Alkanet surface swirl experiment (updated pic)

Soapmaking Forum

Help Support Soapmaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Hausfrau007

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2012
Messages
391
Reaction score
29
I made two batches this weekend in a very unscientific approach at trying out my new alkanet-infused olive oil. Here are the results:

The mold was one of those boxes for Christmas cards they send you when you donate to a charity (Unicef, in this case). It holds exactly one pound of oils, as I found out; perfect for experimenting with surface swirls.

1themold_zps774bee80.jpg


Here's the mold lined with Glad Press-n-Seal, a little back-up mold at the ready (didn't end up needing it).

2themoldlined_zpsd1a18a8d.jpg


Getting the alkanet ready. I didn't strain it but just scooped a tablespoon off the top.

3Alkanet1_zps08d5eefa.jpg


4Alkanet2_zps0abf085d.jpg


Lye water and melted oils at the ready!

5oilandlyeready_zps8bee9531.jpg


And here we go!

6blending_zps2ba8372d.jpg


Pouring almost all of the traced liquid, leaving a bit in the tub for the alkanet oil.

\
7thepour_zpsaecc442e.jpg


8remainderinthetub_zpsaf7b8985.jpg


Added the tablespoon of alkanet oil to the remainder.

9alkanetinremainder_zpsf10bff0d.jpg



10alkanetmixedinremainder_zps2f9cd166.jpg


Poured at close range, willy nilly stripes -- trace was a bit too thin to keep the purple stuff on top reliably.

11stripeypour_zps694a921e.jpg


Pulled the skewer through diagonally one way, then the other, then doing some curly Qs here and there for good measure.

12skewereddiagonallyoneway_zpsfcb55c7a.jpg


13skewereddiagonallytheotherway_zpsaeb06eb7.jpg


14addedcurlies_zpsbc147365.jpg


Off you go in the fridge!

15inthefridge_zps97259fd9.jpg


After two hours, it was solid, and the colour had changed to blue!! :shock:

solidaftertwohours_zps875476f9.jpg


Unmolded and cut.

outofthemold_zps2ddd803d.jpg


freshlycut_zpsce4aa662.jpg


Next day, same recipe, double the alkanet (2 tbs), and a side-by-side comparison. The colour is a truer purple, but today (not pictured), those bars are covered in heavy ash.

daytwo-doublethealkanet_zpsd812c01f.jpg


daytwo-doublethealkanetcut_zpse7d2efd2.jpg


And that's what I did this weekend. I mean, I did other stuff, but it's not worth reporting on. :)
 
Re: Alkanet surface swirl experiement (picture HEAVY)

Nice color and swirls! It will be interesting to see how the color develops as your soap cures. You might want to follow up with pics at 1 week, 2 weeks, 4 weeks.
 
Re: Alkanet surface swirl experiement (picture HEAVY)

B-U-T-ful! I love that you only swirled the top!
 
Re: Alkanet surface swirl experiement (picture HEAVY)

NICE!!! :mrgreen:

I'm a little jealous! I have no lye in the house and instead of doing soap swirls.........cheesecake with caramel swirls instead is on the schedule. Plus cookies and candies etc for Christmas gifts. Those are fun too.

So what was your original oil=alkanet powder ratio in the jar. I filled my quart jar with olive oil and added 3 teaspoons of alkanet powder. Also wondering what kinds of oils you used to make the soap.
 
Re: Alkanet surface swirl experiement (picture HEAVY)

Nice! I have the hardest time with swirling. Your soap looks great.
 
Re: Alkanet surface swirl experiement (picture HEAVY)

LOVE your willy nilly curly Q swirls. :) I'm also going to be interested in how the color behaves as it ages. I've used alkanet twice: first time it was green for several weeks, and it stayed green on top but in the middle of the soap the green turned purple. In the other batch, I did a peacock swirl and the alkanet was purple from the beginning and stayed purple. Weird!

Thanks for sharing your experiment with us. :)
 
Re: Alkanet surface swirl experiement (picture HEAVY)

Wow! It's gorgeous, and I'm curious about your oils too, as alkanet never turns blue for me. I love the card-box as a mold and the easy lining with press-and-seal.
 
Re: Alkanet surface swirl experiement (picture HEAVY)

The original infusion is 1 tbs of alkanet powder to 5 oz of olive oil (I did 15 oz). You really need to shake the sh*t out of the jar every day to loosen the sediment that settled on the bottom.

I think the first batch turned baby blue, because I didn't use enough alkanet oil; the second one the next day was still a nicer purple this morning. The only thing that bothers me a bit was that the second batch had a heap of ash on it after a few hours. You can see the drag on top of the soap from my dish cloth trying to make it look better for the photograph, lol.

My recipe was 50% lard, 25% coconut, 25% palm. You can see the bars, after they're cut, are a little cumbly -- that's what you get when you only use hard oils.
 
Re: Alkanet surface swirl experiement (picture HEAVY)

So my alkanet oil is 1/2 the strength of yours. And I like the press n seal plastic lining too.
 
Re: Alkanet surface swirl experiement (picture HEAVY)

I will increase mine to approx the same amount of alkanet powder/oil ratio. Since I am just learning about it that will give a good jumping off point. Thanks for sharing your pictures!

This is what I have made so far today......not soap, but they are square like soaps....LOL. Don't laugh at the comparison, I will blame it on smelling too much chocolate!

varwwwclientsclient1web3tmpphpF5IqEU.jpg
 
Re: Alkanet surface swirl experiement (picture HEAVY)

Oh my gosh, those look to die for.
 
Re: Alkanet surface swirl experiement (picture HEAVY)

2lilboots said:
Dangit now I want to make brownies...... :wink:

SORRY!!! LOL! I didn't even get to eat any......had to make us a gluten free batch tonight. ChOCOlatE! :shock:
 
Re: Alkanet surface swirl experiement (picture HEAVY)

Beautiful use of alkanet! I have only done spoon swirls so far with it, I should try your top swirling technique. I get the exact color changes by the way, it is purple pink in the infusion, turns to a blue-lavender after saponification.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top