Thread: Tallow based soaps going rancid

Has anyone had a tallow based soap go rancid when stored at room temperature with the temperature being 70F/21C year around? Bob

Once the tallow has been converted it shouldn't be able to go rancid. Perhaps there is soap expert that can come up with definitive answer. Did you have something go wrong with your soap?

My two soaps are Cella and P160,the P160 is 5yrs old,stored in ziplocks in a dark cool place,have never had an issue.

Originally Posted by RezDog

Once the tallow has been converted it shouldn't be able to go rancid. Perhaps there is soap expert that can come up with definitive answer. Did you have something go wrong with your soap?

No, have never had a tallow soap go rancid but have seen a thread where a wine cooler was bought to store tallow soaps. I asked why and got a reply, not from the OP of the post, that it was to keep tallow soaps from going rancid. Hence the question to see if the users of this forum had ever experienced this happening under the condition of a constant room temperature of 70F/21C year around.

My guess was that none of the tallow based soaps are transported or stored refrigerated at any point after manufacture to point of sale.

Bob

If the soap is made properly, it's soap not tallow. Soap doesn't go rancid.

I've never had a problem with my tallow soaps but I have heard of others that had issues (specifically Cella IIRC). I think it has more to do with how the soap is stored and not the ingredients themselves.

Interesting question that has been brought up in other topics, maybe the practice of refrigerating tallow soaps is just a result of urban legend?

While it is true saponified tallow (or any other fat or oil) does not go rancid, it must also be said the saponification process leaves a variable, although small, part of non saponified fat. This also depends on how the soap was made, quantity of lye and others factors.
Moreover it should also be considered the presence of any oil added at the end of saponification in order to give soap specific properties. All of this unsaponified tallow/fat/oil, as well as added oils at the end of saponification, may go rancid, in particular when in the soap are not found substances which may prevent oxidation and favor a better keeping. This is mainly true for artisan soaps/creams.

As HNSB said, soap itself cannot "spoil" or become rancid. It is true, however, that immediately upon manufacture the soap, as with any mixture of organic compounds, begins to degrade through exposure to oxygen and light (specifically sunlight - it's the short wavelength stuff that breaks bonds). There may also be reactions occurring between the various ingredients in the soap mixture.

BUT.. remember your high school chemistry: for every 10C degree change in temperature (18F) reaction rate doubles (or halves). Lower temperatures will retard the eventual decomposition of the soap mixture.

Therefore, storing the soap a cool, dark place and packaging it to exclude air will result in the longest shelf life.

Now, it has been said that, in theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.

From a practical standpoint, simply storing our soaps in a cool, dark, dry spot is all we need worry about. We are unlikely to be keeping soap around long enough to require heroic storage techniques. If you are like me and have a 30 year soap supply you might want to double bag it in freezer bags and stick it in that refrigerator in the garage.


rs,
Tack

Thanks for all the replies and enlightenment. I am going to carry on not worrying about it as it seems there is a remote outside chance of that happening under normal conditions.

Bob