Rice/potato soap makers:

[Guspuppy]

When using rice water to make your lye water, do you still add anything else like sugar or salt? I made a bunch of rice yesterday and want to try the rinse water. Is it 100% of the water needed or just partial?

 

[Anstarx]

If you are just using rice water, you can just use it the same way you use plain water. You can certainly add sugar or salt for their own properties but they are not necessary.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I would do it without first of all to see what the benefits of the rice water are. Starches and sugars aren't a million miles away from eachother, so adding sugar to a starchy water might be putting in too much of a good thing and have the same effect as adding too much sugar to the recipe

 

[Guspuppy]

I would do it without first of all to see what the benefits of the rice water are. Starches and sugars aren't a million miles away from eachother, so adding sugar to a starchy water might be putting in too much of a good thing and have the same effect as adding too much sugar to the recipe

That's what I was thinking about the sugar! I usually add salt for hardening, wasn't sure if I'd still need that but I think I read that rice bars were super hard. That might have been @Dawni's triple rice though. I read a lot of threads. I want to try just the water first though, not the triple rice.

 

[Dawni]

I have experimented with not using all three rice ingredients and yes, it's the triple one that's the hardest, with the one just having the rice water the "softest."

As for sugar n salt.. I'll have to go back to check my notes if I've tried any of my rice soaps without either or both.

 

[Misschief]

When I make mine, I don't add any extra sugar, salt, or sodium lactate. As The Gent said, sugars and starches aren't a million miles apart. The bars harden up quite nicely. I do use the rice water (be warned, it will thicken up with the addition of the lye), cooked rice slurry, and rice starch.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

When I make mine, I don't add any extra sugar, salt, or sodium lactate.

DITTO. For the same reasons @The Efficacious Gentleman mentioned.

 

[Johnez]

Here is a dumb question that I haven't seen addressed-does the starch in potatoes or rice contribute anything that sugar wouldn't?

 

[Misschief]

I have found that the rice soap has a lovely, creamy lather. I attribute that to the starches.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

the starch in potatoes or rice contribute anything that sugar wouldn't?

Back in the day, I tried pasta water as well as potato water and rice water. Of the three, I liked the rice water well enough to use it again. I agree with @Misschief, it has a distinctive lovely, creamy lather that feels nice on the skin.

I've never used sugar in any of my CP soaps so I can't speak to that.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Sugar is used to add "ooompf" to the bubbles, but I'm not sure about creaminess as such

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I'm not sure about creaminess as such

Sometime when you have nothing better to do, try making CP with rice water. I recognized @Misschief 's description as the same feeling I had about the CP I made with rice water. Lovely stuff.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Sometime when you have nothing better to do, try making CP with rice water. I recognized @Misschief 's description as the same feeling I had about the CP I made with rice water. Lovely stuff.

I might well do a batch one time. But for clarification, I was pointing out (or trying to!) that I wasn't aware of any creaminess from adding sugar in the same way that the rice water adds creaminess

 

[Misschief]

I might well do a batch one time. But for clarification, I was pointing out (or trying to!) that I wasn't aware of any creaminess from adding sugar in the same way that the rice water adds creaminess

Agreed. Sugar is for bubbles, rice water isn't.

 

[Dawni]

Here is a dumb question that I haven't seen addressed-does the starch in potatoes or rice contribute anything that sugar wouldn't?

I agree with the above regarding the lather.. I use rice powder in all my soaps, but the addition of the rice water and the slurry in my triple rice changes the feel of the lather.

To me it's kind of creamy with a touch of silky I guess you can call it..

 

[Hope Ann]

I agree with the above regarding the lather.. I use rice powder in all my soaps, but the addition of the rice water and the slurry in my triple rice changes the feel of the lather.

To me it's kind of creamy with a touch of silky I guess you can call it..

Stupid question, but what is rice powder?

Hope

 

[lianasouza]

Rice flour