My first Castile Soap - Did I miss Something?

[aharonys]

Hi I made Castile Soap from

100% Olive Oil (extra virgin, quite old but stored in dark cool and air tight containter)

28% Lye Concentration (33% water)

Cold Process, mixed with hand blender at ~50c, got a trace (quite thick) after ~10 min.

I took it out from the mold after 60 hours.

I have a thick white layer on the sides (not exposed to air) and on the upper side (which expose to air)

Here are the pictures.

Is that normal?
any recommendation for changes for the next batch?

 

[Viore]

It looks to me like your soap tried to gel and it didn't reach the edges. I'll let the experts weigh in on this though.

 

[Cindy2428]

Yep, that's gel. Well done with a hand mixer. Did you zap test?

 

[cmzaha]

It is a partial gel.It will look like a rind around the outside edges

 

[aharonys]

Yep, that's gel. Well done with a hand mixer. Did you zap test?

yes, no zap at all.

(I used hand blender, not hand mixer)

Why do u think it is gel?

Does this soap block looks ok for you?

(going to sleep, will come back tomorrow)

 

[Cindy2428]

Carolyn is right - you've achieved partial gel; that translucent ring in the center of your soap. As it goes through the saponification process, your soap naturally heats up.

Partial gel has never bothered me - some people refrigerate to prevent gel, others encourage full gel by heating in the oven, placing a heating pad underneath.

Your soap is fine. Now you have to wait - Castile is at it's best 9-12 months. For many this is a New Years project.

 

[faerytech]

Interesting! I'm just about to make my first batch of castille soaps and I had no idea you needed to wait 9-12 months... wow, that's a bit disappointing! What is the difference between liquid castile soap and solid castile soap?

 

[Steve85569]

Houston, we have gel!

That is gel. If you have never seen gel before you have now! Nothing wrong with it at all unless you don't like the looks of it ( purely cosmetic well mostly ..)

The long wait is for the olive oil and the fatty acids produced in saponification to get the job done. Try a small slice in 1 month, 2 months etc and report back. It will be a good experiment for all and will leave a document trail of why the long wait.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Interesting! I'm just about to make my first batch of castille soaps and I had no idea you needed to wait 9-12 months... wow, that's a bit disappointing! What is the difference between liquid castile soap and solid castile soap?

In fairness, you aren't planning on making a Castile - a Castile is just 100% olive oil, no other oils. That needs a long cure, or it can be very 'slimy' when used, like sticky snot! Not nice at all.

'Dr' Bonner is one of those who has propagated the idea of a Castile being any veggie recipe, but it just isn't so.

 

[topofmurrayhill]

'Dr' Bonner is one of those who has propagated the idea of a Castile being any veggie recipe, but it just isn't so.

Indeed. And it just isn't so that castile soap can be made by any old method someone might feel like using. True castile is a fully boiled soap, not some CP or HP hobbyist simulation.

I guess you could go back to the Levant where castile originated as an HP soap. Not necessarily 100% olive oil though. Those Aleppo soapers liked to add a lauric oil for better lather, a type of recipe we know as bastile.

 

[aharonys]

Houston, we have gel!

That is gel. If you have never seen gel before you have now! Nothing wrong with it at all unless you don't like the looks of it ( purely cosmetic well mostly ..)

The long wait is for the olive oil and the fatty acids produced in saponification to get the job done. Try a small slice in 1 month, 2 months etc and report back. It will be a good experiment for all and will leave a document trail of why the long wait.

I made 12 slices, and i will be glad to report. hope not to forget.

Does the gel make the soap behave different in any certain way? lets say i'm testing a slice with some gelled soap, will it damage the experiment?

thanks for all of your replies!

 

[Steve85569]

The gel will not appreciably change the soap IMHO. Some others will disagree though and they are welcome to.
Gelling is used intentionally to be able to cut sooner, the soap still needs to cure the same as a not gelled or cooked soap.