Pokeweed Berries for a Deep Fuscia Red

[hmlove1218]

Here's a comparison of the gelled vs ungelled soap. Yes. The color shift in the gelled soap was intended as I was experimenting with the juice at trace. I poured a layer, added .5 ounce of juice to my batter, poured another layer, then added .5 ounce to the final layer. Only the first and last layers really show up. The ungelled soap was poured from the same batter as the last layer.

ETA: Attached a picture of the side of the loaf where you can see the attempted gradient better. I'll see how it cures out.

Never mind. Here's the picture. Can't attach it above for some reason

 

[FreeBird]

I've done some Pokeweed fests around the south and have had some repeat orders for it soon after altho I only offer it at the specific festivals. It's not part of my regular stock. Makes a really good bar of soap. I use a tea made from the leaves.

 

[CTAnton]

just came back from a plant sale in PA....the other addiction!
With that said I purchased a Hypericum variety from one of the vendors and did some research before planting making sure I'm giving it the best shot at life. It appears that the yellow flowers yield a red dye when crushed...
My plant is too young to be blooming this year and my other hypericum is small as well...BTW the common name is St John's wort...I bring it up because this is the time of year that it blooms so any of you fellow plant nuts that might have St. john's wort in their garden can give this a whirl....
Also pertinent to this thread is that awhile ago I started an infusion of dyer's chamomile in olive oil. Two weeks into the process the olive oil is a strong orange that will likely yield a pretty strong yellow when all is said and done...can't imagine how much more color saturated the oil will become given the additional month I plan on infusing it...time will tell!
Soap on!

 

[tbeck3579]

I went out to pick berries yesterday and the storm we had knocked the ripe ones off. I should have picked sooner but I was busy with the bees. The honey and beeswax is a priority -- I still am bottling the stuff -- big job. Weeds being what they are there plenty more will ripen soon. I let the hedgerow grow whatever it wants, including invasive pokeweed -- also have some nice berries on the barberry. I get so many critters and butterflies by leaving natural areas natural.

I think I will add 20% glycerin to the juice then adding the dye at trace. It may mess up the soap? Who knows? The yellow/orange color in the lye water made the soap look like honey was added and I love that color.

 

[tbeck3579]

We are expecting more thunderstorms today so I decided I had better go pick a few before they get knocked to the ground. It didn't take many to get a lot of juice. Now I need to find time to make the soap.

 

[CTAnton]

2 other choices of plant materials I'm going to try for a natural colorant...shiso or perilla is a fast growing annual here with green or purple leaves...the Japanese use it to color their pickles...the other is Amaranth...a friend has a dark purple leafed variety that I'm going over to harvest later ...
personally I'm a lot leery over the pokeweed as a colorant with it being so poisonous: yes you can consume it early in the season but I can't imagine risking ANY possible side effects when there's got to be other more viable choices..
Soap on!

 

[tbeck3579]

I got the same color. Pretty but a little pink would have been nice. My favorite naturals are still cinnamon and black walnut. The black walnut looks a little lavender with a smaller amount.

 

[zolveria]

Red In Nature

THE MOST COVETED COLOR IS RED Lipstick Red. Something that really does not occur in nature naturally.

The second most coveted thing in the world is Everlasting Life.

Black is another Color that is not natural in Living nature.
only when burning ash rock etc. and is also wanted

 

[reinbeau]

Just remember that the juice will stain you and your clothes. I used to get it all over me when I was a kid, it had to wear off.

Really? We used to have whip wars with those berries and it came right off in the bath/laundry.

 

[tbeck3579]

I'm a lot leery over the pokeweed as a colorant with it being so poisonous: yes you can consume it early in the season but I can't imagine risking ANY possible side effects when there's got to be other more viable choices..
Soap on!

I understand being leery of plants with big poison labels glaring at me. Before I started studying plants for medicinal and herbal qualities I was terrified to use them. I thought I was going to kill myself. Pokeberry dye was used commercially to color our food! We ate it! If you think about it, lye is poison and much worse than pokeweed. If you drink lye it'll burn you from the inside out -- argh the thought! Have you ever got a couple of granules of lye on your hands? Ouch!!! I got berry juice on me and nothing happened. Without a mordant pokeberry dye is NOT colorfast -- meaning it will wash out. I simply can't imagine washing a child's mouth out with lye soap. Or how about getting soap in your eyes? Common sense alone, without the benefit of science and experience, should tell me not to rub anything with lye on my skin. I should be using the pokeberry root or some other plant containing saponins for soap -- that is if I were to disregard science and use only common sense. It's funny how we have been brain washed to believe actual poisons (man made chemicals) are "safe" but plants aren't. We use harsh man made chemicals to kill parasites inside our bodies, and our animals bodies. We (westerners) think that is okay, but a tincture of black walnut juice (free, no profit for pharm) isn't? The East vs West mind set. The corporate pharm giants... Sigh... Okay, enough politics -- getting back to my land and loving it mindset

 

[kchaystack]

I simply can't imagine washing a child's mouth out with lye soap. Or how about getting soap in your eyes?

But as you know, if made correctly, soap has no lye in it anymore. It has all reacted with the oils or the air to make other compunds.

It is possible the same is true of these berries, whatever the original composition was, the lye reacted with it and changed it. Especially if it is acidic.

 

[Arthur Dent]

Really? We used to have whip wars with those berries and it came right off in the bath/laundry.

Well, that's the way I remember it from when I was a kid. I have made more than a few trips around the sun since then, maybe I have confused it with something else.
Lots of great info in this thread by the way, food for thought.

 

[Wilda]

Do all berries turn green? I have mulberries, dew berries, elder berries and blue berries growing here. If purple turns green, does anything turn purple?

But as you know, if made correctly, soap has no lye in it anymore. It has all reacted with the oils or the air to make other compunds.

It is possible the same is true of these berries, whatever the original composition was, the lye reacted with it and changed it. Especially if it is acidic.

Good question. I’m wondering if some of the water could be added at trace, which in this case would be the purple juice?

 

[artemis]

Do all berries turn green?

They end up a sort of tan color. Even that green in the pictures will likely end up a tan. If you search the forum for natural color, you will find a lot of info on what keeps it's color longest.