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Blue Peter
Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Posts: 2400
Location: Milton Keynes
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cab
Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429
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 Posted: Thu Jul 28, 05 2:38 pm Post subject: Re: Soap |
 
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| Blue Peter wrote: |
I was looking around at the soap making recently, and I cam across Mochyn's (I think, apols if wrong) recipe for castile soap using olive oil. We're tempted to have a go, but being cheapskates  , wondered if there were recipes for the rather cheaper rape seed oil.
In general, what's the relationship between the type of fat and the type of soap?
Peter. |
Different oils produce different kinds of soaps, depending on the balance of different fatty acids in the soap. You can make a soap from pretyt much any fat, and you can find a recipe (or deduce one) quite readily.
Rape seed oil will make a soap that is kind of light, fairly free of scent, whiteish, but rather uninspiring IMHO. My own preferred mixture includes olive oil (cheap extra virgin from ALDI and LIDL), coconut oil (surprisingly cheap in oriental supermarkets) and sunflower oil (which is marginally better than rapeseed for cooking, IMHO, so it's what we have in normally). I find this mix, with other ingredients added at soft trace, works a treat. The basic soap smells 'soapy', gives a rich, soft foam, and is hard enough to be a soap without being a tough block.
What you need is a saponification chart; basically it's a list of fats, each with a number next to it. Multiply the weight of fat by the number to get a weight of lye (sodium hydroxide) to saponify the fat, add the lye needed for all the fats, and that's your recipe. Then you just need an idea of how much water to add to the lye (on this opinions differ, but use any similar recipe from a book as guidance). |
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Bugs
Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744
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cab
Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429
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Stacey
Joined: 18 Jul 2005
Posts: 8380
Location: Kernow
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sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator
Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales
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| Posted: Thu Jul 28, 05 3:32 pm Post subject: Re: Soap |
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| Blue Peter wrote: |
We're tempted to have a go, but being cheapskates , wondered if there were recipes for the rather cheaper rape seed oil.
Peter. |
I use part rapeseed part tallow in my 'historic' softsoap, it was one of the classic Tudor soapmaking oils. In my opinion, by itself, its not a great soapmaking oil, and a number of people have reported rancidity with it over time if used alone, but its certainly fine in a mixture. The best soaps for all round use will use a mix of oils/fats that are liquid at room temp, and those that are solid, so a lot of beginners use part lard or pura (that solid veg lard stuff), but as mentiones, every oil has slightly different characteristics so its worth using a good lye calculator. The MMS one already mentioned is very good, but if you want to know more about the likely properties of your soap try this one too https://www.soapcalc.com/calc/SoapCalc.asp it is more complicated but it does however give you details of how hard, fluffy etc your soap will be and details the various fatty acids that make it that way, which is handy if you want to know that sort of thing! |
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judith
Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire
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Bugs
Joined: 28 Oct 2004
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judith
Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire
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wellington womble
Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands
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Viking_Chick
Joined: 21 May 2005
Posts: 123
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cab
Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429
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cab
Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429
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Viking_Chick
Joined: 21 May 2005
Posts: 123
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cab
Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429
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, come on, chop chop, out with it. I wouldn't have any objection to using lard...I think.
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