I'm heaving a brain teaser this period concerning some of my batches that are slightly brittle(mostly on the bottom surface) only while i cut them.
I present you some details of some batches to help you get a point of view.
All my batches are Extra Virgin Olive oil 90%, Coconut Oil 10%, 5% superfat
A.Pomegranate juice 50% of water, lye concentration 30%, 40 [FONT="]˚C oils/lye
B. [/FONT]Pomegranate juice 30% of water, lye concentration 33%, 30 [FONT="]˚C oils/lye[/FONT]
[FONT="]C. [/FONT]Pomegranate juice 30% of water, lye concentration 28%, 30 [FONT="]˚C oils/lye[/FONT]
D.Olive oil 100% lye concentration 28%, 45 [FONT="]˚C oils/lye[/FONT]
Results
A. Very good trace (only when fragrance added), quite brittle (bottom)
B. Very good trace (only when fragrance added), no brittle
C. None trace (no fragrance added) , quite brittle (bottom)
D. None trace (no fragrance added) , quite brittle (bottom)
Conclusions
I'm trying to find the main reason/s to avoid brittle. It's not a major problem because i cut the outer problematic surface and have a nice soap, but the right thing is to find the solution and avoid such things in future.
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I present you some details of some batches to help you get a point of view.
All my batches are Extra Virgin Olive oil 90%, Coconut Oil 10%, 5% superfat
A.Pomegranate juice 50% of water, lye concentration 30%, 40 [FONT="]˚C oils/lye
B. [/FONT]Pomegranate juice 30% of water, lye concentration 33%, 30 [FONT="]˚C oils/lye[/FONT]
[FONT="]C. [/FONT]Pomegranate juice 30% of water, lye concentration 28%, 30 [FONT="]˚C oils/lye[/FONT]
D.Olive oil 100% lye concentration 28%, 45 [FONT="]˚C oils/lye[/FONT]
Results
A. Very good trace (only when fragrance added), quite brittle (bottom)
B. Very good trace (only when fragrance added), no brittle
C. None trace (no fragrance added) , quite brittle (bottom)
D. None trace (no fragrance added) , quite brittle (bottom)
Conclusions
I'm trying to find the main reason/s to avoid brittle. It's not a major problem because i cut the outer problematic surface and have a nice soap, but the right thing is to find the solution and avoid such things in future.
- Is it the non trace factor (inadequate saponification)? If so, why recipe B had no brittle?
- Is it the temperature factor? (Relevance between initilal soapmaking temperature and heat loss during stirring or during curing in the mold)
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