Red Palm Oil Test

[TheGecko]

The RPO I used was Nutiva Red Palm Oil that I purchased from Amazon; USDA Certified Organic, Non-GMO, Cold-Filtered, Unrefined, Fair Trade Ecuadorian.

I used my Regular Recipe (see below) substituting the PO with RPO at 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%. Sadly I didn't think to make an additional bar without RPO, but honestly given the slight differences, it really wouldn't have mattered. And I waited a couple of weeks to see if there would be any more discoloration, but no...hadn't changed at all.

Given some of the colors I have seen with RPO, it's obvious that not all RPO is equal. Given the lack of any significant color change, I can't see me using the RPO. I have two 15oz jars, one unopened, one with approximately 4 oz missing. If anyone would like them for the cost of shipping, let me know. Warning, I can be bad about getting stuff out.

35% Olive Oil
20% Coconut Oil
20% Palm Oil
10% Cocoa Butter
10% Shea Butter
5% Castor Oil

33% Lye Concentration
5% Super Fat

1 tea Sodium Lactate PPO
1 tea Kaolin Clay PPO

 

[Zany_in_CO]

The RPO I used was Nutiva Red Palm Oil

From that site:

• Red Palm Oil is a rich source of antioxidants, vitamin A, vitamin E, beta-carotene, tocotrienols, and tocopherols
• Ideal addition to Whole30, vegetarian, vegan, whole food, paleo-friendly, ketogenic, and gluten-free diets

I'm will to pay shipping but if t'were me, I would try cooking with it. Try some on toast, in scrambled eggs, topping for vegies, herbal "butter" on steak, gourmet small potatoes, oven baked french fries etc. etc. etc. !!!

I've also seen PKO + Palm (just those 2 ingredients) sold online as an expensive beauty treatment called "golden" something. I'll see if I can find the website. At least try a lotion bar, lotion, face cream, whatever frosts your cake, before giving it away.
It's a good thing.

 

[ResolvableOwl]

Those are beautiful colours! I'm astonished every time when I realise that this is NOT a colourant, but just what a “cheap” base oil looks like when it isn't subject to refinement. How do you like the smell? IMHO the smell/taste of red palm oil itself is an acquired taste, but in soap (especially in liquid soap) it brightens up to a lovely sweet floral scent.

So the absolute rates are 5% | 10% | 15% | 20%. I'm surprised as well that they hardly differ in colour. That includes the bright-but-not-blinding warm yellow for the 20%, but ALSO that the 5% gives essentially the same colour depth. Can't estimate which difference the kaolin makes, though.

Have you tested how they lather/if/how much they stain?

But I agree, colour depth is hit-and-miss at times. The strongest I had so far was an obscenely expensive organic oil from Congo. The West African (Nigeria, Ghana) brands that I get at the local Asian store, aren't even consistent among one brand, sometimes more yellow-brown, sometimes more red… I'd guess the health claims stay the same.

Like Zany has mentioned, you can still cook fabulous dishes with it. The West African and Brazilian (Azeite de dendê) cuisines are yours!

 

[TheGecko]

I'm will to pay shipping but if t'were me, I would try cooking with it. Try some on toast, in scrambled eggs, topping for vegies, herbal "butter" on steak, gourmet small potatoes, oven baked french fries etc. etc. etc. !!!

I've also seen PKO + Palm (just those 2 ingredients) sold online as an expensive beauty treatment called "golden" something. I'll see if I can find the website. At least try a lotion bar, lotion, face cream, whatever frosts your cake, before giving it away.
It's a good thing.

Never thought about cooking with it, we mainly use EVOO when we use any oil.

I did find an article that says that PKO can be used for 'skin lightening' and RPO is great for hair.

Those are beautiful colours! I'm astonished every time when I realise that this is NOT a colourant, but just what a “cheap” base oil looks like when it isn't subject to refinement. How do you like the smell? IMHO the smell/taste of red palm oil itself is an acquired taste, but in soap (especially in liquid soap) it brightens up to a lovely sweet floral scent.

