Two Easy Methods Used To Test The Quality Of Shea Butter
February 21, 2008
Here are two fast tests to help you see the quality of the shea butter that you are getting. There are more involved tests that can be done, but these two will help you understand the quality of your shea butter fastest.
The first thing to do is to do a “smell test”. You will want to smell your shea butter for traces of rancidity. There is not a good way to tell you how to do this other than to test several different batches of shea butter this same say. You will quickly learn what “good” shea butter should smell like however.
The second test is a “clean test”. Take some of your shea butter, and spread it on a white cloth with a knife. You will then be able to quickly see the purity of your product. You can use a diaper, a white towel, or a sheet. Apply the shea butter to the cloth in the same way that you would butter a piece of bread. When you do, the dirt and impurities in the shea butter will stand out and be very easy to see.
All unprocessed shea butter has some of these impurities; and that is ok. The only way to get rid of all of this is to process the shea butter to the point that it loses some of its effectiveness. Most people who want the pure unrefined shea butter would prefer to have a few impurities, and keep more or the original potency of the shea butter.
You will need to test several different batches of shea butter to really know what this should look like. After doing this for awhile however, you will be able to tell the difference between different qualities of shea butter much better.
June 23, 2008 at 10:10 am
I have about 20lbs of shea butter that has gone rancid/old, and Im trying to find out what could be done with it.
I didnt keep it in a cool place and now the color has changed and it has that rancid scent. I dont want to just throw it out, so Im wondering if anyone has use for it in this state. I have heard that some companies use shea butter to make wax for cars etc, candles etc – I am asking if its this stage they use it for those things.
October 2, 2008 at 9:10 pm
I had purchased a one pound container of Shea butter and found that after about 2 years standing on the shelf near the bathroom, the Shea butter was very white around the edges indicating that it was going bad.
I cut the heavy crusting off; put the remaining in a pan and put it on the burner. It was brought to a slow boil and then left to cool. After cooling to get the high temperatures out of it; it was poured back into the original container that was previously cleaned with soap and water. After a long time at room temperature, the Shea butter took on its original “amber” quality.
Be careful not to burn yourself if you try this idea! This idea will protect the butter for quite awile.