Crisco in soap?

[Rachel M.]

Has anyone had good luck with using Crisco in soap making? I'm trying my best to make soap without spending a ton of money since it's just for family and friends as gifts.

 

[Obsidian]

Crisco has soybean oil in which has a short shelf life. If you use too much in your soap, it could make it go rancid.

I used a lot of crisco when I first started, I also threw out a lot of bad soap. I use lard now at 50%, its cheap and makes great soap.

 

[IrishLass]

I use lard, too. It makes a lovely bar of soap. Here are some threads in regards to Crisco vs lard:

https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/lard-vs-crisco.52589/
https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/zerby-pirkels-soap-adventures.60116/

IrishLass

 

[shunt2011]

Another lard user. I tried Crisco when I first started and experienced DOS/rancid soap.

 

[Arimara]

I've used Walmart's palm/tallow shortening but that's about as close to crisco as I wanna get.

 

[Obsidian]

Walmarts palm/tallow makes awesome soap but a lot of places don't carry it anymore. I like it almost as well as lard.
Its the can with the fried chicken on front, not the cherry pie.

 

[lsg]

I have used the new Crisco and Great Value, both with good luck.

 

[melinda48]

Crisco has soybean oil in which has a short shelf life. If you use too much in your soap, it could make it go rancid.

I used a lot of crisco when I first started, I also threw out a lot of bad soap. I use lard now at 50%, its cheap and makes great soap.

Ditto. I love lard soap and I think you will too if you give it a try! I have also begun rendering my own tallow and, frankly, like it even better than lard.

 

[Rsapienza]

A few months back, I sent my bf to the store to get me some lard. He came back with a tub of vegetable shortening (don't ask). It was a generic brand that was all palm. I figured I'd find some sort of use for it. Not long after, I wanted to try that marbling technique that I just love. I decided to use the shortening for this batch so if it was a total flop, I wouldn't feel so bad. Didn't come out as expected. Cut and put on curing rack. I put a bar at the sink recently and I have to say it is one of the nicest feeling soaps I have ever used! I was pleasantly surprised. It's smooth, silky, non drying, and it's down to almost a sliver and still hard. I say give the crisco a try and see what you think. Ya never know

 

[Obsidian]

Big difference between all palm shortening and crisco.

 

[melinda48]

Won’t hurt to give it a try - just make a small batch.

 

[bookreader451]

Walmart replaced the palm/tallow with a tallow/lard blend. I have used it and it makes a nice hard bar. I was actually surprised how much I liked it. I just used the GV shortening value on soap calc and had no issues at all.

 

[Jersey Girl]

Walmart replaced the palm/tallow with a tallow/lard blend. I have used it and it makes a nice hard bar. I was actually surprised how much I liked it. I just used the GV shortening value on soap calc and had no issues at all.

Yup...this is what the can looks like now. Found it in the baking section with the Lard, Crisco, etc.

 

[amd]

I have used the WalMart Shortening and the Vegetable Shortening with good luck for teaching classes. I use it at 25-30% of the recipe, and they typically have a shelf life of about 14 months. Unfortunately they do develop DOS in the 14-18 month range.

 

[Jersey Girl]

I have used the WalMart Shortening and the Vegetable Shortening with good luck for teaching classes. I use it at 25-30% of the recipe, and they typically have a shelf life of about 14 months. Unfortunately they do develop DOS in the 14-18 month range.

I just used this For the first time today. I used it at 40%. Will have to keep an eye on it and see how it does. I have never used tallow before so was curious and wanted to give it a try. Bummed to hear this could develop DOS down the road...must be the soybean.

 

[amd]

Bummed to hear this could develop DOS down the road...must be the soybean.

Maybe. I used soybean at 30% when I first started soaping 6 years ago and I still have some of those soaps without DOS. I suspect it has a lot to do with what else is in the soap, some oils pair together better than others.

 

[bookreader451]

I have used the WalMart Shortening and the Vegetable Shortening with good luck for teaching classes. I use it at 25-30% of the recipe, and they typically have a shelf life of about 14 months. Unfortunately they do develop DOS in the 14-18 month range.

The soy is a small percentage of the oil in the mix and I add ROE to every batch of soap I make, regardless of the oils used, to avoid DOS.

 

[SoaperForLife]

I used Crisco to make soap when I was starting out. It makes lovely soap and I've never experienced DOS using it. Many moons ago I remember buying the store version of Crisco and that did go rancid but I've never had a problem with the name brand stuff.

 

[Jenniferl]

I won’t be much help for long term use of crisco but I added crisco at 20 percent of my recipe and I worked well in my soap making. my bar is only 3 weeks old so I can’t help about how it will hold up but I love how my bar feels.

 

[Rachel M.]

I'm glad for all the input, I think I might just stay away from the Crisco, shortening, etc. For now at least. I used it in one recipe a few months ago at a pretty high % but haven't used it since.