Teach Soap

Hi Folks -

When we speak of using lard in a recipe, is there anything in particular I need to be looking for? Is this regular grocery store lard or some sort of ultra-refined product, available through soap product suppliers?

Thanks!

BubbleBath

The grocery store product is good. No need to pay expensive shipping, and lard makes a really nice soap. I was surprised how much I liked it when I tried it. My first recipes were all vegetarian, but I kept seeing it in the market so I bought some to give it a try and now I use it all them time

Margaret

Grocery store lard works perfectly. If you're lucky enough to have a local source for beef or pork fat, it's easy to render your own lard and tallow.

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

Thanks, ljm1180!

BubbleBath

In my early soap making days, I used bacon grease in a soap. It was really just a joke at the time, my husband thought I should make a "bacon soap" for the dog because she would enjoy the smell. So, after making a batch, I found that not only did the soap Not smell like bacon but it was a wonderful batch, very hard bars with smooth, rich lather;much cheaper than palm oil. It also has the added bonus of slowing down trace IMO. I was sold!

From then on my "trinity" of soap making oils is Olive, Lard and Coconut. The Armor Manteca brand at the grocery store works well.

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If we weren't all crazy, we would go insane
~Jimmy Buffett

Lovegreyhounds, why use coconut instead of a palm/coconut mix? What percentages? I DO try to be vegetarian but that is food for thought as I am waiting on butters from BB and could i presume use lard as a substitute. But these animals lead terrible lives and before they are killed they tremble- so I say it is better to avoid using animal products if at all possible.

Understandable, JohnnyUSA and I respect your opinion; there really is no easy answer to that question is there? Another way to look at it is that Palm Oil must be transported to us from the other side of the world, whereas Lard is local so that's less of a "carbon footprint". Then again, Shea Butter comes from the other side of the world also and I use lots of Shea Butter...Ugh, I don't know, must think about this but thank you for your thoughts.

I use Lard anywhere from 20-40% in my recipes and Coconut oil from 20-25%.

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If we weren't all crazy, we would go insane
~Jimmy Buffett

Give me a break w/ the 'carbon footprint' talk. The world periodically heats up and cools down- England was able to make delicious wine from their vineyards 2,000 years ago bc it was cooler then. Today finding out that English vineyards can make drinkable wine is a bit like hearing that an 80 year old millionaire has fathered a child- it might be vaguely within the realm of possibility but not a good idea. But if you want to let Obama via treaty put the United Nations in charge of the 'carbon footprint' of all carbon-based life forms in the USA then by all means...

Factory-farmed animals is what i try to avoid. If I can find jerky from a boar hunter who killed some wild pigs and took it to the meat processor to be processed w/ cheese and spices then that's different, or sushi. But buying meat at Walmart, McDonalds, or or any grocery store is not good. Factory-farmed grass-fed beef is only slightly better. At least when i eat sushi i know the tuna and salmon got to live in the ocean most of it's life. No doubt it would rather be swimming in the ocean but no i want it to be in my belly instead You don't have to be a vegetarian to save the lives of hundreds of animals over the course of your lifetime and those u influence; just cut down on your meat- people can live healthily on 5% of the meat in the average American diet. Look at Thai or Indian food- those people know how to cook w nuts veggies fruits starches and/or roots. You can live much more healthily w/o meat eating deliciously but it takes a self-education, time, & energy.

ok i just bought me a couple lbs of lard to try it out while i am waiting for avocado butter to arrive. In my small mold first. Thanks4tip, Lovegreyhound.

Can you use lard or other animal fat as 100% of your oils in a soap?

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Olivia :)

That would prolly be some crappy soap. I think making soap from 100% saturated fats maybe not such a good idea, like the 80 year old millionaire fathering a child- it could maybe be done but unless u r Brad Pitt from 'Fight Club' I wouldn't try it.

I didn't know, because I thought that's how people used to make soap a long time ago with only lard. But then, I know the soap during that time wasn't always ideal. Was that due in part to it being made out of 100% lard?

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Olivia :)

I have heard lard soap can be nice (not sure at 100%), look on the midlife farm wife blog she may do 100% lard soap (not sure tho). I have also heard the 0% superfat 100% lard soap is good for cleaning and laundry

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Anna Rose @-}--
blog

Okay, I will look into it a bit more. Thanks!

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Olivia :)

Despite being a vegetarian for 36 years, , I have made 100% lard (tallow) soap before and it's super hard, brittle, smallish but stable lather in case you're curious. It's slightly more nourishing feeling than 100% palm oil soap but palm is the closest properties to tallow in my opinion.

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Happy Soaping!

Anne-Marie
blog: www.soap-queen.blogspot.com
supplies: www.brambleberry.com