Coconut oil still liquid

Cactuslily · Sep 17, 2016

A while back, I got CO at Sams. All jars were fine, but one jar is still liquid. Actually, the bottom is solid, but top half is still liquid. Is this jar not destined for CP? I'm reluctant to use this jar in my soap. Why would all other jars resolidify, but this one won't? TIA for any input. As always, happy soaping!

earlene · Sep 17, 2016

That is odd, but I have had one jar of CO re-solidify at a slower rate than another before. Usually though, I assume it's because it is just slightly warmer than the others. Have you tried putting it into a cold refrigerator to see if it will re-solidify that way? I'd try that before deciding there is something wrong.

Susie · Sep 18, 2016

I had the same thing happen to coconut oil I got at Sam's. I used the refrigerator test. It solidified right up. I put it back under the cabinet, where it went back to the semi-liquid state at 72 F. Whatever. It made great soap.

TeresaT · Sep 18, 2016

Cactuslily said:
A while back, I got CO at Sams. All jars were fine, but one jar is still liquid. Actually, the bottom is solid, but top half is still liquid. Is this jar not destined for CP? I'm reluctant to use this jar in my soap. Why would all other jars resolidify, but this one won't? TIA for any input. As always, happy soaping!

By "solidify" do you actually mean the oil is now solid, you can scoop it out and it will hold its shape? Or do you mean "opaque" on the bottom of the jar with clear(ish) liquid on top? I am asking because I had four one gallon jugs of coconut oil with various degrees of solidification sitting on the shelf. However, the open one was actually opaque slush. I was able to still pour it easily out of the jug. It had the consistency of cream of wheat just before it sets up. (I gave this to my neighbor as well as a bunch of lard, which is why I'm using past tense.) It is perfectly safe to eat and soap with (my newest discovery: it makes a good deep fry oil).

The three one gallon jugs I have left are exposed daily to heat above 80 degrees (that whole no a/c thing). Now that it is getting cooler at night, they're getting more opaque, but definitely not hard yet. Assuming you have the 76 degree oil, it is going to start to melt at a low temperature. If you have a larger mass, it will retain the heat longer and re-solidify at a slower rate. The opposite with a small mass. I have a small container of coconut oil (about 4 oz) in my cabinet that I use to pop corn. It came from the gallon jug that I sent home with my neighbor. It has solidified enough at night that it can be scooped out with a spoon, but it slides off (unlike cold coconut which I have to push off) The jar it came from was still quite slushy at that point.

Unless it smells off, or tastes bad, I'd definitely soap with it (and fry and make pop corn).

FYI: my coconut oil is my "tell" about the weather. If it is opaque in the morning when I go to work, then it's a good sign for me that the nights really are cooling down, grey skies are ahead and "Winter is Coming!" I'm really happy to come home to opaque coconut oil. I am totally over summer.

Cactuslily · Sep 19, 2016

Thanks to you all have have taken the time to answer me. I am sorry I haven't responded sooner, but it's been a way crazy time. Knowing the CO is fine despite being melted on top is reassuring to me. They all were purchased and are now stored in the same cool spot. The one bottle that is not solid again despite months of sitting, is solid at bottom half but liquid the top half. Not having soaped in a while, my confidence is shaky, and i just never saw that before, so I didn't want my return to soaping soap be a flop due to CO that isn't good.
Thanks for the reassurance all should be fine. Happy soaping!

nsmar4211 · Sep 20, 2016

What's the solid coconut oil thing you speak of???

My a/c is at 78 (20 degrees cooler than outside!) so I only see solid when either I put it in the fridge or winter (ha) shows up..

I did notice on the jug I did the fridge test on , the part that was chilled has not completely remelted. I reuse the jugs (pouring out of a 5 gal container) and the new stuff is liquid still. I think once it reaches one of the two states (solid/liquid) it takes a higher variance from 76 to change states. I don't worry about it

. Even when my house accidentally was set at 73, and the oil was 73, it hadn't solidified in the house.