What is the proper consistancy?

[SunshineSundries]

Hiya all!

I so want to make whipped butter but either I've got a bum formula or this isn't supposed to feel like butter (I'm talking the kind you put on toast). I got a new Kitchen Aid mixer for an Anniversary/Mother's Day gift and I went out and purcased a seperate mixing bowl and whip attachment to make body butters with (and lotions once I get to that point!). I pulled out my shea butter and a few oils to add to it but I get a wonderful whipped butter BUT I put it into a container and after a day or two it looses it's fluffy feel - it's hard! Is this what it's supposed to be?? What the heck am I doin' wrong because I SOOOO want to have this in my line as I get requests for it at almost every show I do!! I make lotion bars and this is just a tad softer than my bars - it stays whipped looking but it gets like crusty. I've tried just using it room temp and I've tried softened and I've tried completely melted. They all end up the same after a few days...

Any help is appreciated!! TIA

Life & Light!

Tish

[jazzbo848]

what ratio of butter to oils are you using?

what oils are you using?

are you melting it?

are you putting it in the freezer between beating sessions?

how long are you whipping it for?

are you using corn starch or dry flo to keep it from being greasy?

cheryl

[SunshineSundries]

I'm using unrefined shea butter, FCO, Shea Oil, and Hemp Oil - oh and a few drops of vit E. I use one ounce total oils to one pound butter (on the second batch I used 1/2 ounce oils 1/2# butter). The first batch I tried it just room temp (about 71* is what we keep our house at) - when that didn't work, I warmed the batch in my warm oven for about 5 minutes - that didn't work so I make a second batch and melted everything together. The first batch I whipped for 10 minutes - the warmed second batch I did 25 minutes (I was only going to do 20 but I had to break up a rumble between my kids and didn't hear the timer!) and the third batch I did only 5 minutes... I haven't added any cornstarch because the formula didn't say to - I thought about adding it to a third batch but before I *wasted* anymore oils, I thought I would ask here first... I don't have room in my upstairs freezer to put that big bowl in but if you suggest doing so, I can bring it down to our deep freeze in the basement.

Anything else you need to help?? I really want to make this stuff!! TIA!

Life & Light!

Tish

[jazzbo848]

when i make whipped butter(s), i use anywhere from 70%butter/30% oils (winter) to 80%butter/20% oils (summer)

for a 1 lb (16 oz) batch, try this.....

12 oz. shea butter

4 oz. oils (say 1/3 fco, 1/3 shea. 1/3 hemp)...but i will tell you that if you use more fco or vco, the final product will be lighter.

melt shea butter until just liquid (others just soften it, but i melt)

add oils and mix well. put in freezer for about 15 minutes, take out and whip the snot out of it, blending the sides in well for about 5 minutes. repeat freezing and whipping until the mixture starts taking on th consistency of whipped topping. and apprx. 1 tbls corn starch an fo/eo in proper % and whip more.

it can take an hour of whipping, but don't worry, your ka stand mixer can take it!

cheryl

[CareBear]

Mine (and I'm no expert!) is more like a mousse than butter! I like it to about double in volume - maybe a little less cause I don't want to over-whip it and have it fall flat.

When I get home I'll look at what I did last time - still have people asking for more of that one (it's been a while).

[Cabin Creek Candles]

Mine (and I'm no expert!) is more like a mousse than butter! I like it to about double in volume - maybe a little less cause I don't want to over-whip it and have it fall flat.

When I get home I'll look at what I did last time - still have people asking for more of that one (it's been a while).

Carol aren't you suppose to be working? At that new job with all the great benefits I may add. What happened, didn't go as well as you expected?

[SunshineSundries]

OK - this may sound like a dumb question but can I just melt down the stuff I have already made (it's still in the bowl because I don't have the heart to throw it away and I'm too damn stubborn to give up!) and add more oils to it? I really can't see a reason why I can't but I didn't know if I should - like if there would be a problem with re-whipping it or something. Also I'm thinking I want to add some cornstarch to this - would a half tablespoon be too much for a pound of shea and five ounces of oils? Also when you say throw it in the freezer, do you mean the one on the fridge or like a deep freezer - or doesn't it really matter. I've never done the freezer thing before with this product so I don't want to screw it up! I put my bath melts and my lotion stars in the deep freeze just because it cools them faster and I'm impatient! lol

Thanks to you all for your advice and help on this! (((HUGS!)))

