Home rendered beef tallow - trace question

[Sonya-m]

I made a batch yesterday using a slightly tweaked version of my lard recipe:

80% tallow (usually 75% lard)
15% coconut (usually 20%)
5% castor

5% SF (I forgot to up this to 7% so another small difference)

Full water

This when lard usually gives plenty of swirl time but not this time. It didn't seize but was was just at thick trace much, much quicker than lard.

The FO is one I've used before that behaved itself

This is my 2nd batch with my rendered tallow - the other did the same but that was a FO I expected issues from.

Is tallow a faster moving oil than lard?

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Tallow has almost twice as much Stearic acid as Lard, so I would think that would result in a faster tracing soap (thinking about how fast pure SA "traces"!)

 

[FlybyStardancer]

I had thought it was and saw people mentioning it was a year ago, though I've noticed a couple lately saying it was slow-moving like lard... I don't have any direct experience, though. Too hard to get at a decent price here.

 

[Sonya-m]

Thanks guys

From now on I'll use my tallow when I have simpler plans

 

[not_ally]

Sonya, I haven't used tallow by itself - have always mixed w/lard when I am using it - but it does seem to trace faster when I do (eg) 30% lard/30 % tallow (the rest coconut, OO and castor) than just 60% lard by itself. The tallow mixes are harder, whiter, smoother, a little prettier in some soaps. But I think I am beginning to prefer mostly lard, it just feels better in the soap.