What do you cook your HP soap in??

[Jen74]

Hey everyone,

Just wondering what kind of pot you use to make your HP soap? I have been using a ceramic crock pot to cook mine in. After using it a couple times, it has scuffs( I think it is from the lye and maybe when using the stick blender. Anyhow, just wondering what you all use to make your HP soap in? I am worried about using any kind of metal because of the chance things will go rancid.

 

[BritS]

I'm using a ceramic crock pot, too. I'm not too concerned about the scuffs and scrapes since it's just for soap. I ordered some 2L glass measuring bowls that came scuffed up, but I figure that most of my tools aren't going to stay pretty forever.

 

[Jen74]

I'm using a ceramic crock pot, too. I'm not too concerned about the scuffs and scraps since it's just for soap. I ordered some 2L glass measuring bowls that came scuffed up, but I figure that most of my tools aren't going to stay pretty forever.

Okay that is good to hear. I was just worried the scuffs would maybe cause issues with the soap making. What kind of utensils do you use to stir your soap? I use a silicone spatula. However, I use plastic spoons to measure out my palm kernal oil. Is plastic okay to use? I know we have to avoid metal right?

 

[BritS]

Okay that is good to hear. I was just worried the scuffs would maybe cause issues with the soap making.

It hasn't caused any issues with mine. <3

 

[lianasouza]

I used an enamel pot on a heat conduction plate the few times I tried HP. The soap overdried, but it was user error related.

 

[Jen74]

I used an enamel pot on a heat conduction plate the few times I tried HP. The soap overdried, but it was user error related.

Was the soap usable still? Meaning did it cure okay?

 

[Arimara]

I used an enamel pot on a heat conduction plate the few times I tried HP. The soap overdried, but it was user error related.

Did you use full water? Did you cover the top of the pot? I'm just curious.

@Jen74 I also use a crockpot. I cook everything on low and usually use a silicone spatula to scrap thee bowl out. the scuffing is natural but to help with that, try to avoid scraping the bottom of the stoneware with your stick blender.

 

[Hermit]

@Jen74
Short answer: yes, the soap would still be usable.

There's 2 HP camps: the seal the moisture in camp doesn't stir often or at all during cook, and they get lumps around the edges of the pot. If you add colour at the end of cook and scrape the sides (most soapers tell you not to do this) you get discoloured chunks in the soap. But it's still safe and usable; just a cosmetic issue.

The let's stir this camp can have the water evaporate out of the soap, and if dehydrated enough you don't see the vaseline stage: it still looks opaque since the soap is so dense. My first batch did this; and I suspected it was getting too dry because the glass lid on my pot has a vent hole which I didn't cover. I added a little more distilled water, stirred it, added a bit more and VOILÀ! It hit vaseline instantly! What I didn't realize is I should have been heating my additives, including the water. I came perilously close to soap on a stick.

Adding too much water can warp your soap as it's drying; I believe that there was another consequence of having too little water? Let me see if I can find it again...

Ok, found it: too little water makes crumbly soap.
(Should have trusted my memory)

 

[lianasouza]

Was the soap usable still? Meaning did it cure okay?

Yes!

Did you use full water? Did you cover the top of the pot? I'm just curious.

I used a 25% solution. The pot was covered but I stirred every 5 min. It hit the vaseline stage just fine, but as I had promissed my tongue never to lick hot caustic soap, I decided to wait until my (good quality, wrongly used) pH strip showed 10, just because 10 was a good number. As it never did, I got superdry soap. But I loved using it, I think my HP castile had more bubbles and less slime than my CP ones.

 

[AliOop]

I decided to wait until my (good quality, wrongly used) pH strip showed 10, just because 10 was a good number.

Unfortunately, pH testing doesn’t tell you whether there is any lye remaining in the soap. Rather than overcooking your soap to try and reach a certain pH, just put it in the mold at vaseline stage and trust that the soap will finish saponifying on its own if needed. After all, CP soap saponifies just fine with no cooking at all, right? So even if you undercook your HP soap, you can trust that it will do the same. But typically it is fully cooked at vaseline stage anyway.