, but it came up when I was searching for something else, lol
We also make Maple Syrup (see my profile pic
), and I've never thought about using nitre in soap, but totally get why you'd want to use EVERY LAST BIT of what we do as 'sugarers' because, well, it's a LOT of work!It did get me thinking about using Maple Syrup as a sugar source in one of my recipes. I regularly use sugar to increase bubbles, and I've used honey (turned soap an amber color due to scorching), and I was searching about using powdered sugar when this thread came up.
If I do use Maple Syrup as a sugar source (it's about the same sugar content as table sugar), should I expect it to color the soap as honey does? And I would use late season syrup, which is really dark to begin with. This isn't a bad thing for the soap I'm thinking of - a favorite 'Warm Spice' soap - which I don't mind taking on an amber/dark amber color. I'm thinking Maple Syrup won't scorch like honey can because it's a high heat product to begin with?
Thoughts?
I've used maple syrup; just like molasses, it was even more of a heater than honey. Both of them also colored my soap a light brown, and both gave the unscented soap a lightly sweet scent.
