elitenaildesign Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 I finally got to make a new batch tonight for a swap that should have been done 2 weeks ago. i just went to look at it and it totally sunk right down the middle. Not just a little but badly. So i tried to sqwish it down and made a mess. I used the same recipe I usually do and now I am out of Palm oil. What a waste. Anyone ever had this happen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunny Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 No girl.. But try making it with lard instead of the palm!! OMG, while it may sound gross, it feels fantastic!Are you sure your new scale is accurate? Isn't 5 quarters an ounce? Hmmmm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soapie1 Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 the best scales are the ones the guys at the post office use! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunny Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 Umm. No it's not. Not by any means. Those scales at the PO are NOT calibrated on a regular basis, if at all. I'd rather make soap using measuring spoons than use a postal scale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 Bunny what kind of scales do you use?I just bought scales from Old Will Knots,don't know if I am happy with them. Anna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elitenaildesign Posted December 3, 2006 Author Share Posted December 3, 2006 I loved my scale from OldWillKnot, but sold it like an idiot because I tried to give all this up. WRONG. Anyhoo, maybe that scale is off. The new scale better be here by Mon.I did take it out of the mold this am and most of it may be salvagable. Thebottom half looks great.I think the bars can be 1-2oz so I may just have to make another batch with lard, eeeww. By the way, can lard be bought at the grocery store or can Crisco be used? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladysj Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 You can buy lard at the grocery store it's in a green box and they have it in gallon buckets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 I may just have to make another batch with lard, eeeww. By the way, can lard be bought at the grocery store or can Crisco be used?LOL, lard is wonderful in soap. Go look on almost any soap at the store and you'll see sodium tallowate as an ingredient. That is soponified tallow, beef lard if you will. Most people use soap with animal fats and don't even know it.Lard can be bought at the grocery store. At the walmart near me, the lard is in the same aisle as the liquid oils, just on the bottom shelf. They have a couple of brands, I go for the one in the green bucket but I've tried the armour brand and it works fine also. In the grocery store nearest me, the lard is stacked on the back of the meat case in the meat department. They only sell armour brand.Crisco can also be used but I can't remember what you use in the soap calc for crisco. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SassyLady Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 Soap calc has crisco listed...I use it all the time!Good luck with your soap.Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunny Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 Bunny what kind of scales do you use?I just bought scales from Old Will Knots,don't know if I am happy with them. AnnaI use OWK scales too.. Ok.. Last night when I read "postal scales" for some stupid reason I thought "scales at the post office" and not a postal scale you can purchase. LOL! So yes, go with it if it's workin for ya! The scales at the PO don't have to be calibrated. I know how many boxes of mine have been weighed there, I can't imagine them not being required to calibrate them weekly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 I use OWK scales too.. Ok.. Last night when I read "postal scales" for some stupid reason I thought "scales at the post office" and not a postal scale you can purchase. LOL! So yes, go with it if it's workin for ya! The scales at the PO don't have to be calibrated. I know how many boxes of mine have been weighed there, I can't imagine them not being required to calibrate them weekly!Ugh, there is one scale at the PO that is a real PITA. I always weigh everything before I go and I know exactly what to expect. There is one scale at the local PO that I make them re-calibrate every time I have to go to that person. It has been off as much as 4oz on an item less than 1lb. If at any time you question the weight at the PO you can ask them to re-calibrate the scale. It just takes a few seconds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elitenaildesign Posted December 3, 2006 Author Share Posted December 3, 2006 So if I sub w/ lard instead, do i still use the same amount it says in the recipe for palm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CareBear Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 So if I sub w/ lard instead, do i still use the same amount it says in the recipe for palm?You can use the same amount of lard as palm, but you will have to run the recipe through a soap calculator like soapcalc.com to find out exactly how much lye you need now.I'm loving this thread cause I HATE dealing with palm and it's in my favorite recipe - so I'm trying out lard in place of it as soon as I get a chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elitenaildesign Posted December 4, 2006 Author Share Posted December 4, 2006 alrighty then, got my lard at walmart and I am off to make more soap, I mean after the soap calc of coarse! Thanks Care Bare! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elitenaildesign Posted December 4, 2006 Author Share Posted December 4, 2006 I am really impressed with this recipe I used so far, its very simple. Took forever to trace with my sb. But its very creamy looking. Bout killed me not to use color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie Posted December 4, 2006 Share Posted December 4, 2006 Please post when you test out the soap and let us know what you think about the lard. I use it in all my soaps except castille. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecandlespastore Posted December 4, 2006 Share Posted December 4, 2006 I second lard and tallow. I used to be gungho about only making veggie soaps, but the heck with that! I definitely feel a difference between my animal fat and my Palm soaps. I might be selling my 50 pound bucket of palm really soon, its just irking me now. A few recipes I have done lately with palm were almost complete flops. Soap with lard or tallow, perfect batch every time.PS, tallow will give you an amazing white or almost white bar, lard will do the same, but I find that my lard soaps have an almost translucent look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CareBear Posted December 4, 2006 Share Posted December 4, 2006 PS, tallow will give you an amazing white or almost white bar, lard will do the same, but I find that my lard soaps have an almost translucent look.Very interesting. I did a 100% lard bar for a laundry stain stick and it was solid shiny white - not translucent as far a I could tell, though I did pour it into deodorant-type containers. Hard as a rock too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecandlespastore Posted December 4, 2006 Share Posted December 4, 2006 I have yet to try a 100% lard soap, but its on my list. My recipe with lard had other oils in it though that probably affected the color (like my pomace olive or something) but its weird, the same recipe with only tallow does not do that:undecided Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elitenaildesign Posted December 4, 2006 Author Share Posted December 4, 2006 I just unmolded my lard soap, and its much softer than what I expected. I did go ahead and cut them carefully so they can get to curing. Ususally when Iw would use the palm oil or palm kernal it would set up really fast.Heres what I used. 15oz CO9oz lard24oz olive oil6.87 lye17oz waterI need to get another batch made tonight so please someone chime in if these amounts look way off. I used rice flower & shea from NG and it took forever to trace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scent Cellar Posted December 4, 2006 Share Posted December 4, 2006 I think you might have better luck if you use less water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CareBear Posted December 4, 2006 Share Posted December 4, 2006 I would agree with less water depending on the FO (I've found that one rice flower & shea I tried riced on me - don't know which but def. not NG. Lard does take a long time to trace (relatively). But if you are comfortable with your FO and you soap at reasonable temps then go ahead and cut the water down a bit perhaps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elitenaildesign Posted December 4, 2006 Author Share Posted December 4, 2006 I wondered if that was a bit too much water. How much should I take it down? Dontmean to sound like a ass, but what is ricing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CareBear Posted December 4, 2006 Share Posted December 4, 2006 I don't know about the water discount. I try to use about a 30% lye solution if it's a well behaved FO, maybe even a bit more concentrated if I'm not swirling.Ricing is when the texture of the soap gets to like apple sauce then rice pudding - not smooth at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elitenaildesign Posted December 4, 2006 Author Share Posted December 4, 2006 Well I discounted the water and it is setting up much faster, but this time I colored it with black and blue, so I had to work a little quicker, I just noticed in the mold, it is splitting or cracking down the middle. hmmm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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