Tallow Weirdness - opinions please!

[dibbles]

I haven't used tallow too often, but whenever I have it has been smooth and firm and nearly odor free (firmer than lard). I decided to order a bottle from Soaper's Choice. When it arrived it was soupy/slushy, but I assumed it had gotten warm during shipping. It has been sitting in my <70F basement for two days and is still slushy. It doesn't smell rancid, but it does have an odor. I tried melting a little and it melts to a clear liquid, but after pouring into a mold and setting, it is solid, but extremely soft. I could easily poke a finger through it.

Is this normal? I wanted some opinions from those of you more experienced with tallow than I am before I contact SC. To their credit though, my order was shipped within 2 hours of placing and I had it on my doorstep in 2 days!

 

[Carly B]

I use tallow a lot, it's hubby's favorite soap. I got a 7 lb tub from Essential Depot, and it's "slushy" like yours, too. I've had tallow that is more solid, like lard, in the past, but I don't notice any difference in the final soap. Did you try putting some in a small container and putting it in the fridge to see if that hardens it?

 

[dibbles]

I use tallow a lot, it's hubby's favorite soap. I got a 7 lb tub from Essential Depot, and it's "slushy" like yours, too. I've had tallow that is more solid, like lard, in the past, but I don't notice any difference in the final soap. Did you try putting some in a small container and putting it in the fridge to see if that hardens it?

Only after melting it. I plan to put 8 oz in containers and keep them in the freezer - no room to store it all in the fridge. Thanks for your answer though - I was just surprised at how liquidy it is as I've never seen it like that before (in my very limited experience). Thanks for the reply - unless I hear otherwise, I'm going to assume it's fine. Silver lining - it was a lot easier to get out of the stupid bottle Soaper's Choice puts their hard oils in

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I suspect that the reason for being "slushy" is the heat. Soapers Choice advises not to order hard oils during the summer months for that reason.

That happened to me once with the palm oil I ordered during the summer from MMS. It was slushy and grainy. I was worried that it wouldn't soap well or become rancid. MMS said it would be okay. It was fine.

I stopped ordering during the summer from then on.

Enjoy your tallow soap! It's a good thing.

Silver lining - it was a lot easier to get out of the stupid bottle Soaper's Choice puts their hard oils in

I hear ya, Sistah!

 

[dibbles]

I suspect that the reason for being "slushy" is the heat. Soapers Choice advises not to order hard oils during the summer months for that reason.

I thought that, but when it didn't firm up after 2 days in my basement, which is currently at about 65F I started to wonder if something wasn't right. The coconut oil I ordered was completely liquid when it was delivered, but returned to solid and normal appearance and texture pretty quickly. When I use palm oil (not often), I use the no-stir and never order that in the warm months.

HO sunflower oil is getting harder and harder to find, at least at a decent price, so I ordered it from Soaper's Choice. I *needed* to order 2 additional bottles of something for optimal shipping, so chose coconut oil (because I know I won't have any problem using it) and tallow (because I really like the tallow soaps I've used).

 

[Zany_in_CO]

HO sunflower oil is getting harder and harder to find

FWIW, I like sunflower but I don't often use it in soap. Olive oil continues to be my preference in that arena. I mainly use it for making Carrot Tissue Oil because when I first researched buying it online, that was the medium used according to the ingredient list. It works well for that application. I also like it better than olive in leave-on products like lip balms and lotion.

I *needed* to order 2 additional bottles of something for optimal shipping,

Good thinking! I do that too!

 

[Mobjack Bay]

After sitting on the porch for a few hours in the sun, the tallow I ordered from Soapers Choice last month was partially melted when I got home from work. It was fairly soft, but not liquidy/slushy the next day after being at 75F for 24 hours. It soaps just fine. A fairly easy way to get fats out of those SC jugs is to slice through the jug around the top and then scoop it out. I read that tip in one of DeeAnna’s posts from some time ago.

 

[Marsi]

Tallow varies by cow breed, feed and where the fat was taken from the carcass.
Your tallow might be higher in oleic, which would make it softer (Wagu is like this ... you might have Wagu fat )

Alternatively (less likely, if your supplier is good) it could still have some gelatin in it (and would need another render to clean it up).

 

[glendam]

When I have ordered tallow from them, it has come in a bag inside a box, and has a firm texture, but I can scoop it by hand. When I master batch with it though, it takes a while (a couple of weeks at least) for the oils to partially solidify in the containers.