Teach Soap

I was just wondering how many Soaper's still use Tallow ? or if this is something of the past.

TIA
hoitylieu

I use pork tallow (lard), but not beef. I really dislike the smell of beef tallow! It doesn't add scent to the soap, but it smells very distinctive when you melt it!

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

where do you buy Pork Tallow ?

Thank You

I use tallow on occasion. It depends on the recipe and what type of a soap I'm making.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

if Pork tallow=Lard, then I've seen it at my local walmarts before. It probably isn't the highest quality lard ever, unless there's some kind of fancy pants lard brand I haven't noticed before. But I've seen it.

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"Effective questioning brings insight which fuels curiosity which cultivates wisdom"

I use the lard from Walmart. It is the same brand that the high end supermarkets in this area carry. I really like the soap. It makes a nice white hard creamy bar. I use it when I don't use palm oil.

Mary Lou

Walmart or soaper's choice. Depends on how much money I have LOL I can get a 50lb cube for $45 plus shipping via SC, or 3.5lb for $8 via WM.

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

Thank you to all of the Soaper's who replied to my question, you have all been very helpful and I appreciate your kind replies

I do. You can't buy beef tallow where I am, so I will call and ask a grocery store to save fatty suet scraps for me, then I will render it myself. Rendering is a pain, it takes a while and it does smell.

If you are interested in doing this, I have some suggestions:

1) Ask the store if they will grind it for you. If the chunks are small, the rendering goes MUCH faster.
2) Don't try to do a whole bunch at once. freeze it in small batches so it's easy to get the amount you want.

What I end up doing is filling my crockpot, then I pour in water. I put the crockpot on "high" for a while, and if I am leaving or going to bed I switch it to "low". I line a strainer with cheese cloth or large coffee filters, then use a ladle to pour the liqued through the strainer. I put the pot in the fridge so it can cool and tallow will solidify.

Last time I did this, I used my biggest crockpot so I could do a lot. I do not recommend this. Use a smaller crockpot, so you can lift up the insert and pour the fat. After cooking for days, the insert and the fat will be very very hot. I use Ov Gloves to lift the pot. I don't like handling the heavy pot full of hot grease, which is why I will switch to a smaller, more managegable size.

http://www.grasslandbeef.com
you can buy small or big bulk pails of beef tallow I think the price is pretty fair. I found this website while searching for soaping recipes.