What soapy thing have you done today?

[Zing]

I cut and posted my weekend's soap, Rosemary & Lemongrass .

I just got a text from a friend that made my day. I gave several soaps to this friend at Christmastime and she doesn't unwrap them until she uses them. She opened one today and said it cheered her up when she had the Monday blues, and she liked my moon (a mountain landscape). I like my moons too so am glad she does too.

Today I had to go to W-mart to purchase a replacement candy thermometer. ~$6- each. I bought two to have a spare in an emergency. Also I happened to see right beside the thermometers, Anchor Hocking glass measuring cups. I got a 1 oz one. Perfect size for measuring FOs. 97 cents plus tax.
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Can't ever have enough measuring cups! Also, just between you and me, the candy thermometer is for your oil mixtures, right? Don't tell anyone but I made a mistake when I was a noob. I was religious following all the lye safety precautions, including not using glass utensils for lye. But somehow I would unthinkingly just stick a candy thermometer in my lye solution! It didn't take too many sessions when the thermometer disintegrated in my hand one day -- no one got hurt.

 

[KeepItSimpleSoap]

@Zing I was using a stainless steel thermometer for my LYE/water mix but one day it quit working. I resorted to if I could hold both hands on the side of the recycled plastic cool whip bowl (with LYE written on the side of it) then it was 125F or less.
I haven't done it but do you think it would be ok to measure dry LYE crystals in a glass container? I have always used a little plastic cup.

 

[Dan9250]

@armadalesoap
In my experiment the Chlorophyllin is a water soluble modified form of chlorophyll. The center cation of chlorophyll is replaced with copper. This makes it more stable at higher pH (8.5 to 10) and at baking temperatures. As a food coloring agent, copper complex chlorophyllin is known as natural green 3 and has the E number E141. I came across this in an article while looking for a reason why a solution containing both lye and a red color from a crab-apple seed was still red after 2 months but the soap I made had turned a dull brown after two weeks. I concluded that it is not lye that destroyed the color, but some another reaction within the soap itself. My experiments continue. I only wish I still had access to the analytical lab where I worked before retiring.

 

[Zing]

@Zing
I haven't done it but do you think it would be ok to measure dry LYE crystals in a glass container? I have always used a little plastic cup.

Even tho' we used glass beakers and all kinds of substances in my college chem lab, I'd still stick to plastic just to stay on the safe side. Those crystals are powerful little things. By the way, I used to compulsively watch thermometers. Now I wait until things are at room temperature or just warm to the touch.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

do you think it would be ok to measure dry LYE crystals in a glass container?

Altho some members are passionate about NOT using glass, and I will get in trouble for saying this, old timers like me (and Anne Marie of Soap Queen TV) have used pyrex for years (19 for me) without issues. You just have to be smarter than the glass, i.e., don't set hot glass on a cold surface. I use wood cutting boards near my sink and microwave.

I weigh my water into the Pyrex cup and set it in the sink. Measure your lye separately and add it to the water while stirring. Be sure to wear a mask or hold your breath and turn away to avoid lye fumes. I take it outside or I walk away for a minute or so and then come back to stir enough to make sure the lye is fully dissolved.

Lye etches glass. I found this heavy glass 4-cup beauty at a garage sale shortly after starting to make soap. I think the original owner was a soap maker.

 

[Ladka]

.

I save all our cooking fats and clean them for soap. Well, not all... I don't save fat from cooking fish, and I use the fat from chicken (schmaltz) for making cornbread.

Where can I learn what cornbread with schmaltz is?

 

[AliOop]

Where can learn what cornbread with schmaltz is?

Hi @Ladka I just substitute schmaltz for a portion of the fat or oil in the cornbread recipe. I typically use bacon grease for the rest.

My house is gluten-free, so my recipe uses GF flour and also includes sugar - which is downright sacrilegious if one hails from the southern regions of the US.

With those caveats, let me know if you want me to DM you the recipe or post it in the food thread here.

 

[Ladka]

With those caveats, let me know if you want me to DM you the recipe or post it in the food thread here.

DM or PM? Anywhere. One of my sons-in-law has celiac disease..

 

[KiwiMoose]

Altho some members are passionate about NOT using glass, and I will get in trouble for saying this, old timers like me (and Anne Marie of Soap Queen TV) have used pyrex for years (19 for me) without issues. You just have to be smarter than the glass, i.e., don't set hot glass on a cold surface. I use wood cutting boards near my sink and microwave.

