My Akene conditioner separated and now consists of blobs of creamy stuff in watery liquid. Don’t know if it froze or baked or what, but would love to know if there’s a way to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. Anyone? TIA.
[QUOTE=Saskatoonian;8393924]
My Akene conditioner separated and now consists of blobs of creamy stuff in watery liquid. Don’t know if it froze or baked or what, but would love to know if there’s a way to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. Anyone? TIA.[/QUOTE]
Did you try shaking it vigorously?
Yup. I had a little more success stirring it with my hand. I also tried microwaving briefly (didn’t have a container to set it in, for one thing!). I suppose I could whir it around my little Cuisinart.
What about just mixing it up with a spoon to try and combine the liquid with the solid stuff again? I don’t think melting it with heat or microwave is going to help the situation.
Otherwise, take it back to where you bought it. Considering you much Akene costs, it shouldn’t separate.
Yup. It does that… usually through neglect and maybe some temperature swings.
I think I vigorously stirred mine back into its emulsified state and then used it just fine.
I can’t blame the shop for it: I forgot about it in my trailer for about a year and just found it recently, so plead guilty to neglect. At least I bought it on sale!
I’ll drum up a utensil (hmm, maybe a little whisk) (I say this as if i have such a thing…) and see what I can do.
Thanks, all.
If it’s been sitting for a year, then it could take a lot of stirring or shaking.
Yeah. A little whisk would be great. Shaking won’t do diddly. It’s the opposite of James Bond’s martini.
[QUOTE=Saskatoonian;8394120]
Yup. I had a little more success stirring it with my hand. I also tried microwaving briefly (didn’t have a container to set it in, for one thing!). I suppose I could whir it around my little Cuisinart.[/QUOTE]
Damn, your commitment is admirable!
Well, it’s a different substance but the old Vogel conditioner in the bottle used to separate all the time. The longer it sat, the longer I had to shake to get it to come back together, but shaking did work. Stirring wasn’t an option.
However, maybe you could treat it a bit like a salad dressing. Pour out the liquid into another container. As you stir/whisk, slowly stream the liquid back into the creamy stuff.
Well, LS, not sure I’m really all that committed, since nothing I’ve tried so far actually involves leaving the tack room, and IPEsq’s suggestion made me want to reach for mvp’s martini. 
Bet it’d work though - I just have to decide if my Cuisinart will ever be the same if I use it for this (because no way can I coordinate whisking and drizzling).
It is a really different substance than is the extinct Vogel stuff… primarily because the Vogel stuff is liquid at room temperature. You definitely will cure what ails it by shaking that martini.
But an emulsified thing-- hydrophobic stuff that are hard at room temperature (fats) and hydrophilic things-- where the whole shebang is more like a creme, toward the solid side of things… that would be hard to mix back into suspension by shaking.
I think the CuisineArt thing would work quickly and admirably. But the clean up and scooping and clean up would be a PITA. And Akene expensive enough that you don’t want to waste any. I suppose if I were going to clean tack with it right now, directly out of the CuisineArt so that I had a way to use up all the last remnants I could scrape out after the Big Stir, I’d try it. But I’m also old school and I’d just stir it hard with a fork first.
Oh, and when you stir start slowly. Think of this as adding wet ingredients to dry ones to make pie crust. But here, the wet stuff is on top and in a small container. Cut into the hardened stuff with the fork first, and be gentle when you start out so as not to spill the liquid.
Is this thread for real?
I was about to admit to mvp that I use my Cuisinart to make pie crust (and I do, and it has vodka, and is fast, easy and amazing), and then I got to Atlas’ post, and … well, um, actually, yeah, it’s real. Slinking off to doofus-dom.
But first, mvp, I packed a fork in my barn duffle this morning. Not slinking off in defeat!
Yeah, this thread is real. Akene is expensive. It does separate under the circumstances Saskatoonian describes. This is exactly the obscure problem and fix COTH was meant to handle. Also, the detailed discussion of a no longer made thing (Vogel boot cleaner) and it’s special properties are another clue that the thread is real…populated by dorks, but real.
Let’s be honest, too, COTH is probably the only place on earth where anyone would know about the problem, have ideas about potential fixes, and understand its import. Thank GOD it’s here.
Ok for a more analogous type of fat…I have a friend who uses her mixer to whip coconut oil that she uses as a hand/foot balm to improve its texture (so, make it neither a brick or liquid)…you just may want to soak your mixing bowl in Dawn for a while after whipping your Akene.
And vodka pie crust is amazing.
Vodka pie crust sounds yummy, never heard of it before. Do you want to share the recipe? I always kept my Akene (and other leather cleaning products) at home so never had any separation problems, the most I had was a few drops of liquid at the bottom of the jar.
Ah, well. Here I can make a meaningful contribution. Here’s the recipe, but I use all butter.
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2007/11/cooks-illustrated-foolproof-pie-dough-recipe.html
[QUOTE=Saskatoonian;8395863]
Ah, well. Here I can make a meaningful contribution. Here’s the recipe, but I use all butter.
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2007/11/cooks-illustrated-foolproof-pie-dough-recipe.html[/QUOTE]
That’s the recipe I’ve used too, either with all butter or using butter and earth balance shortening.
