Paprika in Cold Process Soap 3

Paprika is made by grinding dried peppers, using a variety of peppers from sweet bell peppers to milder chili peppers. It can vary heat being mild to hot as well as different flavors in various countries. Did you know paprika can be found in smoked varieties as well? The smoked flavor is caused by drying the peppers by hanging them over smoking wood chips until the peppers are completely dried.

Countries that use paprika the most are Hungary, Spain, Portugal, Turkey and India. The word paprika is Hungarian for pepper and in Hungary there are eight grades of paprika that varies from delicate to hot (Special Quality, Delicate, Exquisite Delicate, Pungent Exquisite Delicate, Rose, Noble Sweet, Half-Sweet and Strong). Hungary is the world’s largest producer of paprika and exports a large quantity of their paprika. Most grocery stores here carry two varieties of paprika, sweet (Hugarian Delicate) and hot (Hungarian Strong). The sweet paprika is the more common variety and is found easily while hot paprika is harder to find. Paprika is frequently used as a garnish, for flavor or coloring of various dishes such as sausages, potato salad, deviled eggs, pasta, fish, rice and more.

Collect needed items:

We are going to use the higher end of the water recommendations in the Lye Calculator so we can mix the paprika in easily. We are also making this soap in dry weather so the soap will dry/cure quickly. If you are making this in a humid location, please use a dehumidifier to help dry out the soaps.

Measure fixed oils on your scale. Warm the fixed oils on the stove or in the microwave. I melted the oils in the microwave. Add sodium hydroxide to the water. Mix well.

Combine oils and lye solution. Stir until thin trace. Upon light trace, add the paprika. Stir well. Pour soap into molds. I used the Rubbermaid Drawer Organizers #2915 as the mold. Allow to sit until soap is firm.

The next morning cut into bars. Stack to allow good air circulation. Allow to cure for several days before using. Longer curing will result in a harder bar.

Notes:
I have seen paprika used in cold process soap before and loved the color. After the paprika was added, the soap turned a pretty reddish-orange color. When I cut the soap after 24 hours, I excited to see that the soap was a reddish-orange color with darker red specks. As the soap has aged, the orange color has faded and left a orange-blush colored soap with red specks. The paprika did contribute a spicy scent to the soap after being added and during the gel phase. The soap does have a mild sweet spice scent now. It is not a strong scent and it should not interfere with any scent. I would recommend leaving 1 teaspoon as the maximum usage rate because I think this soap could possibly be irritating to the skin.

After looking at the finished soap, I think the best scents for this soap would be fruity or fall scents like Awapuhi Seaberry, Polynesian Red, Acai and Mangosteen, Autumn Afternoon, Raspberry, Fresh Fruit Salsa, Oak Leaves & Acorns and Peach.

The paprika soap samples have been sent to the Shipping Department to send out in orders. I really want to hear your comments about this or any of the other soaps with kitchen spices. I hope that anyone wanting a sample soap will request one and if we have any samples we will send them to you.