Ricing

[Georgeandstella]

Can you please explain more about saving ricing batter? I had some seize up quickly and ended up mixing it into another color (the white seized up, this was supposed to be a smooth swirl in the pot). How do you save it-you mention SB? Thank you

 

[KiwiMoose]

Ricing and seizing are two different things. If it was ricing you can sometimes stickblend it until the rice dissipates but if the batter is very thick already, that will only make it thicker. It sounds like your white batter seized (very fast acceleration) and so you mixed it quickly into the blue batter - you could possibly have stick blended the two together if the blue was thin enough, but who knows - it can be tough to make those sorts of decisions when we're in panic mode. Anyway I really love the look of your soap - and it looks like a total win!

 

[Georgeandstella]

Ricing and seizing are two different things. If it was ricing you can sometimes stickblend it until the rice dissipates but if the batter is very thick already, that will only make it thicker. It sounds like your white batter seized (very fast acceleration) and so you mixed it quickly into the blue batter - you could possibly have stick blended the two together if the blue was thin enough, but who knows - it can be tough to make those sorts of decisions when we're in panic mode. Anyway I really love the look of your soap - and it looks like a total win!

Hello and thank you and yes I was in panic mode. My husband knows to stay away from me while I'm making soap And thank you for your kind words!

 

[TheGecko]

Hi, I know this is an old post but I see you are still here-can you please explain more about saving ricing batter? I had some seize up quickly and ended up mixing it into another color (the white seized up, this was supposed to be a smooth swirl in the pot). How do you save it-you mention SB? Thank you

As noted by @KiwiMoose, 'ricing' and 'seizing' are two separate things, but are usually caused by the same thing...fragrance oil.

Ricing is called 'ricing' because it looks like someone just poured a bunch of rice into your soap batter. It occurs because some component of the FO has reacted to some component in your batter and hardened. When that happens, your only option is to grab your stick blender (SB) and blend it out.
I've never experienced 'ricing' (knock on wood), but I have experienced acceleration/seizing.

Florals and 'spicey' FOs are most often guilty of this. Now I haven't had any problems with Rose, Lavender and Jasmine, but Pearberry and Honeysuckle when from zero to 'soap on a stick' in no time flat. The Pearberry was so bad that I almost lost my stick blender...I had to boil the shaft to get the soap out of it. The bowl I ended up throwing away because in trying to chip out the soap, I chipped a hole in it. I was able to pack the Honeysuckle into a mold at least...smelled great, looked like something a two-year made. And every one of my Christmas soaps accelerated...I went from emulsion to pudding with just enough time to plop and swirl like a madwoman.

And it's hard not to panic...especially if you're making a 5lb batch of soap like I did with my Christmas soaps, but that was totally my fault because I didn't test the fragrances ahead of time. Instead, I took my chance on an 'after Christmas' sale and almost lost.

 

[Georgeandstella]

As noted by @KiwiMoose, 'ricing' and 'seizing' are two separate things, but are usually caused by the same thing...fragrance oil.

Ricing is called 'ricing' because it looks like someone just poured a bunch of rice into your soap batter. It occurs because some component of the FO has reacted to some component in your batter and hardened. When that happens, your only option is to grab your stick blender (SB) and blend it out.
I've never experienced 'ricing' (knock on wood), but I have experienced acceleration/seizing.

Florals and 'spicey' FOs are most often guilty of this. Now I haven't had any problems with Rose, Lavender and Jasmine, but Pearberry and Honeysuckle when from zero to 'soap on a stick' in no time flat. The Pearberry was so bad that I almost lost my stick blender...I had to boil the shaft to get the soap out of it. The bowl I ended up throwing away because in trying to chip out the soap, I chipped a hole in it. I was able to pack the Honeysuckle into a mold at least...smelled great, looked like something a two-year made. And every one of my Christmas soaps accelerated...I went from emulsion to pudding with just enough time to plop and swirl like a madwoman.

And it's hard not to panic...especially if you're making a 5lb batch of soap like I did with my Christmas soaps, but that was totally my fault because I didn't test the fragrances ahead of time. Instead, I took my chance on an 'after Christmas' sale and almost lost.

Thank you!

 

[Ford]

Honeysuckle riced on me also. Was able to beat most of it out. But still looked rough. Stirring your fo in. Verses just pouring it in. Seems to help. Not perfect, but helps a bit. Something I read here, somewhere. Can't remember thread. But it did seem to help.

 

[Shirley-D]

Still, that is beautiful looking soap. Good save!