gelling versus fridge

[Lazy Bone]

I was just trolling the forum and came across this thread. Very interesting info. Making another batch this weekend and I think I want to stick my soap in the fridge to prevent gel. Just so I can see what the difference is for myself.

Here is my soap after sticking it over night in the refridgerator to prevent gel. Very creamy looking. I made a small one pound batch of soap using Peppermint OE and cocoa powder. They smell awesome! I probably should have waited a little longer before I cut the soap. They have the consistancy of cheese cake and crumbled a little under the knife. But other than that I'm very please.

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[PrairieCraft]

It looks like cheesecake, yummy!

 

[PrairieCraft]

With my past few batches I have either gelled or not gelled the batch and did the opposite with a small portion of the batch. It's a great way to see what should be gelled to get better color and what shouldn't be to keep it light. I think it's something to decide based on what each particular batch calls for.

But, I think there is a problem with a couple of the batches that I did not gel. Over the top and sides (but not bottom) I have a very light cobwebby looking coating of lye. I would have just assumed it was my mistake but the experimental bar of each that I did gel does not have that nor does it zap. To clarify it's the same batch split into two portions. Does not gelling cause this? If not and it was a mistake on my part, why would the gelled bit be ok?