# Lard recipes



## idreamaboutsoap (Mar 15, 2014)

Any favorite lard recipes anyone is willing to share with this new soaper?? I've been using and tweaking vegan recipes but the more I read I want to use lard....TIA if you're willing to share personal recipes or links!


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## Obsidian (Mar 15, 2014)

Here is a real basic recipe I use. You can sub palm kernel oil for coconut. I use 8% superfat with this one since I have dry skin. If it seems like it might be too drying for you, increase the OO to 55% and lower the coconut to 15%

Olive oil 50%
Lard      25%
Coconut oil 20%
Castor 5%


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## doriettefarm (Mar 15, 2014)

My basic lard recipe is pretty similar to Obsidian's.  I'm sensitive to coconut and use PKO as she suggested.  I also bump the castor up to 10% because I'm a lather freak.


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## idreamaboutsoap (Mar 15, 2014)

Ok I'm trying to run this through brambleberry's lye calculator bc it's the only one I've been able to figure out how to figure out so far and it's not working bc I don't have a total weight of oils. How would I figure out water and lye amounts to use with a percentage recipe? I've been using recipes with the ounces already figured and have adjusted hose according to what I've wanted to accomplish.


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## lpstephy85 (Mar 15, 2014)

Soapcalc is fairly easy to use and you can put in percentage. How large of a batch do you want to make?


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## Obsidian (Mar 15, 2014)

On the calculator it says are you measuring in grams or ounces, there is a box to check for percentages instead. Then you just put in the % amount for each oil. Don't forget to set your superfat level at the bottom of the page.


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## idreamaboutsoap (Mar 15, 2014)

Soapcalc is hieroglyphics to me. I'm sure it's simple once I'm shown but I just don't get it. Brambleberry I get and I even changed it to percentage and put the 8% super fat at the bottom so do I just put whatever amount I want in the "total oil weight" box or does it have to make sense in the total equation? I'm a math derp lol


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## Obsidian (Mar 15, 2014)

Yeah, just put in the total weight of the batch you want. I generally do 32 ounces, not too small and not too big.


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## idreamaboutsoap (Mar 15, 2014)

Ok, one more question...why so high on the super fatting? I'm used to 3%. Any particular reason for 8?


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## Obsidian (Mar 15, 2014)

With 20% coconut, its too drying for me so I need a higher superfat. You can change the SF to whatever you like or think will work best for you. I have extremely dry skin, 8% SF is the lowest I can go.


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## PinkCupcake (Mar 15, 2014)

I have used a recipe similar to Obsidian's (but a little less OO, and a little more lard) and I SF at 20%. I still got a nice, creamy lather, and my skin feels fantastic after a shower. I've only started using lard recently, but I love it!


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## Susie (Mar 15, 2014)

I pretty much use the same as Obsidian. It is a good, basic, balanced bar.  
Be sure to use some sort of EO or FO.  Lard continues to smell porky to me if not scented. I love and adore lard soaps, but the smell is there. 

I had a lot of trouble using SoapCalc also.  I just let all those options intimidate me.  Then I could never get the correct oil in the box.  But one day I got mad at myself and sat down to learn it.  Now it is my favorite.  You can do it.  Just hang in there.


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## Arthur Dent (Mar 15, 2014)

I use a similar recipe and my unscented soaps have never had the "porky" smell after they have cured.


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## idreamaboutsoap (Mar 16, 2014)

I'm definitely an EO and FO girl! I always go for the stronger side of the fragrance calculator so hopefully any porky smell won't be an issue. 

I'm taking Soapcalc as a personal challenge now! I will learn it lol. It's that dang water percentage in the beginning I'm like what??? Then it's just a maze from there on out. 

Anywho thanks for being so helpful! I'm gettin' on the lard bandwagon


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## idreamaboutsoap (Mar 16, 2014)

Omg I'm a dork! It's been what 5-10 mins since my last post and I've got Soapcalc nailed lol. If I'd clicked on the little i for information it would've explained it all for me. Thank you for the encouragement Susie


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## AustinStraight (Mar 16, 2014)

I've wanted to try lard soap for awhile.  I asked my great-grandma how she made soap in her childhood, and she said they used wood ashes & lard.  She also said it was the mildest soap she's ever used.


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## Susie (Mar 16, 2014)

You are most welcome!  I knew you could do it!

