Recipe #2!

[MysPhoenix]

Another "original recipe"! I think it was a success but it is definitely going to take time to cure, which I expected. I figured by making it now that come fall it'll be cured & ready!

Honey Pumpkin & Oatmeal Soap
(Shea Butter, Pumpkin Puree, Coconut Oil, Virgin Pumpkin Seed Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Sweet Almond Oil, Olive Oil, Oat Milk, Apricot Kernel Oil, Water, Raw Honey, Colloidal Oatmeal, Citric Acid, Kaolin Clay, Pure Organic Cane Sugar, Pumpkin Spice)

 

[lsg]

The color reminds me of pumpkin pie.

 

[MysPhoenix]

The color reminds me of pumpkin pie.

I am so geeked about the color! I had hopes it would come out pumpkin pie-like

 

[ResolvableOwl]

You are tempering your additions in a water bath to make them more agreeable to HP?

 

[MysPhoenix]

You are tempering your additions in a water bath to make them more agreeable to HP?

In the oven set on the lowest temp (165). Putting the mixing containers & the containers with the additives into a casserole dish makes it easier to bring them in and out and then I don't have any plastic (even though the plastic is meant to withstand high temps) resting directly on the oven rack. And yes, to make them more agreeable to HP. I've read that it's good to make the additives, containers, etc warm first.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Just looking at those cut bars, I can "mind-smell" pumpkin! Drool.

 

[ResolvableOwl]

Stupid question: where do you have the pumpkin from? Was it a conserve from the last season, or imported from the southern hemisphere?
I somehow refuse to buy pumpkins from Argentina or New Zealand. Not that they're worse, but I want to look forward to pumpkin season, and know it's a season that'll be over again. It just feels wrong to watch birds building nests in a blossoming wild rose hedge and to eat pumpkin soup at the same time.

 

[MysPhoenix]

Just looking at those cut bars, I can "mind-smell" pumpkin! Drool.

Mission Accomplished! Lol

Stupid question: where do you have the pumpkin from? Was it a conserve from the last season, or imported from the southern hemisphere?
I somehow refuse to buy pumpkins from Argentina or New Zealand. Not that they're worse, but I want to look forward to pumpkin season, and know it's a season that'll be over again. It just feels wrong to watch birds building nests in a blossoming wild rose hedge and to eat pumpkin soup at the same time.

Not a stupid question at all!

However, I used canned pumpkin from the store.

I think when I get pumpkins this fall I will freeze some guts for future use though! I think it would need to be sugar pumpkins like for making pie from scratch, which I do in the fall anyways so I will just get extra!

 

[Peachy Clean Soap]

Another "original recipe"! I think it was a success but it is definitely going to take time to cure, which I expected. I figured by making it now that come fall it'll be cured & ready!

Honey Pumpkin & Oatmeal Soap
(Shea Butter, Pumpkin Puree, Coconut Oil, Virgin Pumpkin Seed Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Sweet Almond Oil, Olive Oil, Oat Milk, Apricot Kernel Oil, Water, Raw Honey, Colloidal Oatmeal, Citric Acid, Kaolin Clay, Pure Organic Cane Sugar, Pumpkin Spice)

This looks & Sounds So Yummy For The Skin... WOW

MysPhoenix
What attributes does citric acid add to your soap?
Thank You.

 

[MysPhoenix]

This looks & Sounds So Yummy For The Skin... WOW

Thank you!!!

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Go

What attributes does citric acid add to your soap?

Not MysPhonix but you can check DeeAnna's Soapy Stuff. Scroll down to "Citric Acid" for a good explanation.

 

[MysPhoenix]

MysPhoenix
What attributes does citric acid add to your soap?
Thank You.

In the book I have on soaping (Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Hot Process Soap) it says that when citric acid is added to the lye solution it creates sodium citrate, which helps to prevent soap scum from hard water conditions & I read elsewhere it can help prevent DOS. The calc I use increases the lye amount to make up for the sodium citrate that is formed (soapmakingfriend).

I have family with hard water, and I'm hoping to do a few farmer's markets north of here in 2022 in areas with hard water so I felt adding it to my soaps would be a mindful move

 

[Peachy Clean Soap]

Go

Not MysPhonix but you can check DeeAnna's Soapy Stuff. Scroll down to "Citric Acid" for a good explanation.

Thx Wonderful informative link' she also explains how to calculate the amount needed as well.

In the book I have on soaping (Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Hot Process Soap) it says that when citric acid is added to the lye solution it creates sodium citrate, which helps to prevent soap scum from hard water conditions & I read elsewhere it can help prevent DOS. The calc I use increases the lye amount to make up for the sodium citrate that is formed (soapmakingfriend).

I have family with hard water, and I'm hoping to do a few farmer's markets north of here in 2022 in areas with hard water so I felt adding it to my soaps would be a mindful move

Thx' for your explanation' wonderful info.

