Shortening ratio/percent?

by Vivian
(Canada)

In my city, I can't find hard oils. So I use soft oils. The result is that soap can not be traced. I was suggested to use shortening. Can you help me to measure the shortening? I need its ratio/percent with oils. Thanks so much

Answer:

Soft oils will trace but it does take longer. A castile soap which is 100% olive oil will trace quite nicely if you use a stick blender...I've even traced it in an old normal blender. If you try to get it to trace with a whisk or spoon, it could take hours and hours. Pomace oil (the lowest grade of olive oil) will trace much faster as well.

Shortening can consist of different types of vegetable oils and you will have to read the ingredients to figure out what yours consists of.

If you have Crisco Shortening you can use Soap Calc to formulate a recipe since it has a SAP value for that brand.

Lard is another easy to get oil that can be used to replace palm oil.

I use Coconut oil in all of my recipes because of its cleansing abilities and for the bubbles it creates.

You'll find that there are quite a few suppliers in Canada and most of them will ship for reasonable prices.

Visit my Suppliers Page to see what is available.

I don't currently have a recipe that is just soft oils so you will have to experiment. Since 100% olive oil makes a fine bar, you could try adding in some lard and crisco...say 20% to 30% of each and see what that turns out like.

Good luck,
Cathy