The preparing of flaxweed seed gel

darkBlondie

Anyone made this home made gel? http://www.fromnaturewithlove.com/recipe/recipe.asp?recipe_id=214

I tried to find the thread where I got this link but couldn´t. I made this gel yesterday. In the recipe it says that you can store it in the refridgerator during a week. I don´t know what did I do wrong, because after lots of straining all I got was one tablespoonful of gel. It was just enough (or maybe a bit too much) for one use, so there was nothing to be left to refridgerate :toothy10: It should be simmered around 10 min. and I got it ready in 5 min. but faithful to the recipe simmered it longer :confused1: Then I added some more water and simmered it again for a while. There WAS more slime, but it was so STUCK with the seeds that it was impossible to separate them. Yes, I was stirring it constantly during simmering. And the seeds were imported from Canada, so they shouldn´t be different variety from in the recipe.

Have you guys got better results? I put a few drops of jojoba oil into the gel and it worked well. The gel had a good hold and curl definition but felt scrunchy when dry.

dutch girl

yes i tried this recipe and had the same problem with the seeds. i tried wrapping some fabric around it or putting it in a pouch or little bag, that seems to work. i think you can use more water and more seeds. that way you wil have something to store . i tried putting in some jojoba oil as well, that worked for me. you can also ad some aloe vera or honey.

darkBlondie

Dutch girl, wrapping some fabric may help to success better. I´ll try to make the gel soon again and post here the results.

shellynot

i've found that putting the whole blob of gel + seeds into panty hose (after it has cooled for a while) and forcing the gel out helps.

xcptnl

I didnt 'cook' until it was gel - I forget which recipe I used but it was still a bit liquidy when I stopped - then I strained out the seeds and let the liquid sit and it got thicker on it's own.

It looks like a lot of threads poofed off the recipe one when the new board came up and I know there was a recipe in there that talked about boiling it less and letting it sit.

darkBlondie

Thanks, Shellynot and xcptnl Both advices sound reasonable! I also read later about someone making the gel by adding the seeds to boiled water, so not boiling the seeds at all. I haven´t tried that, but I surely am going to try about your advices.