Hi everyone. So, I've spent about 45 minutes on here searching old threads but I can't seem to find the answer I need. I'm trying to make buttermilk bastille. Just buttermilk, lye & olive oil pomace. I'm doing a 1:1 of buttermilk & lye, with frozen buttermilk. I've tried to mix my lye & buttermilk twice & I think it's burnt. It turns a carrot orange color, has what I believe is curdled buttermilk floating on top & smells terrible. Should I try to pour slower? I have the buttermilk frozen in an ice cube tray. Should I add a few pieces of buttermilk, a little lye, mix & then add more? I really want to successfully make this soap but I'm not sure what to do to execute it correctly. Thank you!!
Mixing lye into buttermilk.
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I would try setting the lye container in an icewater bath, even though your buttermilk is frozen. Yes, you do need to add the lye very slowly while stirring. I use cream as a small part of my liquid in my soaps and deduct the amount of cream from the liquid. I dissolve my lye in water and add the cream at thin trace. This prevents the cream from scorching. Hopes this makes sense.
Using milk is very tricky. That's why I now like to use enough water to dissolve the lye and make up the rest of the liquid with buttermilk. Several people have commented that you can add enough buttermilk powder to the buttermilk to make it equal full strength.
Have you tried setting your pitcher in ice water and adding the lye extremely slowly? If you don't have a lot of ice, just freeze water into several plastic pop bottles and toss them into the water. I've done that before it and it worked well. What I did was put all of the frozen buttermilk into the pitcher and then added a little lye, stirred, added more lye, stirred, etc. It took quite awhile. The buttermilk did turn orangy colored and had small globs floating in it. What I was told was that was some of the fat in the milk starting to saponify. I don't think from your description that there was a problem with the buttermilk. Milk does turn orange, you're adding the lye so slowly that some fat can start saponifying and it does stink. Don't worry - the smell fades through the curing. Now if the milk turned brown, then you'd have a problem. I believe that's a sign that the sugar has scorched.
***Gosh! Too slow again.
eta: The orange color fades, too.
Have you tried setting your pitcher in ice water and adding the lye extremely slowly? If you don't have a lot of ice, just freeze water into several plastic pop bottles and toss them into the water. I've done that before it and it worked well. What I did was put all of the frozen buttermilk into the pitcher and then added a little lye, stirred, added more lye, stirred, etc. It took quite awhile. The buttermilk did turn orangy colored and had small globs floating in it. What I was told was that was some of the fat in the milk starting to saponify. I don't think from your description that there was a problem with the buttermilk. Milk does turn orange, you're adding the lye so slowly that some fat can start saponifying and it does stink. Don't worry - the smell fades through the curing. Now if the milk turned brown, then you'd have a problem. I believe that's a sign that the sugar has scorched.
***Gosh! Too slow again.
eta: The orange color fades, too.
1:1 lye mixture is an awfully strong concentration. there are fats and solids in buttermilk, so I am not really sure you have enough liquid to completely dissolve your lye. More liquid will also help disperse the heat. Are you sure it is curdled buttermilk floating on it, or is that where the lye has already gone to work on the fats? when I used all coconut milk and lye I had soap paste before it ever got to my oils.
put it in an ice bath as lsg suggested, but I would go to at least a 1:1.5 ratio (which is still a pretty steep water discount). it WILL stink to high heaven and may turn orange-ish, but that should cure out with time.
HTH, good luck!
put it in an ice bath as lsg suggested, but I would go to at least a 1:1.5 ratio (which is still a pretty steep water discount). it WILL stink to high heaven and may turn orange-ish, but that should cure out with time.
HTH, good luck!
Thanks guys. I decided I'm going to let the buttermilk just hang in the freezer overnight & try it again tomorrow night after work. I will definitely do the ice bath, I'm making more ice just for that as well. I just finished making the saddest looking cupcakes, I think I have a soap gremlin here tonight.
Not that you need someone else to tell you the same thing, but I second (or third or fourth?) the ice bath while adding lye suggestion. I soaped with heavy cream a while back and did it slowly and carefully while the bowl was in a tub of ice water. My cream wasn't frozen, but rather slurried. And that stupid cream survived beautifully, scenting my soap with rich creaminess. I guess that's a good thing, but stupid me didn't realize I HATE the smell of cream! Once it's cured, I'm rehoming the entire batch- bleck! But yes, it turned orange and did finally mellow out and the soap turned a nice light brown (it was oatmeal soap with cream) So you totally can soap with milks and such, just gotta take it cold and slow! Good luck with that buttermilk, and I'm anxious to hear if it retains its scent after it's soaped like that stinking (literally!) cream did!
Good luck with that buttermilk, and I'm anxious to hear if it retains its scent after it's soaped like that stinking (literally!) cream did!
seo said:
I'm sorry I'm getting a little off topic.
seo -
You sound like me.
I was using cream in batches and thought they had gone rancid. I was told later that what I was smelling was the butyric acid. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butyric_acid Some people are able to smell it and some people aren't able to smell it. The person who told me about it made a comment that generally people who think jasmine and honeysuckle stink are the ones who can smell butyric acid. I switched to only adding cream as 25% of the liquid amount and found that I can't smell it at that percentage but still get the creaminess from the cream. BTW, I use heavy cream.I don't have this problem with buttermilk but that's probably because it has less of a fat content.
Hazel said:seo said:
I'm sorry I'm getting a little off topic.
seo -
You sound like me.
I don't have this problem with buttermilk but that's probably because it has less of a fat content.
Hazel- oh my, I can't stand the way jasmine and honeysuckle smell! Wow! What a hoot, I had no idea, but yes, those fragrances totally stink to me, and some of my family members demand them and love them. Hello clothespin on the nose when I soap those! I guess that's true about the butyric acid. I made my mom sniff the cream soap and she said she couldn't smell a thing. Um, yeah, they STINK! I guess it's just my sniffer that's off! Thanks for telling me that! Cool to know!
Isn't amazing the things you learn just because of a hobby?
@tisci
I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hijack your thread.
@tisci
I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hijack your thread.