 

[AliOop]

For some reason I missed this post before. Those bars indeed look just like some yummy pumpkin pie! And they will be well-cured right around harvest season, too.

I love the Ultimate Guide e-books and learned so much from all the science and practical tips Ashley provides! May I make one additional suggestion for you, @MysPhoenix? Your pics that show the batter in the crock show a lot of batter going up the sides. All of that will tend to get hard and overcooked very quickly.

Try to keep the sides scraped down well throughout most of the process. Then towards the end of the cook, stop scraping, since whatever is on the sides at that time is probably overcooked.

That way, you will avoid having overcooked chunks in the soap. They are often lighter in color and contribute to the very "rustic" HP look, with crevices, air pockets, etc. Of course, if that's the look you are going for, then never mind.

 

[MysPhoenix]

For some reason I missed this post before. Those bars indeed look just like some yummy pumpkin pie! And they will be well-cured right around harvest season, too.

I love the Ultimate Guide e-books and learned so much from all the science and practical tips Ashley provides! May I make one additional suggestion for you, @MysPhoenix? Your pics that show the batter in the crock show a lot of batter going up the sides. All of that will tend to get hard and overcooked very quickly. Try to keep the sides scraped down well throughout most of the process. Then towards the end of the cook, stop scraping, since whatever is on the sides at that time is probably overcooked.

That way, you will avoid having overcooked chunks in the soap. They are often lighter in color and contribute to the very "rustic" HP look, with crevices, air pockets, etc. Of course, if that's the look you are going for, then never mind.

Thank you so much for the tip! I will definitely start doing it that way

I only have her Hot Process book right now, and it is so helpful and super educational! I plan on purchasing the other two in the future.

 

[KiwiMoose]

We use pumpkin as a savoury vegetable here in NZ. Roasted with our roast meals, pumpkin soup (not soap, SOUP), in quiches, warm vegetable salad....
I made a pumpkin pie once (a la American Style) and everyone thought it was a bit weird. lol.

 

[ResolvableOwl]

That's unjust! You southerners have pumpkin season right now. Can't wait until the bright yellow/orange/green balls lie around on the fields around here too! But we'll have to wait until October…

(Archive material)

In my perception, sweet pumpkin recipes are something typical for the American kitchen. Pumpkin isn't quite as traditional here than there, but here it's also 99+% exclusively savoury. But they share their shadowy sweet-treat existence with other grossly unvervalued vegetables like carrots, zucchini, parsnip, beetroot, tomato etc.

 

[earlene]

We use pumpkin as a savoury vegetable here in NZ. Roasted with our roast meals, pumpkin soup (not soap, SOUP), in quiches, warm vegetable salad....
I made a pumpkin pie once (a la American Style) and everyone thought it was a bit weird. lol.

I agree with your family and friends, KiwiMoose, pumpkin pie can be weird. For the most part, it's far to sweet for my liking, especially when made per the recipe on the canned pumpkin so often found in stores here in the US.

When I was young, I only used fresh pumpkin to make pies when the traditional time for pumpkin pie came around, and I avoided the excessive sugar, too because I really don't like overly sweet stuff. Roasted pumpkin on its own is sweet enough for me.

And it does make a very nice soup. I also love pumpkin seed snacks (dried & roasted with seasoning). Cleaning them is a bit of a pain, but worth it for a tasty snack.

ETA: another use for pumpkin: apparently for cats (and humans as well), a little added to a meal will help alleviate constipation. I learned this after Kitty Baby's snake bite.

 

[Tara_H]

I don't even know where I'd get pumpkins for a pie around here, short of growing them myself! I made a pumpkin pie once in London; it was... fine. Basically a kind of custard pie but with some sweet pumpkin in the custard. Not something I'd really go out of my way for, tbh.
Generally pumpkins here are for Hallowe'en and that's basically it! They'd probably go in a curry or something similar as a next option, I guess.

 

[KiwiMoose]

I don't even know where I'd get pumpkins for a pie around here, short of growing them myself! I made a pumpkin pie once in London; it was... fine. Basically a kind of custard pie but with some sweet pumpkin in the custard. Not something I'd really go out of my way for, tbh.
Generally pumpkins here are for Hallowe'en and that's basically it! They'd probably go in a curry or something similar as a next option, I guess.

Yes curry and pumpkin are a match made in heaven! When i lived in London I saw they were selling a big crown pumpkin in the New Zealand shop for 25 POUNDS! SO funny when they grow like a weed here if you happen to get a few pumpkin seeds in your compost.
Anyway - back to the OP @MysPhoenix How much pumpkin puree did you use and did you deduct it from the total water amount? Mix the lye with less water and add the puree to the oils? Asking for a friend