All lard is NOT created equal.

[PrincessMommy]

Put the fat in a kettle (outside because it will stink the whole house really bad) with equal amounts of water and boil until the fat completely melts. Once it does just put the lid on and leave it until the fat cools and hardens on top. All the impurities will fall to the bottom of the pot and the fat will float on top. Scoop from pot and it's ready to use.

I'm thinking of asking the butcher for some beef fat to give this a try. Not sure if I'm crazy or not!

Hey thanks! I've made beef tallow soap before and it makes a nice hard soap.

 

[Guest]

I'm more than happy to get my piggy in a nice package ready to throw in the soap pot. You're all welcome to that rendering your own tallow or lard, and no thanks!

 

[cdwinsby]

I'm more than happy to get my piggy in a nice package ready to throw in the soap pot. You're all welcome to that rendering your own tallow or lard, and no thanks!

Trust me...I won't be doing it more than once...just want to go through the process for the experience.

 

[Guest]

I hope you'll share your experiences once you've done it. I'm more than happy to appreciate this one vicariously.

 

[ilovedoxies]

The people I know who grew up on farms just said, "UGH!!! WHY?!?!" when I told them I wanted to make soap. I had to explain it's a much easier process now

I gave a fellow a couple samples of my soap and he said it smelled much better than the soap his made on the farm. They, used wood ash lye.

 

[Guest]

If you could get that wood ash lye soap and sell it on Etsy you'd probably make a lot of money, just from soapers wondering what it's like.

 

[ilovedoxies]

Bad lard on the left and good lard (Armour) on the right. Both are 3lbs lard, 6-1/2 oz lye, and 3 cups water recipe.



Notice the texture on the tops of the bars. The color difference may be because I used weak coffee instead of plain water on the bar on the right.

 

[ilovedoxies]

This one on top is green tea and the bottom is the plain lard, lye, and water bar all made with the bad lard.

 

[ilovedoxies]

Green tea w/the bad lard



It sweated a lot while setting up and the soap was squishy when I got it out of the molds. I appears to have cured up ok, but the green tea was discolored because of the moisture. It is the same recipe for all 4 soaps, I really do like the Armour brand the best.

 

[Lucy]

I have used many hundred of lb of Field brand lard with no problem maybe you got a bad bucket. Does it smell funny. It should have no odor at all. Take it back to store.
As for longer trace I get in 5-10 min most times.

 

[ilovedoxies]

It smells a little, but I don't think it smells really bad. At first I noticed it was way softer than my other lard but I just thought it was because it was warmer in the kitchen. Then when it took 45 minutes to trace, on the first and second batches I began to wonder.

I wonder how old it is, does it go bad if it sits on the shelf for a long time? I'm going to check for an expiration date.

 

[Lucy]

this brand is softer than say crisco. same as fresh rendered lard is. check for expire date and return it if it is over.

 

[ilovedoxies]

No expiration date

I smelled it again last evening and it does smell a little funny. They probably won't take it back because I've thrown out my receipt.

I hope that's all it was, just a bad bucket.