Black Eyed Susan Soap

I had read way back in the spring before I started this soaping adventure that black eyed susan's could be used to color soap. If you know me, you'll know I love daisies, black-eyed susans, and sunflowers so it's no surprise that I have an abundance of black eyed susans growing in the yard. I had forgotten this tidbit of information until I stumbled across it again flipping through Susan Miller Cavitch's book a Soapmaker's Companion . Tucked away in a drawer was a sample pack of dried calendula from Brambleberry and I instantly knew I needed to make some BE Susan Soap.

I used a basic recipe that called for quite a bit of cocoa butter which I love for it's richness and hardness that it gives to the final bar. I picked a handful of black eyed susans from the garden and commenced playing He loves me, He loves me not. Once I had all my petals I measured up some lye and water and tossed in the petals. Hmmm, nothing. Then suddenly it went from clear water to dark orange with wilted blooms scattered throughout. Yeah it was working.

I mixed up my oils while the petals marinated. My next hurdle was how to get the petals out of the lye. I rigged up a system only a man would be proud of that consisted of a funnel holding a coffee filter perched on a jar. I poured the lye into the funnel slowly and it worked like a charm...for about 15 seconds. Then the coffee filter became so congested with petals that everything just sat and the lye barely dripped out the bottom. Not to be out done by a coffee filter, I wiggled and jiggled the filter (while wearing gloves of course) until at last, the coffee filter gave way thus dumping all my petals back into the mixture. Rewind, take 2. Same set up, same process, same result. Isn't the definition of stupidity repeating the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome?

At this point I threw caution to the wind and grabbed a colander from amongst my kitchen utensils. Hoping it was stainless and not some highly corrosive metal, I poured the lye through into my container. Thankfully, this attempt was successful. I stirred in my oils and poured it into my mold. I sprinkled my calendula blossoms on top to give a nod to the flowery origins of this bar and set it aside to cure.

I finally un-molded these this morning and am fairly happy with the results. As promised the calendula retained it's beautiful yellow color and the black eyed susan petals did dye my soap a warm yellow. I can't wait to try this one out as it smells wonderful. I chose Arabian Spice from Brambleberry for it's warm, spicy scent. It should be a good fall soap.