Hi! I read an article somewhere,on how to make soap without weighing, just by using the same size cup for measuring oils,lye and water..and it asked to use lard or any vegetable shortening..cant find the link right now..i got this- can this be used?
Is this Vegetable shortening?
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No, at least not pure as it has Palm oil and other ingredients in it.
It may be similar to Crisco Shortening here which is soybean an palm. Crisco can be used to make soap and is on the soap calculator. Since the only one I can read say sesame and palm I'm not sure. You would need to know how much of each is in the product to figure out the SAP values. Also, when you start making soap please do not measure by cups/tsps. You need to have a good scale that at the very least measures in ounces by weight. Even better is grams as it's more accurate.
Dorymae
Well-Known Member
The first one is just palm oil and sesame oil and would work fine to make soap. However the process you mentioned gives me pause (read- my red flags and alarms are going off) can you describe the process in more detail? Just from what I read I would be very skeptical that it would make good soap that was not lye heavy, of course there may be more to the process than what I read.
dixiedragon
Well-Known Member
The sap values are Palm .141 and Sesame .133. So you can just plug it into the lye calculator as palm oil and you'll be fine.
However, your plan to use the same size measuring cups - eeeeek!
However, your plan to use the same size measuring cups - eeeeek!
There are a few old recipes kicking around that state volume (cups, tablespoons, jars of lye) instead of weight. I think thats a bit dangerous because of the inaccuracy, but also because it makes people think that its like a regular food recipe, and that substituting this oil for that oil is no big deal. One of the HUGE advances in modern soap making is the knowledge of the different saponification values for each oil, and for many of us math challenged folks, the availability of lye calculators like soapcalc.net
I'm making a guess that vegetable shortening = New Crisco or similar in the recipe that you found on the web. Be careful of things you find on the web, they aren't always good.
I'm making a guess that vegetable shortening = New Crisco or similar in the recipe that you found on the web. Be careful of things you find on the web, they aren't always good.
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Like a cup of oils, a cup of lye, a cup of water?? If so, that's wwaayy too much lye.
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It looks similar to our new Crisco.
^This. Do NOT use any recipe that calls for cups/tablespoons, or any other volume measurement. It is highly inaccurate and very dangerous. Run those recipes through a reputable lye calculator and WEIGH every ingredient accurately on a digital scale.
Oops! A lot of confusion.. yes it is a mix of sesame and palm oil..sorry for bad pics. The % of each ingredient is not listed..and it mentions vegetable fats not shortening.. this is the thing i am confused about..will it be suitable for making through the process mentioned in this article? And yes,i have made about 8-9 batches of soap using the general weighing method,but i wanted to try this..but before that i wanted to take advice from all you helpful and experienced people..this forum has always been kind and helpful..after searching a lot i found this link again..please go through it,and let me know,should i try this easier method,as i dont want to waste anything. http://unlabeledmama.blogspot.in/2010_10_01_archive.html?m=1
Obsidian
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Shortening is vegetable fats so yes, they would work. I suspect the second one would be better. I really wouldn't suggest using that recipe though, not knowing what the SF is, you could end up with a harsh or lye heavy soap.
There is a reason that many people remember grandmas soap as being drying and harsh. Be safe and weigh all your ingredients.
There is a reason that many people remember grandmas soap as being drying and harsh. Be safe and weigh all your ingredients.
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I would weigh anyway, and the sap value of both was reported earlier to be .141 palm and .133 sesame, then I suppose it could be close enough to try it. I'd measure the three cups of water on a scale, the one cup of lye on a scale, leave a standard 5% superfat, and measure the 8 cups of shortening on the scale using the smaller sap value of .131......a smaller sap value means you'd need less lye so you can see if it is lye heavy IF the shortening has more sesame than palm.
Plug in soapcalc the weight of the oils you weighed, the 5% superfat, and the weight of water (let's say water weighs oh, 24 oz and your fats weighed, we will say, 80 oz [making these up as I go to give an example], then 24 divided by 80 is .30 or 30%....So plug 30% into soap calc as your water % of oil amount. Click ok at the bottom and see exactly how much lye soap calc recommends. After having weighed the cup of lye, you can see exactly if it's lye heavy or not.
