Newbie with ? about whip'd body butter

[Ruina]

Hi Everyone,

I just joined but been reading a bit & have learned quite a bit. Still not sure on the preservative issue. I'll continue my research on that. Anyway, I've just done a few m&p soaps for gifting and I think I'm ready to try something else. I'm going to try whipping up a body butter this weekend. I think I'll try the recipe from Bittercreek. Seems easy that maybe even I can do it. Can someone tell me if I can use a hand blender instead of the hand beater/mixer?

Thanks so much

[Luci]

I'm sure it can be done with a hand mixer, but I wouldn't want to do it personally. I can get all sorts of other things done during the whipping time by using a stand mixer--get jars ready, labels printed, etc. I've never timed how long I whip, but I'm sure it's an hour or sometimes two.

[Ruina]

Wow Luci, here I thought it was gonna be 5-10 min. The recipe on Bittercreek website doesn't state how long to whip.

Oh well, I guess I should invest in 2nd mixer since I don't want to use the same one for food prep right?

[dirtybirdsoaps]

I use a hand mixer all the time and haven't had a hard time. When I first started making them I used their recipe and I just melted the butters, and slowly mixed in the oils and the FO. Then I just used the freezer method. I whipped for about a minute, put in the freezer for about 2 minutes whipped another minute froze another 2 and kept doing that until I got the consistancy I wanted....but hey thats just me LOL. Hope this helps

[Ruina]

Thanks dirtybirdsoaps. The recipe calls for a ice water bath while whipping. You think I can try that with a stick blender and it'll work? Or does the freezer method work better? I'd hate to have to throw out a bad batch after I spent good money on ingredients.

[dirtybirdsoaps]

Ive never done the ice water bath. I just make sure to keep checking on it while in the freezer so it doesnt harden to much to the point that I can't whip it anymore. I actually did forgot about it once though and even when I did I took it out and it was as hard as a rock, I took my blow dryer to it for a sec and then mixed, turned the blow dryer on again and mixed again and it was fine. In my opinion its pretty hard to mess this recipe up to the point of having to pitch it

[SueH]

I do the ice bath and let it sit for about 1/2 hour or so and by then it starts firming up and I use a handmixer and whip it for about 10 minutes.

[jbren]

A STICK BLENDER is not going to work as well for you as a hand held MIXER or stand mixer will for a body butter, no matter what method you use.

[Michi]

A STICK BLENDER is not going to work as well for you as a hand held MIXER or stand mixer will for a body butter, no matter what method you use.

I agree. Been there done that, and basically b/c the stick blender just has that tiny little area that blends, it doesn't whip it up like you want it to be.

I use the ice water bath (b/c I'm impatient) and always use a hand held mixer, and it comes out fine in about 20 minutes total.

I can't wait to get a stand mixer though, so I can do what Luci said, and get other things accomplished while I'm mixing/whipping the heck out of it.

Good luck and have fun!!

[Ruina]

Thanks all. Stand mixer it is. Wish me luck.