orange peel zest

[tady66]

I was wondering if anyone has ever used orange zest in your cp soap. I'm wondering if it should be dried first or just throw it in raw. If cucumber can go in raw, do you think the raw zest should be ok also.

 

[shunt2011]

I've used dried orange peel but it's kind of scratchy. I have not used fresh peel. Not sure if it might be more subject to spoiling or not.

 

[Obsidian]

I've used dried. It's really scratchy and turned brown, didn't like it at all.

 

[Kittish]

I used ground dried orange peel in my first batch of soap. It turned brown almost right away, and like others have said gives the soap a really scratchy feel. I wouldn't try to use fresh, you'd be looking at the same sorts of problems people have when they try to add things like flower buds into their soap. They turn into mouse turds in soap, with only one or two exceptions.

 

[JuliaNegusuk]

I was surprised at these responses and ran upstairs to inspect my latest bar of orange soap complete with ground orange peel and a quarter slice of orange on top. Brown? Hmmm - maybe, or just dark orange - what's the difference? In my orange coloured soap (using 5 fold orange oil) it just looks like darker spots of orange. I also don't find it particularly scratchy. Madder root and rosemary leaves are scratchy. I guess it is all personal choice. I use orange peel in my soap to add a bit to the colour, provide a bit of texture, and I also mix my essential oils into it before adding to the final mixture. I have this theory that this helps "grab" the orange aroma and hold it in the soap. I couldn't conclusively say whether it does or not, but I have noticed my soaps do revive in use if they lose their scent in storage but this might happen anyway.

If you want a more intense orange colour without orange peel I have successfully used paprika. You can add at trace, but it will speckle the soap, I don't think it is very scratchy as its too fine. Or I have successfully added to the lye and sieved out prior to mixing with the oils. Gives a stronger slightly pinky orange more intense than just using folded oils. You only need a small amount. I think I used about a teaspoon to 600g oils weight so probably less than 1%

 

[earlene]

I've never used orange peel itself, but what I have noticed that one person's 'scratchy' is not the same as another person's 'scratchy'. Part of that is the sensitivity of ones skin to certain stimuli. And which skin of the body (tender lady parts vs rough soles of the feet, for example) the particular scratchy/non-scratchy soap is used to clean. Part of this is probably related to age-related skin changes as well. And of course other factors, such as the condition of the additive, for example finely grated/ground vs. roughly grated/ground.

 

[Obsidian]

So true and how the peel is prepared makes a difference too. The store bought dried peel for cooking has more of the actual white peel which is quite hard. If you make your own zest with a micro plane, you will get a much softer, gentler additive. I actually used some lemon and lime zest in soap today, it was pretty fine and made a nice speckled look.

 

[SunRiseArts]

I make my own, and mine did not turn brown.

I peel the skin of the orange making sure no white parts are on it. Put it on a baking sheet and place it for 30 minutes on very low heat in the over. Maybe 170 Fahrenheit.

Let cool and the next day put it on my blender and make the dust out of it. I have used in on the top and in the batter with no problems.

 

[tady66]

wow thanks everyone for the response. I think I'll try raw and only the orange part of the peel. I'll let you all know how it turns out. might be a good one for hp soap, something I'd like to try.

 

[Samanvitha]

I tried the raw peel ground into a fine paste and it smells wonderful, but now I'm worried if it would go mouldy over time. Fingers crossed!