Melting bulk oils?

[jodym]

I just purchased 50lb pails of coconut and palm oils. I have never melted the pail of oil and stirred b/4 measuring and never had a problem with my soap, but i am wondering if thats something i should/need to do? Whats your ideas on this? Thank you!!

 

[coffeetime]

Not coconut, but palm for sure. Palm tends to separate into levels that have different fatty acid concentrations. I put my 40lb bucket into a Rubbermaid tote and fill the tote with hot water to melt. Then I mix the oil well and scoop out a few 5lb buckets. Those are easier to melt in the sink.

 

[topofmurrayhill]

I just purchased 50lb pails of coconut and palm oils. I have never melted the pail of oil and stirred b/4 measuring and never had a problem with my soap, but i am wondering if thats something i should/need to do? Whats your ideas on this? Thank you!!

You can melt the palm oil once and mix it a few times while it's solidifying to make it more homogeneous. After that you can use the solid product if it congeals. In the summer you might find that it is at least partially liquid, in which case you can just give it a mix before using.

The whole issue with palm oil is overblown. When palm oil is fractionated commercially, they do a better job separating the solid from the liquid than you can ever do at home. They chill it and filter the solids out. Nonetheless, the most common initial liquid product is called palm olein 56, which is liquid at room temperature with a fatty acid profile similar enough to whole palm oil that you probably wouldn't notice the difference using it.

Realistically, you could completely ignore the separation of your palm oil in a big 50 lb pail and your soap would be okay. But I would give it a mix if possible and perhaps portion out more manageable amounts.

 

[Susie]

If you are going to melt the whole 50 lb block of palm, why not portion it out into 1 lb containers for future use so that you already have well mixed palm to use for recipes?