I can't help that I have a sensitive nose guys.  It does not take much EO to cover it up, but the smell is certainly there before adding EO.  And I LOVE soap with lard in it.  To the point that I bought a 4lb bucket of the stuff the last time.  I won't be making any more bar soap without lard.


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## Obsidian (Mar 16, 2014)

I have a sensitive nose too but I can't smell the lard in this recipe, even if left unscented. A 100% lard soap definitely has a slight piggy smell though.
I love lard, even use a small amount in salt bars. I bought some palm to try and hate it, once its gone I will stick with lard. Another plus for lard is it slows down trace so you have more time for swirls.


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## dixiedragon (Mar 19, 2014)

I love Kathy Miller's page:
http://www.millersoap.com/soapanimal.html#BlendedCoc

*Blended Soap Using Beef Shortening (or Lard)/With Coconut [SIZE=-2](Kathy Miller)[/SIZE]*

45 oz. beef shortening
20 oz. olive oil 
20 oz. coconut oil 
12 oz. lye crystals 
32 oz. cold water

I like to add some castor and some sunflower seed oil to this. I use lard, or half lard and half tallow.


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## athallr (Apr 8, 2014)

I really like millersoap.com too  Do you use lard in place of where she has beef shortening? I am planning on making lard soap tomorrow...can't wait!


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## kmarvel (Jun 18, 2014)

I am sooo math challenged.  Soapcalc is like a foreign language!!  hahaha   I get hung up on knowing how much oils to use for my molds.  I have a 3 lb loaf mold, a 5 lb rectangle mold and my pringle can molds.   I never know how much to put in which mold.        ugh


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## kmarvel (Jun 18, 2014)

PinkCupcake said:


> I have used a recipe similar to Obsidian's (but a little less OO, and a little more lard) and I SF at 20%. I still got a nice, creamy lather, and my skin feels fantastic after a shower. I've only started using lard recently, but I love it!


 

 I would like to start using lard in my soaps.  Would you share your recipe please??  I would probably superfat at 20% also since I live in a dry area.  (AZ).
 Thank you.

 Kathie


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## kmarvel (Jun 18, 2014)

How much does this make??  What size mold??  And how would you add the sunflower oil and castor??  Reduce the amount of CCO??  Or OO?


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## Seawolfe (Jun 18, 2014)

I've recently found a source of really nice quality inexpensive manteca, or lard.  I used it as the main part of a recipe and got a lot of compliments on it. Its just 80% lard, 15% coconut oil, 5% castor oil and 5% superfat - its really mild and gentle on the skin.


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Jun 18, 2014)

kmarvel said:


> How much does this make?? What size mold?? And how would you add the sunflower oil and castor?? Reduce the amount of CCO?? Or OO?


 
As it is %, it can make what ever size batch that you want it to

There is a sticky at the top of each page on this particular forum that has a calculation for working out the amount of oil needed for a certain size (dimensions, not weight) mould.

When looking to change out some oil for another, you can always use soap calc to look at the properties and work out how much of which oil to reduce - then it will be there for working out the new lye amount, too.


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## scotsman (Jun 18, 2014)

I use lard in all my non-vegan soaps. In my opinion, it makes the best bar if soap out of all the oils I've experimented with...animal or non. I use a fairly high % of lard as well as a high % of coconut oil. I have dry skin and even so the coconut oil does not bother my skin at all. Never noticed a 'porky' smell, even in the unscented bars I make. It makes one of the nicest bars of soap I've ever used and is fairly cheap to make. Here is my basic recipe:

40% Lard(Manteca)
30% Coconut Oil
25% Extra Virgin Olive Oil(regular OO is ok too)
5% Castor Oil
5% Super fat

Sometimes I will sub 5% Red palm butter or 5% cocoa butter for 5% of the OO for extra moisturizing. Be mindful that red palm butter will color your soap a pale yellow and anything above 8% and you run the risk of staining washcloths. At 5% I find that it provides wonderful moisturizing without fear of any staining issues. This recipe makes a very hard, long-lasting, mild bar of soap with wonderful lather. If CO bothers your skin you can reduce it and increase the lard and OO or replace it altogether with palm oil.


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## kmarvel (Jun 18, 2014)

Thanks everyone for the recipes for lard.  ahhhhhh.....the dreaded scary soapcalc again.  lol       Seawolfe, I will definitely go look for that sticky.  Thanks again.

 Kathie


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## kmarvel (Jun 18, 2014)

So the lard actually takes the place of using Palm oil, correct??


