PPO, TOW, TFW???

[KiwiMoose]

@DeeAnna has raised a good point in a recent thread. There is a shift from using the term PPO (per pound of oil) to TOW (total oil weight) recently.
"Technically speaking it should be Total Fat Weight (since 'oil' implies just liquid oils and excludes butters and other hard fats)." claims our DeeAnna (paraphrased).
We should try and make this a 'thing'!
TFW!
You saw it here first!
Discuss...

 

[AliOop]

I'm feeling a little "fat-shamed" right now...


Seriously, I could go with TFW, although if you check certain texting dictionaries, it can be understood to mean "too kitten-love weird." Something to keep in mind.

 

[Obsidian]

I feel they mean different things and are not really interchangeable

 

[earlene]

I don't like TOW, nor do I like TFW. And I have not been fond of PPO either, although it is so very common, so at least I understand it. But because I always have to convert to grams, I tend to avoid it when possible.

I do have my own little shorthand that I use, and have done since I was in school, much of it a combination of symbols & acronyms from science, chemistry, biology, Nursing (school & practice), and various other life & career influences, now including soap-making. It all gets mixed together sometimes in my note-taking processes and I don't really expect anyone would necessarily understand some of my hand-written notes these days.

So when I type, I do try to spell it out, although there are times, I take the easier short way by putting in the acronyms or revert to my own shorthand, which probably does make it difficult for others to understand. When we do that, using something that is not generally known to everyone, we end up getting questions like, "What does xyz mean?" It happens here at SMF so often even with the oft used acronyms, including those on the Acronym & Abbreviations Definitions thread but the self-shorthand ones that people sometimes use, only creates more confusion.

Incidentally, @KiwiMoose, one U.S. pound is 453 grams, so for me PPO is per 450 grams, so you and I would be weighing or measuring slightly differently. (Reference to your last post in the other thread.)

 

[BWt]

@DeeAnna has raised a good point in a recent thread. There is a shift from using the term PPO (per pound of oil) to TOW (total oil weight) recently.
"Technically speaking it should be Total Fat Weight (since 'oil' implies just liquid oils and excludes butters and other hard fats)." claims our DeeAnna (paraphrased).
We should try and make this a 'thing'!
TFW!
You saw it here first!
Discuss...

Never thought I could get so excited about total fat weight normally this type of talk means buying larger sizes! Seriously as a new soap making person the terms do mean a lot to me. Thank you for exposing TFW.

 

[Marsi]

Discuss...

M for Mass is even more technically correct
(Weight is relative ...)

TFM (Total Fat Mass) reminds me of the Adipose from Dr Who

TOW is not perfect, but it looks good and is easy to remember ... and for me, at a glance TFW reads as Kitten Love

 

[DeeAnna]

M for Mass is even more technically correct
(Weight is relative ...)

Except that the scales we use really do measure weight, not mass, so weight really is the correct term to use. If they measured mass, our scales would work in zero gravity, and they don't.

***

I'm not proposing anyone use TFW as an acronym for total fat weight. Even I don't use this acronym (or TOW or PPO) when I share here. Instead I generally spell it all out (% based on total weight of fats) rather than use shorthand. Or if I do use an acronym, I do my best to also fully define it first.

Percentages based on total weight of fats is essentially the same as the "baker's percentage" where the amounts of other ingredients in a recipe are based on the total weight of flours.

I'll say, however, that a fair number of acronyms that have a "vanilla" meaning also have a non-vanilla meaning as well. But one could argue TWF (total weight of fat) is another valid acronym.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Should we also consider Per Oil Weight (POW) and Per Fat Weight (PFW)? Just kidding All I know is that I’m not going back to PPO.

 

[TheGecko]

There is a shift from using the term PPO (per pound of oil) to TOW (total oil weight) recently.

Whether I use PPO or TOW, the results are exactly the same for me so what is the benefit to changing the term? And what exactly is the weight/percentage of 1 tea of Mica, or 1 tea of Rose Clay or 1 tea of Sodium Lactate? How much does an 'ml' weigh?

If I was a commercial enterprise under strict regulations, I could see the sense of a rigid standard, but I make soap out of my kitchen. I have a recipe for bath salts that calls for 3 ml of Poly 80 per 8oz...it was a simple matter to go online and figure out that I need 2.02884 (2 ) fl oz per 10 lbs. I would covert it to weight, but then I would need to know that the Specific Gravity of Poly 80 is. And therein lie the rub...if we're going to use physical weight as a strict measurement, then we would need to know the the specific gravity of everything.

@DeeAnna has raised a good point in a recent thread. "Technically speaking it should be Total Fat Weight (since 'oil' implies just liquid oils and excludes butters and other hard fats)." claims our DeeAnna (paraphrased).

I kind of have to agree/disagree. Speaking solely for myself, oils are Oils...doesn't mater if they are Soft Oils or Hard Oils or are technically a wax like Jojoba Oil. A butter is not an oil, else it would be called an oil...like Cocoa Oil or Shea Oil or Mango Oil. It's why I often use "Oils/Butters" when describing my recipe because it contains both. When it comes to Lard and Tallow...those are 'fats' because the are derived from the physical fat of the animal and to describe my Lard recipe I would use "Oils/Fats".

​

 

[Marsi]

Except that the scales we use really do measure weight, not mass, so weight really is the correct term to use. If they measured mass, our scales would work in zero gravity, and they don't.

It was a joke.
(Dr Who's Adipose didn't give it away?)

 

[AliOop]

Should we also consider Per Oil Weight (POW) and Per Fat Weight (PFW)? Just kidding All I know is that I’m not going back to PPO.

I like POW!

 

[Relle]

I like POW!

Now, we're getting into Batman. hehe

 

[earlene]

We need the graphic!

 

[DeeAnna]

It was a joke.
(Dr Who's Adipose didn't give it away?)

Nope. Not a Dr Who fan.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Should we also consider Per Oil Weight (POW) and Per Fat Weight (PFW)? Just kidding All I know is that I’m not going back to PPO.

But I like PPO - it's what I 'grew up with' as a soap maker.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

But I like PPO - it's what I 'grew up with' as a soap maker.

And if you continue to use it, I will know that you mean 500 g .