Opposites Pull Throughs

[Humblegoat]

Arghhhhh I didn’t leave headroom!! I got a smaller one out finally by standing on the can!! It’s been out of the freezer for 30 minutes.



I didn’t leave headroom! Damn! Got this far. Should I freeze again? Run hot water over the mold? Just leave it set for awhile?

Finally! I guess it is soapy beans for dinner tonight. Now I’m late and I don’t have time to get my soapamine fix!

It doesn't look like you lined it with freezer paper.

oh I sure didn’t. Several rookie mistakes that I hope to not repeat!! But it is how we learn. They were interesting. Here’s how they finally turned out. A couple of questions-my recipe was lard heavy 40/60 sat/unsat on advice of wild Plantica. 1. I didn’t put coloring in the regular batter, some soaps have white, others it is brown. The white was from the mold with less volume. Less heat generated with less volume?
2. I didn’t use goat milk (don’t tell Daisy Mae) as I was afraid it would burn the milk. Is it just gel that causes the brown? Do you use coloring for white to make sure it stays white, and will it really.
3. I used mica to color, they looked vivid in mixing, but was more muted than I had expected.
Any and all feedback would be appreciated. I don’t think it was too bad for a first trial, a couple are pretty awesome. I feel side pull is superior to center pull.
Thank you all for your help in my hour (literally) of need!!

 

[Humblegoat]

Well, you don't want it to defrost. The plan is to have condensation form inside due to the temperature change. So I'd refreeze it, take it out for 5-10 minutes, and then try banging it on the concrete. Even without headroom, you can probably get it out.

For future, some recipes do tend to release more easily than others. For me, those are the soaps high in saturated fats (lard, tallow). That may be because they harden sooner than many other oils, but I'm not entirely sure that's the only reason. Gelling the soap will also help because that also hardens it sooner. You can also line the molds to make it easier to get the soap out, but only if the soap doesn't leak through the seams of the liner (ask me how I know that one, lol). I've successfully used teflon oven liner sheets, cheap dollar store cutting mats, and freezer paper as cylinder mold liners.

@AliOop thanks for getting me through that! I would love to know your “learning experience” on lining the mold. I have a couple of options (I think), parchment paper? Or I have some laminated fiberglass that I am wondering if it would work well? Do you overlap in mold or butt it together?

 

[AliOop]

@AliOop thanks for getting me through that! I would love to know your “learning experience” on lining the mold. I have a couple of options (I think), parchment paper? Or I have some laminated fiberglass that I am wondering if it would work well? Do you overlap in mold or butt it together?

Your soaps turned out very pretty! Glad you were able to unmold them, finally.

Mostly I don't need to line my cylinder molds; my typical recipe is high in lard/tallow, gets completely gelled, and slides out easily using the freezer trick.

But I do have a high-OO recipe that I make for a friend. That one does require lining the mold, so that I don't lose my religion while trying to get it unmolded. My preference is something like these oven liner sheets, which I'm guessing are the same as the laminated fiberglass you referenced. You can also buy it in a single roll and cut that to fit. Whether I overlap the edges or butt the seams together, I do have to run some masking tape down the seam. Otherwise, the batter seeps out, making it more difficult to unmold. It also ruins the spherical shape, which can bother some people.

 

[Humblegoat]

Your soaps turned out very pretty! Glad you were able to unmold them, finally.

Mostly I don't need to line my cylinder molds; my typical recipe is high in lard/tallow, gets completely gelled, and slides out easily using the freezer trick.

But I do have a high-OO recipe that I make for a friend. That one does require lining the mold, so that I don't lose my religion while trying to get it unmolded. My preference is something like these oven liner sheets, which I'm guessing are the same as the laminated fiberglass you referenced. You can also buy it in a single roll and cut that to fit. Whether I overlap the edges or butt the seams together, I do have to run some masking tape down the seam. Otherwise, the batter seeps out, making it more difficult to unmold. It also ruins the spherical shape, which can bother some people.

Yes, I almost lost my religion on that one. Thanks for the info! It really is helpful. I’m going to try the laminated fiberglass and then look for additional options if that isn’t a breeze. My biggest challenge will be to cut it straight!!