Teach Soap

so im talking a break from soapmaking to do some reading and more reseach on the type of soap and other prodoucts i want to make. im currently reading the soapmakers compaion and i understand its dated but it was on the recommend list so im sure it has great value anyways what is this hybrninzied oli she is talkin about. has any one used it. I read it but i dont understand what i read or why it matters. I dont like how she worte the book it seem backwards. later in the book she breaks down the science of it all so why tell me about hybrid oils befor i can understand the sicence of it all?

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~~Sydney~~
The Crafty Lefty

She's talking about agricultural efforts to create new types of plants which create oils that work better for soaping (or in food).

One example is sunflower oil. You can buy high oleic sunflower oil or high linoleic sunflower or other types where they emphasize certain fatty acids. That changes how the oil behaves when you soap it. I've never used a hybridized oil. I don't hear much about them, likely because I'd expect them to be expensive.

Canola oil is the best example of a hybridized oil. True, non modified, canola is pretty toxic! So they genetically modified the plant to produce a a safe oil. Now they modify plants to produce healthier oils, or oils with specific fatty acid chains. It's actually quite an amazing process if you wanted to google it and see how it's done! They commonly utilize viruses and viroids to implant specific DNA or RNA into the modified plants (inactive particles, whose sole purpose is to deliver genetic material, they do the same thing with gene therapy in humans!).

Take a look on google, at canola if nothing else!

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

They also modify seeds to include pesticides in the foods we eat, and grains that are fed to cows that we eat. I'm all for making things better, but GMOs have gotten entirely out of hand

Unfortunately the best way to deal with pests is to stop monoculture, but that will never happen =/ I hate pesticides! Unless they are natural ones, like bacteria or ladybugs!

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

Thanks guys this book making me have more questions then answers i like it but it confusing

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~~Sydney~~
The Crafty Lefty

Sunshine, have you looked at Alicia Grosso's The Everything Soapmaking book ()? It was an awesome book to read. I read Soapmaker's Companion after, which helped me follow it better.

robert, I wanted that book first but i had already placed my order for this one so i will be getting that book next. Im gald im not the only one who found this book confusing. I like it but i dont like how it was put together the first chaperter was cp soap resicipes i think that should have been the last chapter of the book. but i cant wait to get the everyhitng book. i looked at it on amazon it seem like a better read.

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~~Sydney~~
The Crafty Lefty