I weigh my water into the Pyrex cup and set it in the sink. Measure your lye separately and add it to the water while stirring. Be sure to wear a mask or hold your breath and turn away to avoid lye fumes. I take it outside or I walk away for a minute or so and then come back to stir enough to make sure the lye is fully dissolved.

Lye etches glass. I found this heavy glass 4-cup beauty at a garage sale shortly after starting to make soap. I think the original owner was a soap maker.

View attachment 66537

Apparently the original Pyrex is not the same as present day Pyrex ( I read somewhere - maybe on SMF)? The brand has remained but the process for making their 'signature' toughened glass has changed.

 

[MiscellaneousSoaper12]

I haven't done it but do you think it would be ok to measure dry LYE crystals in a glass container? I have always used a little plastic cup.

Last weekend I decided to use these baby food glass jars instead of plastic cups since I feel bad producing so much waste with each batch of soap. For some reason, the NaOH crystals wanted to stick to the glass jar walls, and i had to coax them out. I still have lye anxiety so this stressed me out, and I'm contemplating using plastic cups again.

Not sure why this happened. I do think the tropical humidity makes the crystals stick...

 

[Babyshoes]

Apparently the original Pyrex is not the same as present day Pyrex ( I read somewhere - maybe on SMF)? The brand has remained but the process for making their 'signature' toughened glass has changed.

Yes, I've heard that somewhere too. Instead of borosilicate glass (used in scientific glassware) they now use soda lime glass (common, everyday glass).

I imagine it's because borosilicate glass melts at a higher temperature, which obviously costs more. It's is less likely to shock and break with changes in temperature. It etches more slowly than regular glass. These properties also mean they have less repeat business because they don't break often. It makes sense to me that they'd change to cheaper glass which, although it's still pretty tough, will break more often and need replacing...

This is just my theory of course, but it sure looks like planned obsolescence to me!

 

[M.Leffew]

So, I made liquid soap for the first time using a recipe I found on Humblebee&Me. It's made on the stove top (I don't have room for a slow cooker in my tiny kitchen). The paste turned out as far as I could tell. I then used the recomended 10:0:6 dilution method suggested to simply get more paste and no liquid soap. I continued to add hot distilled water. I resorted to using a potato masher and hot distilled and ended up with soap foam. I added soap safe fragrance at 3% from candlescience. My soap then turned back into paste! Adds more water. I then ended up with foam, again. It's been 2 days and it is slowly turning into a liquid. Is this normal?

 

[KeepItSimpleSoap]

I made my 8th batch in 4 weeks this time around. I made 7 batches 2 and a half years ago before I stopped.
I have 3 weeks to go before the 1st batch is cured.
There are three things different this time and 3 different results. First I have increased my batch by 50%. The newest soaping refrigerator that I use for a 2 day precure had to have a removable shelf made for it so that it would hold 3x6 molds. It starts out on the table for the molds to get filled before moving to refrigerator (fridge).

@AliOop The amount of water with the LYE mix was reduced from 2.3:1 to 2:1. Would this have made it trace in 5 minutes? It usually takes mine 20 minutes until pour time. Also the LYE/water mix was warmer and I added a teaspoon of dissolved sugar. The mix traced so fast that I had to use my rubber spatula to get it out of the bowl and smoothed out on top in the cavity molds. I managed to get the FO mixed in before the pour. @TheGecko I have a question about FOs. Look in your messages. Here is a pic of the batch in the molds.

I've maxed out my recipe size as far as the mixing bowl goes. The 50 % increase in the recipe should help to catch up quicker on all of the LARD. This makes 102 bars so far on the second large effort.

 

[AliOop]

@KeepItSimpleSoap Nice job - you are on a roll!

Several things probably affected your trace: less water, warmer lye solution, the FO, and how much you stick-blended. Typically the last two (FOs and stick-blending) affect trace the most. To keep it more fluid, you can stick-blend in several short bursts, and put the blender down after the batter reaches a stable emulsion instead of going to trace. That will give you more time and fluidity to pour. You also don't have to put them in the fridge at all if you don't want. They will actually saponify faster if you don't. Maybe try leaving out one set of molds and see what you think?

But they look great, so rock on!

 

[KeepItSimpleSoap]

@AliOop Would the raw dry granulated sugar dissolve in the hot LYE/water mix?
I will let the LYE/water mix drop in temperature more next batch before adding to oil. The liquid LARD temp dropped to 99 F and I thought I might should go ahead and mix them. Even though different, all of my 102 bars will be great bar soap!

