Bacon fat in soap?

[whitetulips]

Anyone ever use bacon fat in soap before?

 

[lsg]

I haven't, but many old-time soapers saved and used bacon fat. You have to clean it first. Here are a couple of links with info. on how to clean bacon fat. Use their methold of cleaning the fat, but be sure to check any soap recipe by running it through the lye calculator.

http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2008/10/if-youre-saying-to-yourself-ivory-i.html

http://sustainablescientist.net/2013/03/04/making-bacon-soap/

 

[whitetulips]

Thanks. Very interesting. I started keeping my strained bacon grease in a measuring cup in the fridge. I made my husband very happy when I said he can eat more bacon, so long as he strains and keeps the grease for me. I do need to research a different lye calculator, as the Bramble Berry one I've been using doesn't list bacon fat (but does list chicken fat) on it. I'll have to wait longer to get enough bacon fat to cook it down to add to soap recipes. So is this basically, lard, when it's done?

 

[RagingMammoth]

sounds gross...

 

[lsg]

Yes, I would use the lard setting on a lye calculator. RagingMammoth, I don't think of it as gross. I think of it as recycling. If we are to be responsible stewards, why not start with what we have available?

 

[panzerakc]

I'd rather cook my eggs in it, and use lard in my soap.

;-)

Anita

 

[whitetulips]

I used to throw away the bacon grease. I love being able to use more things that I used to throw away. I'd much rather make my own from the bacon my boys love than buy lard in a container if possible. Plus, we're starting to farm and I will be able to render my own lard and beef tallow from my own animals eventually.

 

[DeeAnna]

I made soap from the fat I skimmed off the broth I made from my Christmas smoked turkey. I removed all of the dark bits from the bottom of the hardened fat, but did not do anything more to clean it. The fat smelled slightly smoky, and I wondered if the soap would smell smoky too, but it has just a mild soap smell. I used the saponification value for chicken fat.

Bacon fat should be fine to use too, although scrape off any dark residue on the bottom of the fat layer -- there might be some residual water or browned bits that might not be desirable in soap. Use the SAP value for lard, aka pork fat.

If a person is a vegetarian, okay, I can see why bacon fat or other animal fat might not be something you'd want in your soap. But if you are not vegetarian ... what's so "gross" about using bacon fat rather than lard or tallow?

 

[Lindy]

Any fat can be used and was used in times past. Most homesteaders saved their bacon fat but many used it as a spread for toast because they couldn't afford butter.

 

[DeeAnna]

The "fat hogs" (purebred Yorkshires) that my grandfather raised and the family ate when I was a child provided plenty of lard. I don't remember my Grandma ever using bacon fat for her soap -- just the lard -- but I'm sure she had plenty of bacon fat around from the hearty farm breakfasts she cooked. I'm positive she would not have wasted it -- I'm betting a lot of it went to the family dog and the herd of farm cats she fed every morning. --DeeAnna

 

[SoapAddict415]

I made a small soap using the rendered bacon fat once as an experiment. I just strained out any bacon bits and its been a while but I think I used the lard SAP values on SoapCalc. It made a hard, creamy light beige color bar & smelled faintly like bacon. My oldest son who is a bacon fanatic, laid claim to it before it even had a chance to cure! It still smelled like bacon after the cure & my son says he loved it!