So the absolute rates are 5% | 10% | 15% | 20%. I'm surprised as well that they hardly differ in colour. That includes the bright-but-not-blinding warm yellow for the 20%, but ALSO that the 5% gives essentially the same colour depth. Can't estimate which difference the kaolin makes, though.

Have you tested how they lather/if/how much they stain?

But I agree, colour depth is hit-and-miss at times. The strongest I had so far was an obscenely expensive organic oil from Congo. The West African (Nigeria, Ghana) brands that I get at the local Asian store, aren't even consistent among one brand, sometimes more yellow-brown, sometimes more red… I'd guess the health claims stay the same.

Like Zany has mentioned, you can still cook fabulous dishes with it. The West African and Brazilian (Azeite de dendê) cuisines are yours!

It smells like soap. I compared it with some other unscented test soaps and I don't smell any difference. I asked Mr Sensitive (aka hubby) and he said it smelled like plain soap. I opened the jar and it smells like...nothing really.

I just washed with the soap...I usually wait a minimum of four weeks before testing as new soap tends to be drying. I went ahead and used cool water and it lathered beautifully (it's one thing I love about my recipe). There is a little bit of dryness which I expect with new soap, but it's not bad and no where near what happens when I wash with commercial soap.

I grabbed a white dish towel, soaped up about a quarter of it and no staining at all. In fact, I had a coffee stain on the towel and it washed it clean.

I am noticing that the soap is still a bit soft...three other soaps I made the day after are all hard, but I can feel 'give' when I squeeze.

 

[ResolvableOwl]

Hrm. I could smell 20% red palm oil through 5 months of cure, a rebatch, and another few months of cure. Faint but still present. Also the oil itself has quite some “presence”, and I could notice it in tomato sauce (half/half with EVOO), and it was “too much of a good thing” at 10% in biscuits.

I have noticed too that the hardness/wear resistance of RBD palm oil is superior to the unrefined/red oil. But nothing as apparent as yours.

This all sounds as if your RPO is only “half of the truth”, optimised for “gringo palates” rather than up to the habits of those with palm fruit as a staple food. But then again, it's likely even harder to get that stuff with only the lowest denominator of sustainability certification .

 

[TheGecko]

Hrm. I could smell 20% red palm oil through 5 months of cure, a rebatch, and another few months of cure. Faint but still present. Also the oil itself has quite some “presence”, and I could notice it in tomato sauce (half/half with EVOO), and it was “too much of a good thing” at 10% in biscuits.

I have noticed too that the hardness/wear resistance of RBD palm oil is superior to the unrefined/red oil. But nothing as apparent as yours.

This all sounds as if your RPO is only “half of the truth”, optimised for “gringo palates” rather than up to the habits of those with palm fruit as a staple food. But then again, it's likely even harder to get that stuff with only the lowest denominator of sustainability certification .

If you want me to smell weed, natural gas and chocolate...that I can do, but most oils and butters just smell like oil and butter.

Well hon, I live in the US, it's a melting pot so just about everything is "beige".

 

[Zany_in_CO]

In fact, I had a coffee stain on the towel and it washed it clean.

Good to know!

 

[Garden Gives Me Joy]

I am noticing that the soap is still a bit soft...three other soaps I made the day after are all hard, but I can feel 'give' when I squeeze.

@TheGecko , how have these soaps hardened over these 6 months when compared with each other and your usual version without red palm oil?

 

[TheGecko]

@TheGecko , how have these soaps hardened over these 6 months when compared with each other and your usual version without red palm oil?

Interesting that you should ask since I had completely forgotten about them,

All four are just has hard as my regular soap. And despite just hanging out on my soap cart in kitchen, three of them still smell like soap, one smells a bit like BRV from getting a dime-sized splash from the Wedding Soaps. What is ‘interesting’ is the color….all four were sitting on their sides in a dish of soap scraps…all the sides exposed to the air are lighter in color.

 

[Ellacho]

Wow, the color is beautiful!

 

[Obsidian]

Have you noticed a difference in lather color between the different percentages?
I had some red palm and even 10% would produce brilliant yellow lather. Luckly it didn't stain but it was weird to use

 

[Kaolin washer]

I would reduce the coconut oil to 5% and lift the olive oil to 50% and it will not be as drying,