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## Susie (Jun 18, 2014)

Yes, lard and palm oil are often substituted for one another.  But, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS run every recipe through SoapCalc every time the least thing is changed!


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## Seawolfe (Jun 18, 2014)

Keep playing with soap calc (or any calculator) and pushing buttons and asking questions until it becomes your friend!

I actually used this calculator for my first few batches because I didnt understand Soap Calc, and it did help me figure out what was going on: http://naturalsoapboutique.com/soapcalculator/ The downside is it doesn't give you the options to work in percentages like Soap Calc, you have to figure those out on your own.


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## kmarvel (Jun 18, 2014)

So, how would I incorporate shea butter into this recipe??  Reduce the lard??  Or the CCO?


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## scotsman (Jun 18, 2014)

Depending upon what properties you are going for, either would be fine...or a little of both


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## kmarvel (Jun 25, 2014)

Seawolfe.

 Getting comfy with soapcalc.   (Thank you)
 Getting some fresh lard from a friend who raises pigs and goats.  
 Will be making a 3 lb loaf this weekend with your recipe.   

 Kathie


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## Seawolfe (Jun 25, 2014)

Oh awesome!!  I can spend hours fiddling with soap calc.
If you want to save your recipes to your computer, save them as a pdf. If your computer doesn't give you that option when you hit print, there's a few free pdf creator software that will.
I think you'll really like the lard soap. Mines getting used up fast so I made another 4 lb batch.


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## kmarvel (Jun 25, 2014)

I have made an excel spreadsheet that almost mirrors the soapcalc recipe when complete.  I am saving the recipes for future batches.  Sure is helpful.


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## scotsman (Jun 28, 2014)

I'm having the guys in my kitchen at work save all the bacon grease for me as there is always a lot and it would otherwise be thrown away. Once I get enough I'm going to fully render and deodorize it and play around with it in some soap recipes. I already have about 5 lbs saved but by the end of next week I should have close to 15...all free so I hope it works. Definitely would save me a lot of money since I use lard extensively.


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## kmarvel (Jun 30, 2014)

dreamsoap,  I felt the same way as you a couple of weeks ago.  Seawolfe here on the forum kind of made it easier for me.  I think the trick is up at the top check the oz's for the oils, 38% for water/lye and superfat to whatever you want.
 If you know how many oz your mold holds you can play around with the numbers to get what you need.
 Soapcalc isn't so scary anymore.  haha


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## kmarvel (Jun 30, 2014)

Obsidian,

 I am curious.  If you have dry skin, why would you superfat at 8%??  Does this make the bar of soap more drying or more moisturizing??


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## cmzaha (Jun 30, 2014)

This is my basic lard recipe. I am not a big fan of high OO percentages. Lard, 40%, RBO (rice bran oil), 20%, Coconut or pko 18%, Palm 17% , castor 5% with a 3% superfat (also not a fan of high superfat). This has a cleansing of 13 on soapcalc scale. To high a superfat with this recipe will really deter lather


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## Susie (Jul 2, 2014)

kmarvel said:


> Obsidian,
> 
> I am curious.  If you have dry skin, why would you superfat at 8%??  Does this make the bar of soap more drying or more moisturizing??



The amount of superfat is an individual decision.  The higher the superfat, the more conditioning.(soap will not add moisture, so it is not "moisturizing") But, I think, for non-salt bar recipes, most of us superfat between 3-10%.


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## Obsidian (Jul 2, 2014)

kmarvel said:


> Obsidian,
> 
> I am curious.  If you have dry skin, why would you superfat at 8%??  Does this make the bar of soap more drying or more moisturizing??



It makes the soap less drying. Look at it this way, SF is excess oils or fat left in the soap, soap can only wash away so much oils/dirt so if there is extra oils in the soap, some will get left on the skin.

I've tried soap with 5% SF and they are all too drying. The amount of coconut oil used also has a lot to do with it, I can't have my soap too cleansing.


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## kmarvel (Jul 3, 2014)

So, if I superfat at 8%, I would still have a nice moisturizing soap using OO, Lard, CCO and castor oils.


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## kmarvel (Jul 3, 2014)

doriettefarm,

 If you bump your castor to 10%, which oil do you decrease??


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## Obsidian (Jul 3, 2014)

kmarvel said:


> So, if I superfat at 8%, I would still have a nice moisturizing soap using OO, Lard, CCO and castor oils.



Yes. The higher your SF, the more free oils are left in the bar to stay behind on your skin. Most people SF at 5%-10%


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