Teach Soap

I am visiting family in eco-groovy Humbolt County Northern CA. I was looking at some hand crafted soap at a craft fair and the ingredients listed 'food grade sodium hydroxide' Huh.......Is that like food grade Draino? I can't believe there is such a thing.

Lye on its own, of course, can never be eaten. Lye is used to make some food products like German Pretzels, Bagels and Soda Bread. I think the manufacturer that sold them the lye says it is 'Food Grade' meaning it is processed and packaged in a way that is safe for use in cooking with food.

They probably just have this on the soap to make it sound better. I'm pretty sure that Food Grade lye vs. Technical Grade lye is the same when used in soap.

Olives are brined in lye, so yeah, there is such a thing. I know it sounds weird though, it would be like saying "non-toxic battery acid" just doesn't sound right at all

Brandy

I forgot about olives..........many thanks

Our well water is high in undesolved iron and food grade sh is used to force the iron to separate before filtering. It is also used in our rain water systems to raise the ph. . .so yes, there is such thing as food grade, very pure.

But do you think it would make a difference in soap? Would it be necessary since we do not eat our end product?

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Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!

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

Thats what I was thinking.... thanks for the support.

_________________
Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!

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

There is no "lye" in soap.... by the time you have finished that is. The same as there is no "oil" in soap. It combines chemically to become soap. So it doesn't matter to the end result what you use.

But what if we 'superfat' or in other terms take a lye discount? Then there would be left over oils or butters that the lye left behind.

_________________
Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!

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

[/quote]
This might help. Scroll down a bit. http://www.canis-art.com/soaping.htm[/quote]

That was the most elementary, and frankly, the cutest way I have seen saponification described. I absolutely love it!!!


Brandy