Teach Soap

Hi guys, I'm new to the forum and new to soap making, but I'm having an issue with my olive oil and I thought you'd be the best people to ask.

My first half a dozen batches of soap worked really well. Reached trace easily, gelled up, set, no zap after 12 or so hours.

My last two batches of soap however, have been really strange.

Firstly a coffee soap. Water at 33% SF of 7% - 750g olive oil, 150g sunflower oil, 100g of coconut oil, 330g coffee, 130.3g lye. Run through soapcalc.net.

Combined oils and lye at 50C (I've used the same recipe before with no drama - the coffee was new though), reached trace after about 6 minutes with a stick blender, but trace looked strange. Whereas the last time I made this same recipe, trace was like vanilla pudding, this time trace was almost slimy looking. Good emulsification, and the oils were all combined properly, so I blended for another minute to thicken it some more, poured into a mould and set it to insulate.

An hour later the mould was cold. No gel phase. I needed the space in the cupboard so set the mould in the fridge overnight, hoping it would set up enough to cut in the morning. Nope, in the morning still soft, so I put it back in the cupboard.

36 hours later (24 of them in a cupboard) the soap was the consistency of buttercream with a large zap still.

I left it in a warm room (16C) overnight for another 12 hours and this morning it had set up and the top had dried out and almost crusted over. Very odd. Tested, no zap.

I thought it was the coffee, I thought I'd done something wrong, and then I thought it was just me.

But today I made a chamomile soap with a recipe I've made before with no drama (425g EVOO 75g Coconut 190g water 66.3g Lye), and the same thing happened. Hit trace, but trace was slimy/wobbly/weird instead of thick and luxurious, and the soap has again cooled in the mould instead of hitting gel. I know I'm using soft oils and I was prepared for the unmoulding to take a few extra days, but I wasn't prepared for such a large difference in soap behaviour simply because I switched Olive oil brands.

So TL;DR, I think the latest olive oil batch I'm using is playing havoc with my soap. Has anyone else had this happen? The jug is swearing it's 100% EVOO but I'm not convinced.

Ideas?

There may be a problem with your olive oil. There was a thread on here a while ago about adulterated olive oils. It's possible that the one you're using is on this list:

There was a show on our local TV saying that 60% of ALL olive oils imported are adulterated with other oils. This is quite interesting:

IMPORTED OLIVE OILS:

Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Two out of three samples failed.
Bertolli Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Three of three samples failed.
Pompeian Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Three of three samples failed.
Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Two of three samples failed.
Star Extra Virgin Olive Oil: One of three samples failed.
Carapelli Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Three of three samples failed.
Newman's Own Organics Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Two of three samples failed.
Mezzetta Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Three of three samples failed.
Mazola Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Three of three samples failed.
Rachael Ray Extra Tasty Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Two of three samples failed.
Kirkland Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil: All samples passed.
Great Value 100 percent Extra Virgin Olive Oil: One of three samples failed.
Safeway Select Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Two of three samples failed.
365 Everyday Value 100 percent Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Two of three samples failed.

DOMESTIC OLIVE OILS:

Corto Olive Extra Virgin Olive Oil: All samples passed.
California Olive Ranch Extra Virgin Olive Oil: All samples passed.
McEvoy Ranch Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil: All samples passed.
Bariani Olive Oil Extra Virgin Olive Oil: One of two samples failed.
Lucero (Ascolano) Extra Virgin Olive Oil: All samples passed.

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

Thanks ljm,

I'm in Oz, so my oil isn't on your list, but I think you're right and it's been adulterated with something. Not using it again, I think I'll go back to a brand I know works!

I posted about the adulterated oils some time ago. I'm glad you found my post ljm1180. Another thought....how old is you lye? Lye does loose some potency over time and if any moisture got to it, your calculations could be off.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

The lye was brand new, but that's good to know. Thanks!

My olive oil was an imported from Spain version, so I've bought a new tin of 100% Australian and I'll recreate the same recipe and see how it does.