About commercial lard additives

[Todd_in_Minnesota]

OK - so last weekend I decided to try lard (Thanks again everybody for the pointers!) in place of a harder oil.
I bought some Armour-brand lard in 1 lb boxes, and discover they include:
- BHA
- Propyl Gallate
- Citric Acid

Can anybody speak to the effects of these additional chemicals on saponification? I know from hear-say that lard is a good oil to use, but I don't know what to expect from these industrial additives.

Thanks again!
Todd

 

[lionprincess00]

Following closely. Citric acid is a chelator that breaks down hard water minerals leaving more lather and no grimy feel, but, it needs lye alterations because some of the lye reacts with it instead of the oils. I use sodium citrate, same thing but a compund of citric already altered (Deeanna HELP)so needs no lye alteraltions. It's so much better than no chelator wrt hard water. Now, I've not read and was concerned to ask (couldnt find a thread yet but felt silly asking if a million already existed on this question), how much citric acid is in lard, what alteraltions need doin' if there's a significant amount, and when i add sodium citrate to lard recipes on top the citic does it cause issues (too hard bars that can crack on cutting etc). Bha per my knowledge helps lard not go rancid thus helps prevent dos in lard bars

 

[Dahila]

I do not add more lye and the soap are wonderful but i use Sodium citrate. I do not think the amount of citric acid in lard does make a difference. I use commercial one

 

[Susie]

I use Armour all the time with no alterations of the lye calculator. It works fine.

 

[snappyllama]

I use Morrell Snow Cap Lard that has the same additives. It works great, and I do not make any adjustments to it.

 

[dibbles]

Ditto - I use Armour lard and no alterations and haven't had any problems. In high lard recipes I've added CA and made a lye adjustment. It's all worked out for me.

 

[shunt2011]

I too use Armour with no issues.

 

[lionprincess00]

I'm EXTREMELY curios as to the sf bump from amour lard, because I use less than 5%sf to boost bubbles and reduce clogged drains. Just thought I'd throw that in there as per the covo

 

[Todd_in_Minnesota]

Very reassuring so far...

Hey - it's very reassuring to hear that folks are using this Armour product w/ no alterations to the normal soapcalc directives. Thanks a million for sharing that good news.

I'm still very curious what the chemistry might be (sciencey-stuff).
Like - what is BHA, what impact will Propyl Gallate have, etc.
How do we invoke Deeanna?

Thanks!
Todd

 

[cmzaha]

BHA and BHT are both food preservatives. I actually add in extra BHT to my lard soaps because I still have dos problems with the lard I purchase in 50# block even with it already containing BHT. Here is some info on Propyl Gallate http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18080874

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

If you want more information, try a Google search for "bht lard site:soapmakingforum.com" as the impacts of the bht and bha have been discussed before. I can't remember where the thread is in afraid, but the Google should find it

 

[Todd_in_Minnesota]

Excellent

More good info.
Thanks again all!
I'm much more comfortable/confident this commercial lard is OK to go.

(of course, that means any problems I have with it are my own problems. But... I'm getting used to that.:???

Todd

 

[penelopejane]

More good info.
Thanks again all!
I'm much more comfortable/confident this commercial lard is OK to go.

(of course, that means any problems I have with it are my own problems. But... I'm getting used to that.:???

Todd

The reason I make handmade soap is to avoid chemicals. That's one of the reasons why lard isn't for me.

 

[Serene]

I was a bit curious and went searching for something with no BHT, and the rest of it and found this.

https://www.prairiepridefarm.com/product/open-kettle-rendered-lard/

It also comes in 5 lbs pails. Expensive, but someone may be interested.

They also carry Hog Fat/Leaf Fat-Not Rendered, 5 LBS for $30.

I am thinking about buying the 1 pounder and trying it out against the commercial lard and see if there is any difference... hmmm.

Sere

*Just saw your post Penelope. This would be something you would like provided you are interested in trying lard.*

 

[penelopejane]

I was a bit curious and went searching for something with no BHT, and the rest of it and found this.

https://www.prairiepridefarm.com/product/open-kettle-rendered-lard/

It also comes in 5 lbs pails. Expensive, but someone may be interested.

They also carry Hog Fat/Leaf Fat-Not Rendered, 5 LBS for $30.

I am thinking about buying the 1 pounder and trying it out against the commercial lard and see if there is any difference... hmmm.

Sere

*Just saw your post Penelope. This would be something you would like provided you are interested in trying lard.*

Thanks Serene,
I think it stops the DOS that lard is prone to. So you are sort of between a rovck and a hard place.

 

[Nevada]

I wrote Armour about CA, in reply "citric acid is used in amount of less than .001 (1/10 of 1%).

OK - so last weekend I decided to try lard (Thanks again everybody for the pointers!) in place of a harder oil.
I bought some Armour-brand lard in 1 lb boxes, and discover they include:
- BHA
- Propyl Gallate
- Citric Acid

Can anybody speak to the effects of these additional chemicals on saponification? I know from hear-say that lard is a good oil to use, but I don't know what to expect from these industrial additives.

Thanks again!
Todd

 

[lionprincess00]

I wrote Armour about CA, in reply "citric acid is used in amount of less than .001 (1/10 of 1%).

Thats awesome! Thanks for doing that and sharing!

 

[Gaspar Navarrete]

Hi Todd,

This thread also addresses this question:

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=54236

 

[Todd_in_Minnesota]

Thanks Gaspar,
That was an exciting thread to read!
Todd