can i substitute tallow for lard
- Thread starter llineb
- Start date
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You can substitute one for the other but you'll need to run your recipe through a lye calculator to get the correct amount of lye to use. It's an excellent idea to run every recipe through one, no matter the source, just to make absolutely sure it's accurate. There are multiple online lye calculators out there but I prefer SoapCalc: http://soapcalc.net/calc/SoapCalcwp.asp
TessV said:
So... I am using the " Everything Soapmaking Book" and the recipes are in amount by oz not by percents. Would it be better to get a recipe on this forum and use these? I thought since I was just starting it was easy to follow the recipes from the book...like baking. Thanks for the calculator reference..I put it in my notebook.
You can still use your recipe that's given in ounces. I'm a visual person and SoapCalc can look cluttered at first so here it is in pic:
Once you've changed those two settings you can carry on just as if you had a recipe given in ounces.
Once you've changed those two settings you can carry on just as if you had a recipe given in ounces.
llineb said:
There are some subtle differences. Tallow is higher in lauric, myristic, and stearic acid, so it makes for a bubblier, harder, more cleansing soap compared to one made with lard instead. Depending on the degree to which the subtleties are noticeable enough to you in your finished soap to irk you, you may or may not find that you want to tweak your formula a little bit here and there to match up with what you are used to with your lard soap, soap quality-wise.
IrishLass
IrishLass said:llineb said:
There are some subtle differences. Tallow is higher in lauric, myristic, and stearic acid, so it makes for a bubblier, harder, more cleansing soap compared to one made with lard instead. Depending on the degree to which the subtleties are noticeable enough to you in your finished soap to irk you, you may or may not find that you want to tweak your formula a little bit here and there to match up with what you are used to with your lard soap, soap quality-wise.
IrishLass
Great! This is exactly what I was looking for in a soap. i had ordered the beef tallow after reading a post on how the lather was great and it made a hard bar of soap. Then, i started reading about lard and thought maybe I had ordered the wrong stuff. i waiting on my tallow to arrive and then I'll try it out. thanks for explaining the diff!!!!!
