Why is this not zappy?

[Barefoot Farm Girl]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention she could hand stir to make it set slower!

Gosh, those results on the concentration-acceleration relation you mention (say that 5 times fast lol) are some serious and deep stuff, I can only wonder how many batches you made with that in mind, how many notes you took and stuff, that's amazing!

!!!!! Hand stirring!!!! Sometimes I just don’t see the forest because of the trees!!!!! Little higher on the heat and hand stirring just might make this one work!

 

[linne1gi]

The cool thing is I could unmold it in an hour and it was hard as a rock!

I use really low water all the time, and I can unmold in 6-9 hours usually. It’s especially nice using low water when making Castile soap.

 

[Ekuzo]

It’s definitely less expensive, thanks!!!!

Also, pomace OO is the least expensive among OO types - but people say it doesn't slow down trace as much as the other types, so not sure it will work out well in what you want to do here, maybe HOSO is the best solution for you after all

 

[linne1gi]

Also, pomace OO is the least expensive among OO types - but people say it doesn't slow down trace as much as the other types, so not sure it will work out well in what you want to do here, maybe HOSO is the best solution for you after all

Pomace Olive Oil speeds trace. It is extracted from the dregs of the Olive using Hexane. Attempts are made to remove the Hexane, but some remains which makes it trace very very fast.

 

[Ekuzo]

I use really low water all the time, and I can unmold in 6-9 hours usually. It’s especially nice using low water when making Castile soap.

Depends on the recipe, I guess. Sometimes I use low water, high percentage hard fats, even add salt and whatnot - if the soap doesn't gel, it's still crumbly upon unmolding even after 3 days in the mold! If you have any advice that I can apply to some of my recipes to unmold in 12-24 hours, i'll appreciate it!

 

[dibbles]

One more question, I tried an end piece and it already feels lovely, it was like washing my hands in silk. I really feel it was the lard/ soy wax combo, I don’t get the same without the lard. What can I change to make this more workable? I also did a batch with the 33% concentration I normally use and it acted about the same. On paper the numbers look about the same for the values, so I have no good ideas

I don't usually use soy wax, but with the cost of cocoa butter I am revisiting it. That is to say - my experience with soy wax has been very limited. I don't think the lard is the problem, as it is one of the slowest fats to trace. I use from 30 - 45% lard, usually 35-40%. Soy wax has always made my batter move much more quickly, although I just tried it at 5% and my batter stayed fluid. I also like to soap on the cool side.

You could reduce your soy wax by 5% and add that to the lard. Then, either eliminate the shea or reduce your liquid oils by 10% however you like.

 

[Barefoot Farm Girl]

I don't usually use soy wax, but with the cost of cocoa butter I am revisiting it. That is to say - my experience with soy wax has been very limited. I don't think the lard is the problem, as it is one of the slowest fats to trace. I use from 30 - 45% lard, usually 35-40%. Soy wax has always made my batter move much more quickly, although I just tried it at 5% and my batter stayed fluid. I also like to soap on the cool side.

You could reduce your soy wax by 5% and add that to the lard. Then, either eliminate the shea or reduce your liquid oils by 10% however you like.

That makes sense, thanks!

 

[Mobjack Bay]

For the visual learners in the crowd, I like this graphic that shows how the lye concentration changes as the amount of water is varied for a constant weight of lye. They don't show it, but for a 50/50 masterbatch, the weight of water is equal to the weight of lye which in this case would be 2.57 ounces of water.

From Tweak & Tinker

 

[AliOop]

For the visual learners in the crowd, I like this graphic that shows how the lye concentration changes as the amount of water is varied for a constant weight of lye. They don't show it, but for a 50/50 masterbatch, the weight of water is equal to the weight of lye which in this case would be 2.57 ounces of water.

View attachment 78469

From Tweak & Tinker

What a great visual, @Mobjack Bay! It is so easy to see that the amount of lye remains constant throughout.