 

[AliOop]

@AliOop Would the raw dry granulated sugar dissolve in the hot LYE/water mix?
I will let the LYE/water mix drop in temperature more next batch before adding to oil. The liquid LARD hot dropped to 99 F and I thought I might should go ahead and mix them. Even though different all of my 102 bars will be great bar soap!

Yes, you can do that, but it is always harder to dissolve things after the NaOH has been added. Also, the sugar might caramelize a bit or turn a bit brown.

You are truly fine mixing the oils and lye solution at any reasonable temp (below 200F is probably best for safety reasons tho). And with your recipe, getting the temps of oils and lye close to one another is not important, either.

Some folks actually use the hot lye solution to melt their room-temp hard oils - it's called the heat transfer method. This video does a pretty good job of explaining and showing the process, although I don't recommend mixing your soap batter in a glass bowl.

I find that heat transfer works pretty well for lower-melt-point hard oils like lard and coconut oil. It was trickier when using cocoa butter or other hard butters. Since you are using just lard, it would be fine for you.

Of course, you can continue your current process if that's most comfortable for you. My only point is that with your recipe, you don't have to worry so much about temps being equal between lard and lye solution. The total combined temp of lye and oils is going to have more affect on the speed of trace. Does that make sense?

 

[KeepItSimpleSoap]

The mix of the lye and oil quickly establish a new temperature because of their different temps.

 

[Jersey Girl]

My soapy thing so far today…these beauties were just delivered! I’m sooooo excited to try out the Caterpillar! It can be set to 1/8 in increments and takes only a couple seconds to change the height. This is going to be such a pleasure for cutting slabs! And look at the cute Cheshire Cat! More layered soaps coming up! ♥♥♥

 

[TheGecko]

I made my 8th batch in 4 weeks this time around. I made 7 batches 2 and a half years ago before I stopped. I have 3 weeks to go before the 1st batch is cured. There are three things different this time and 3 different results. First I have increased my batch by 50%. The newest soaping refrigerator that I use for a 2 day precure had to have a removable shelf made for it so that it would hold 3x6 molds. It starts out on the table for the molds to get filled before moving to refrigerator (fridge).

@AliOop The amount of water with the LYE mix was reduced from 2.3:1 to 2:1. Would this have made it trace in 5 minutes? It usually takes mine 20 minutes until pour time. Also the LYE/water mix was warmer and I added a teaspoon of dissolved sugar. The mix traced so fast that I had to use my rubber spatula to get it out of the bowl and smoothed out on top in the cavity molds. I managed to get the FO mixed in before the pour. @TheGecko I have a question about FOs. Look in your messages. Here is a pic of the batch in the molds.

I've maxed out my recipe size as far as the mixing bowl goes. The 50 % increase in the recipe should help to catch up quicker on all of the LARD. This makes 102 bars so far on the second large effort.

Adding Sugar to your Lye Solution is not a good idea for reasons at stated by @AliOop . Either dissolve the sugar in the water before adding your Sodium Hydroxide or separate part of your water out and dissolve and add to oils or simply use a little extra water. I did the latter as I Master Batch my Lye Solution.

Unless it's Summer (80F+) and I'm making Goat Milk Soap or it's really, really hot...I don't refrigerate my soap. The Goat Milk contains a lot of natural sugars and the warmer temps will cause it to overheat and burn. And if the garage hits 90F+ I would frig my Regular Soap because I don't gel. Though truthfully, when we had the unseasonable hot temps this last summer, I just didn't make soap.

Yes, various FOs can react differently depending on the type, the amount of FO, your recipe, the size of your recipe, the temperature of your batter, how it's mixed, etc. It's why you want to make notes that include all this information.

The first time I use a FO, I make a test batch (20 oz total). I use my Regular Recipe and no colorants. I start with my oils at about 100F and my Lye Solution at around 75F because I Master Batch both. I usually just stir with a spatula and dump in the FO, stir a bit more and then whiz with very short bursts to emulsion and then let it sit a bit in the bowl until it reaches Medium Trace and time it.

 

[Dooleykins]

I start with my oils at about 100F and my Lye Solution at around 75F because I Master Batch both. I usually just stir with a spatula and dump in the FO, stir a bit more and then whiz with very short bursts to emulsion and then let it sit a bit in the bowl until it reaches Medium Trace and time it.

A bit off-topic, but what is your method for master batching oils and lye?

I'm finally at the point where I would like to upgrade from my set of crockpots full of oil.