Life & Light!

Tish

[Carrie]

Lets see

1. Yes, you can melt and re-whip as many times as you want.

2. If it is too hard, add more oils. I would recommend FCO as it is a dry oil.

3. I add 1tbs of dry-flo (a cornstarch product) to 11oz of butters and oils. I would say start with a tsp and work your way up.

4. Make sure you are only using a tad bit of butters when you use them. If you use the same amount of butters as lotion it will be grossly greasy.

5. I've never used the freezer for whipped butters, I'm no help there.

[jazzbo848]

yep, you can use the freezer over your frig................

and relax.......whipped butters are very tweakable....what works for one, does not always work for someone else. the percentages i gave you are just a starting point...........

cheryl

[SunshineSundries]

ok - so far so good... I re-melted my big batch - 1# shea to 1oz oils - in my oven on warm (about 150*) until about 1/3 melted and the rest was just really soft. Threw it on my KA, whipped it up until everything was the same consistancy. Then I added enough oils to make it 1oz jojoba, 1oz hemp, and 3 oz FCO to the 1# of shea whipped it for three minutes then put it in the freezer for 10 (the one on my fridge - had to clean it out some to make room though!) then I just got done whipping it again for 3 minutes - I scraped the bowl - then two more. It's in the freezer right now chillin' out. I must say I like this SOOOO much better than the other one!!! I didn't add any cornstarch (I don't have dry-flo ) to this batch just to see how oily it was without it and see if I really needed to go through the hassle. If it's oily, I'll re-do this batch and add some after re-melt....

Thanks guys for helping me!! I'lll let you know how it does after sitting for a couple of days.

Life & Light!

Tish

[Carrie]

I also add IPM (Isopropyl Myristate) to mine. It helps with glide and makes it feel less greasy. I also add some liquapar Optima because you use so little that it can easily get contaminated with so many uses.

[SunshineSundries]

I am saving that (IPM) for when I get the courage to make lotion... I'm so confused by preservatives that I'm still trying to get a general idea from reading posts on what I should use before I jump into making lotions! I want one that I can use in lotions and scubs and one that is paraben (?) free. I was going to use Biopien (?) all natural but that stuff is SUPER spendy to buy on my own and no one seems to carry it! All (or mostly) natural products sell the best for me. I know sometimes it can't be avoided but I do me best.

This stuff isn't too greasy but I think in the future I'm going to add cornstarch to it because some people are really picky! Plus I think I'm going to take out an ounce of FCO when I put in Vit E and EO/FOs to this. Maybe that will help too...

I'm off to run some errands and then come back and try it again (smaller amounts this time!)

Life & Light!

Tish

[magsglass]

Hi Tish!

Glad your whipped buter is doing better now. In regards to your statement about eliminating the FCO...if it were me, I'd take an ounce away from the shea rather than the FCO. As someone else said before, the FCO is a dry-feeling oil so it doesn't give that greasy feel like shea does. Just my opinion.

Have you seen the sticky at the top of the Bath, Body & Cosmetics forum about Preservative Info? I've found that each preservative has it's own strengths and weaknesses, and they each differ in regards to what they are formulated to preserve best (oil-in-water product, water-in-oil products, all-oil products, etc.) Bunny's sticky is really helpful for choosing the best one for your application. Can't wait it hear how it all turns out for you!

[thecandlespastore]

I used to use soft oils with my whipped butters but now I no longer do so. My butters consists of unrefined West African Shea, unrefined East African Nilotica Shea, unrefined Cocoa Butter and refined Mango Butter, and a touch of Vit E. I melt them all together (except Vit E that is added at the end of it all) until they are just soft enough to mix together. Meanwhile I have a butterknife chilling in the freezer getting nice and cold.

Once my butters start to harden back up, I pop them under the mixer, let it rip for about 4 minutes. Then I take my chilled butterknife and hold it along the inside of the mixing bowl so that the butters can run along it. This chilled knife not only gets my butters hard again fast so that I dont have to keep popping into the fridge/freezer and back, it seems to make the volume double much faster and better. My butter is ready in less than 30 minutes and soaks right into the skin.

Wanted to add that when I used to add soft oils my whipped butters always melted en route to my clients. Now with no soft oils added I can ship in the summer and they get there in the same form that they left in.

Here is a pic of it, I need bigger round labels but these are doing the trick for now.