# Crisco for soap?



## ForeverCharmed (May 16, 2013)

Every time i walk past it i think "i wonder what you would do in a soap recipe".

I have never cooked(or soaped) with it myself; however i have a few southern friends who adore it, so i think i might end up trying to make some soap out of it(not only it of course, lol) to give to them.

If you have used it, around what % do you like, and what properties do you find it adds to your bar?


----------



## Marilyna (May 16, 2013)

I don't like it in soap, but a lot of people do.  However, I love meat-based shortening and vegetable oil (soybean oil).


----------



## Candybee (May 16, 2013)

I've used it before but can't remember if I liked it or not. I just wanted to try it. I switched to lard as its so much better to soap with and produces the creamiest lather. Tallow does too but lard is my fav.


----------



## lsg (May 16, 2013)

I like Crisco as about 20% of the recipe along with coconut, Castor and rice bran oil.


----------



## Lotus (May 16, 2013)

My very first batch of soap, years ago, was a crisco batch. I wasn't too bent on making a perfect bar at the time, I just wanted to see how soap making worked. So, after watching a ton of videos and reading whatever I could find, I found a 100% crisco recipe.

I remember it made a VERY hard bar. But, I don't really remember anything else about it. Nothing special.


----------



## Ruthie (May 16, 2013)

My first one was also Crisco.  It was very hard and felt better than store bought soap but being my first I had nothing else to compare it to.  I do like the Wal-Mart brand meat shortening and it is on Soap calc.


----------



## MaitriBB (May 16, 2013)

I use the vegetable-only shortening (Great Value/Walmart) brand all the time when I want to make vegetarian-friendly soap (as opposed to my standard lard recipe).  I like it.  And it's cheeeeeeap.


----------



## three_little_fishes (May 16, 2013)

One of my favorite bars has Crisco. It does have the beginnings of some tiny DOS, but that could also be because I had no clue about where to cure when I made it. I've since learned that you shouldn't cure soap in a bathroom where there is a ton of humidity. I need to try the same recipe again and see how it does curing correctly.


----------



## soap_bubbles (May 16, 2013)

My first batch I ever made was a large can of crisco and a whole container of Red Devil! I put honey, a can of goats milk and oatmeal in it. My mold was a cardboard box (like what you get a case of soda in at Costco or Sam's), lined with a walmart bag--LOL with the ink to the soap side! It was an online live tutorial and it was pretty cool and I was bit by the soap bug straight up! LOL I wish I still had a bar just to say Here's where I started! But that was 8 years ago (or will be in September!) Can't believe that it was that long ago!


----------



## stargazer44 (May 17, 2013)

One of my softest soaps has Crisco in it, (all vegetable).  I only use it in this particular recipe.  And this recipe can also be used as shampoo   Double duty!


----------



## mel z (May 17, 2013)

One of my first too. Crisco only. It made a decent bar, decent lather, decent bubbles, not drying, and felt better on my skin than store bought Ivory. Guess that is because it contains all of the basic veg oils. I keep seeing that it does get DOS quickly, but I guess I used mine up before that could occur.


----------



## Miz Jenny (May 17, 2013)

My first soaps were Crisco and they were good. After reading this thread, I'm going to make some some lard soap just to see the difference. My selling soaps are vegan, except for one with honey, and I'm going to keep it that way. I've been surprised at how many vegans there are in this slightly remote corner of  Northern Ontario.


----------



## Lotus (May 17, 2013)

Miz Jenny said:


> My first soaps were Crisco and they were good. After reading this thread, I'm going to make some some lard soap just to see the difference. My selling soaps are vegan, except for one with honey, and I'm going to keep it that way. I've been surprised at how many vegans there are in this slightly remote corner of  Northern Ontario.



Ha! It never crossed my mind that honey is not vegan.


----------



## Miz Jenny (May 17, 2013)

Strict vegans won't eat honey. I make spent grains bread for a vegan customer and use agave or  birch syrup, in lieu of honey. I can use raw sugar, too. 
I gained quite a lot of vegan do' & don'ts last summer.


----------



## mel z (May 19, 2013)

Miz Jenny said:


> Strict vegans won't eat honey. I make spent grains bread for a vegan customer and use agave or  birch syrup, in lieu of honey. I can use raw sugar, too.
> I gained quite a lot of vegan do' & don'ts last summer.




Oh thanks for this. My DD and her family are strict vegan. Guess I'll have to make more soap for Christmas without honey or milk in them. Of course plain Castile is sitting there for some to send too, not very creative though, just plain.


----------



## soapmaker4 (May 19, 2013)

I used to use Crisco and it makes a great bar. However just before Christmas 7 years ago they changed the formula and it was a disaster. I had orange muck in the bowl that wouldnt trace. I called the company and they refunded the money I had spend on the useless Crisco but it meant several months of research before I could find another product that worked. BTW-check the label-I dont see any vegetables in it.


----------



## mel z (May 19, 2013)

Oh, Crisco has no vegetables. Just what is classified in my mind as soap making veg based oils, meaning not lard or tallow. These are the ingredients in the new Crisco:



> Ingredients:
> 
> 
> SOYBEAN OIL, FULLY HYDROGENATED PALM OIL, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED PALM AND SOYBEAN OILS, MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, TBHQ AND CITRIC ACID (ANTIOXIDANTS).



Ingredient list rom this link:

http://www.crisco.com/Products/ProductDetail.aspx?groupID=17&prodID=803


----------



## Underdog Acre (May 19, 2022)

couldnt you add a preservative to help the soap from DOS


----------



## AliOop (May 19, 2022)

Underdog Acre said:


> couldnt you add a preservative to help the soap from DOS


Hello @Underdog Acre - this thread is from 2013, and most of the participants are no longer active here. But to answer your question, a preservative would not help here, because DOS is caused by rancidity, not by bacterial or fungal growth. For preventing rancidity, a combination of antioxidants and chelators is the best defense, followed by low super fat. You can read more about those here.


----------



## Zany_in_CO (May 19, 2022)

MaitriBB said:


> I use the vegetable-only shortening (Great Value/Walmart) brand all the time when I want to make vegetarian-friendly soap (as opposed to my standard lard recipe).  I like it.  And it's cheeeeeeap.



For a vegetarian (no animal fats) bar with dreamy creamy lather, sub *Walmart's GV Shortening* for the palm in the *Basic Trinity of Oils* formula.



mel z said:


> Oh, Crisco has no vegetables. Just what is classified in my mind as soap making veg based oils, meaning not lard or tallow. These are the ingredients in the new Crisco:
> SOYBEAN OIL, FULLY HYDROGENATED PALM OIL, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED PALM AND SOYBEAN OILS, MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, TBHQ AND CITRIC ACID (ANTIOXIDANTS).


FYI: Source: Healthline

*Mono- and diglycerides* are emulsifiers, which means they help oil and water to blend. As a result, they're commonly used as food additives

*TBHQ* is an additive to preserve processed foods. It acts as an antioxidant, but unlike most, this antioxidant has a controversial reputation.


----------



## TheGecko (May 19, 2022)

The very first soap I made (soap non-class) we used Crisco, Olive Oil and Coconut Oil.  I was the only one who brought scent...tiny little bottle from Hobby Lobby.

It was a major pain to get it out of juice carton...probably didn't help that I was trying to unmold around 18 later.  It was soft and sticky and I barely waited 4 weeks to use it.  The second and third bars were much better and still smelt faintly of oranges.


----------

