Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
I know that feeling!
Your % PPO when Testing New Fragrances in CP Soap
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DianaMoon
Well-Known Member
I know that feeling!
When you aren't an experienced soaper, all the additional steps can be quite confusing, and converting this to that to this to that is an added burden.
(BTW, although I'm American, I now use metric for weights as a result of baking - sorry fellow Yanks, it's more logical & precise and seeing PPO is a turn off - PPO to grams to teaspoons OY!!....)
That calculator is a life-saver!
BritS
Well-Known Member
I just wanted to toss my hat in and say that I stick to a pretty standard 3% PPO. This is keeping in mind that IFRA regulations approve using certain ones up to 3%. I check that before I buy any fragrances, because odds are I will forget that it was under 3% and use it. I’ve never had anyone say that my soaps aren’t scented well enough. When I do markets, I often find that people find me from quite a few booths down by the (hopefully wonderful) smell coming from mine.
I usually enter 0 into the fragrance field in Soapee's lye calculator because I print out multiple copies of my recipe and use them with different fragrances with different fragrance loads.
@DianaMoon The PPO calculation is easier for me to understand... weight of oils (usually use grams since I make small batches) x .05 (or whatever percent I'm using) = FO amount.
@DianaMoon The PPO calculation is easier for me to understand... weight of oils (usually use grams since I make small batches) x .05 (or whatever percent I'm using) = FO amount.
But we don't use weight in baking here, we use volume and since we aren't using volume in soap making, it really makes no difference whether you use Imperial or Metric because 0.281 pounds = 4.49 ounces = 127.26 grams. Just make sure you have a good scale.
A lot of people, even in the US, are using weight-based recipes nowadays, at least that's my perception of late. I'm also seeing more and more online recipes showing multiple units of measure. Measuring by weight can make a huge improvement in baking especially.
The common wisdom that "grams are more accurate than ounces" is not really correct, however. The scale doesn't change whether you do one or the other -- the amount the scale weighs is a constant. It's only the internal calculations and the number you see on display that change whether you choose grams or ounces.
The common wisdom that "grams are more accurate than ounces" is not really correct, however. The scale doesn't change whether you do one or the other -- the amount the scale weighs is a constant. It's only the internal calculations and the number you see on display that change whether you choose grams or ounces.
DianaMoon
Well-Known Member
I've been using weights in baking at least 10 years.
It makes a difference to me not to have to go through extra steps. Why bother with dividing to create grams when you can just measure in grams?
DianaMoon
Well-Known Member
I can't give a precise date but the move to weighing in baking is at least 10 years old and is now firmly set. It probably came from baker's percentages.
Correct, metric isn't more accurate than Imperial, which is why I wrote "logical & precise." An ounce in baking is a huge measurement. That said, I do prefer volume measurement when it comes to tiny amounts.
Well bless your heart then.
I don't convert...never saw the sense in it. How do you convert "pinch", "dollop" and "handful" anyways? That's how old some of my recipes are and how I was taught to cook. I'll never forget Home Economics Class (it was required back then) which led me on a sinful path of kitchen gadgets because OMG, who doesn't need a grape guillotine***?
The interesting thing about those old recipes, if you understand the times and the equipment available, then the recipe works regardless if you are Shaq or Twiggy. I'm the same way with needle knitting vintage patterns, understand the times and the equipment and materials available and it all works out.
*** - No, I never bought one, but it gave me a real good laugh to see it.
Not surprising really. First you have the popularity of the Great British Baking Show and Julia Child has come back into 'fashion'. And 'volume' has ALWAYS been a problem with ingredients like flour and shortening.
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
No...please...you are just too generous and I wouldn't want to deprive your decedents.
I have a Salad Master. You could say that it was the original food processor. I inherited my Mom's and then it was lost when I lost everything else many years ago. Several years ago my kids bought me one from eBay...it was in the original box. My kids didn't understand why I wanted it so much...until the first time they used it, but still...one of them thought a powered one would be better and take up less room. Yes, the base does take up more room on the counter and is a little awkward to store, BUTT...this sucker was 55 years old and was still razor sharp! And unless you were doing cheese, you only had to rinse it off and done.
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
Me too!
Absolutely. I simply cannot see myself spending extra money on a 'drug' scale and miniature containers weighing out what can more easily and efficiently done with teaspoons and tablespoons. With that said, once you get into making larger batches there does come a point when it is easier and more efficient to weigh your ingredients.
I used to feel that way till I started making syndet shampoo bars. Some of the ingredients are so expensive and need to be added in very small increments, like 5g or less. That’s especially true when I make a test batch of just a few bars.
So, I broke down and got a little jewelers scale for about $15. Works great and helps me conserve those pricier ingredients like Panthenol, liquid silks, etc. It is still so much less expensive than buying the bars at retail, plus I have full control over ingredients.
DianaMoon
Well-Known Member
I have a lemon squeezer that I never use. I can contribute that.
But you know what kitchen gadget I do use, and for only one thing? A lemon zester. If you bake with lemons, get one.
DianaMoon
Well-Known Member
@DianaMoon my husband is very understanding about my soapy things budget, but I have a sneaking suspicion that such a purchase might put an end to our harmonious co-existence. 
DianaMoon
Well-Known Member
@DianaMoon my husband is very understanding about my soapy things budget, but I have a sneaking suspicion that such a purchase might put an end to our harmonious co-existence.
Aw, c'mon. What's a few hundred thou in the grand scheme of things?? Life is short & nanograms are heavy!
You're right, what am I waiting for??
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