I'm sure the purpose of this is to find a simple old school way of making gmas soap, but it really isn't the safest or best method. you can try it, but I wouldn't recommend it honestly.
The blogger said you can use any shortening or even lard in its place. But if you scroll down and read the comments and her response to said comments, you may think twice on her and her methods of soaping.
A comment on the soap seized on them after the lye had floated to the top and they stirred for two minutes, and she said she had to ask her gma and was told it's the fillers in some shortening, or the lard or shortening being old that can cause seizing.
She also stated on the safety of lye, "that is why you "cure" the soap for two weeks. The chemicals of the lye leech out and you are left with soap!"
this is a specific quote off her comments page.
I'm just saying, it may work, it may not. I'd weigh it and see what her recipe really is, but I'm a tad anal on needing to know everything. If you choose to still do it, it would seem any vegetable shortening or even lard works in her specific recipe, per her instructions. If you do it, let us know how it works!
Plug in soapcalc the weight of the oils you weighed, the 5% superfat, and the weight of water (let's say water weighs oh, 24 oz and your fats weighed, we will say, 80 oz [making these up as I go to give an example], then 24 divided by 80 is .30 or 30%....So plug 30% into soap calc as your water % of oil amount. Click ok at the bottom and see exactly how much lye soap calc recommends. After having weighed the cup of lye, you can see exactly if it's lye heavy or not.
I'm sure the purpose of this is to find a simple old school way of making gmas soap, but it really isn't the safest or best method. you can try it, but I wouldn't recommend it honestly.
The blogger said you can use any shortening or even lard in its place. But if you scroll down and read the comments and her response to said comments, you may think twice on her and her methods of soaping.
A comment on the soap seized on them after the lye had floated to the top and they stirred for two minutes, and she said she had to ask her gma and was told it's the fillers in some shortening, or the lard or shortening being old that can cause seizing.
She also stated on the safety of lye, "that is why you "cure" the soap for two weeks. The chemicals of the lye leech out and you are left with soap!"
this is a specific quote off her comments page.
I'm just saying, it may work, it may not. I'd weigh it and see what her recipe really is, but I'm a tad anal on needing to know everything. If you choose to still do it, it would seem any vegetable shortening or even lard works in her specific recipe, per her instructions. If you do it, let us know how it works!
marilynmac
Well-Known Member
Very important Basic safety.
When you "Mix Lye Flakes with cold water", measure the water into the container first, then add the Lye to the water. Do not add water to lye flakes, that might explode.
If you have a lye spill on your skin, flush immediately with lots of water. Do not use vinegar, that will burn you.
what the heck, wear safety goggles too.
When you "Mix Lye Flakes with cold water", measure the water into the container first, then add the Lye to the water. Do not add water to lye flakes, that might explode.
If you have a lye spill on your skin, flush immediately with lots of water. Do not use vinegar, that will burn you.
what the heck, wear safety goggles too.
This single oil soap experiment is a good place to see how single oils do in soaps - lard does well, Crisco (vegetable shortening) makes a nice soap early on, but developed DOS in 6 months
I have also run into DOS with high Crisco shortening soaps. I now use palm shortening not over 20% without problems.
Updates-
Hey all! I made soap today,according to the same procedure..i used 1:2.5:8 ratio lye:water
ils. I didn't weigh anything..before starting i wanted to follow all the advice but i wanted to know the logic behind this..i checked all my recipes with 5-7 superfat..they were all close to the same ratio..but in original recipe i found water amount to be more,it was around 38%,so i deducted water ratio to 2.5.. i mixed lye-water and oils at 100°F & 104°F.. it came to trace within 1 minute..and started getting thick and hot..i poured into molds,and somehow managed to make some swirls..here are the pics..will unmold tomorrow.
Hey all! I made soap today,according to the same procedure..i used 1:2.5:8 ratio lye:water
ils. I didn't weigh anything..before starting i wanted to follow all the advice but i wanted to know the logic behind this..i checked all my recipes with 5-7 superfat..they were all close to the same ratio..but in original recipe i found water amount to be more,it was around 38%,so i deducted water ratio to 2.5.. i mixed lye-water and oils at 100°F & 104°F.. it came to trace within 1 minute..and started getting thick and hot..i poured into molds,and somehow managed to make some swirls..here are the pics..will unmold tomorrow.
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