Home rendered tallow/lard?

[joatman66]

A friend gave me a bunch of fat trimmed from briskets (possibly some pork mixed in).

I rendered it down, but it has a slight aroma.

I'm new to making soap, so I'm hoping a seasoned veteran can help me out.

Will the smell go away when used in soap?

I know the bulk of the trimmings were beef, but I'm not sure if there was any pork fat mixed in.

Should I be concerned with different sopanification values for tallow vs. lard?

Or, should I pitch it?

Thanks!
Aaron

 

[lsg]

Tallow and lard may have a slight odor, especially if rendered on high heat. The old timers used to cut up a peeled potato and heat it with the tallow or lard. They claimed this helped with the odor.

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/country-homemaking/soapmaking/324063-lard-question.html

 

[Obsidian]

Tallow and lard has a similar SAP so I'd just use the beef tallow on soapcalc. If you use 100% of the tallow for soap, it might have a slight meaty smell. I'd really suggest using scent just in case.

 

[neeners]

I read if you add a bit of vinegar and baking soda to the fat when it's cold in the pot, it doesn't smell that bad. I rendered lard today (for the first time), and I did just that. didn't really smell except when the cracklings were cooking or I opened the lid. smelled kinda like pork bone soup....

 

[Booko]

While we're on the subject of meat fat and soapmaking, am I nuts to bother making soap from chicken fat? I have a ton of it and I'd like to use it for something. Even if it's only laundry soap.

I don't get much beef fat, and what I do get I tend to save for pie crusts.

I wish I could find pork fat, but my Latino neighbors turn it into Manteca, so unless I want paprika scented soap...uh...no.

 

[neeners]

While we're on the subject of meat fat and soapmaking, am I nuts to bother making soap from chicken fat? I have a ton of it and I'd like to use it for something. Even if it's only laundry soap.

I don't get much beef fat, and what I do get I tend to save for pie crusts.

I wish I could find pork fat, but my Latino neighbors turn it into Manteca, so unless I want paprika scented soap...uh...no.

doesn't hurt to try with chicken fat, esp if you can get it for free. I know it's an oil on soapcalc, so someone's been soaping with it at some point..... when you do soap with it, let us know how it works!

as for paprika scented soap, the scent likely won't stick. again, give it a try and see how it turns out!

 

[Susie]

Soapcalc has an entry for chicken fat. I don't see why you could not use it.

 

[Booko]

doesn't hurt to try with chicken fat, esp if you can get it for free. I know it's an oil on soapcalc, so someone's been soaping with it at some point..... when you do soap with it, let us know how it works!

Thanks! I've seen it out on soapcalc and thought that might be my next experiment. I mean...free? What the heck.

as for paprika scented soap, the scent likely won't stick. again, give it a try and see how it turns out!

I'm still nervous about what else might be in that Manteca. I have some pretty obscure allergies, as do friends of mine. I'd be willing to buy just real lard if I could find it, but once anything is mixed in, eh, it's probably not worth the risk.

I'm not having problems with nightshades but my sister is, and anything I make I'd prefer to pass her a bar or two and know it's safe.

 

[reinbeau]

I'm still nervous about what else might be in that Manteca. I have some pretty obscure allergies, as do friends of mine. I'd be willing to buy just real lard if I could find it, but once anything is mixed in, eh, it's probably not worth the risk.

I'm not having problems with nightshades but my sister is, and anything I make I'd prefer to pass her a bar or two and know it's safe.

I'm puzzled. What do you think is in the lard (which is real lard, by the way). The partially hydrogenated stuff they sell in supermarkets is more likely to cause reactions than home rendered lard from real fat.

As mentioned above, render on very low heat and you shouldn't have a scent. I only render suet (tallow) and leaf lard (lard), I don't use the other fats - I think those are the fats that tend to get more 'fragrant'.

 

[Booko]

I'm puzzled. What do you think is in the lard (which is real lard, by the way). The partially hydrogenated stuff they sell in supermarkets is more likely to cause reactions than home rendered lard from real fat.

Do you mean the lard or the manteca?

The "lard" in stores, as you say, is not real lard, but trans fat. That makes it not useful for me or my daughter.

I'd be fine if I could find plain rendered lard, but I can't.

Manteca can be flavored or unflavored, so I read on the Internets. But all I've found is obviously flavored (paprika is typical, but it could be other things). So I don't dare to use it.

As mentioned above, render on very low heat and you shouldn't have a scent. I only render suet (tallow) and leaf lard (lard), I don't use the other fats - I think those are the fats that tend to get more 'fragrant'.

It's not about the scent. It's about being in contact with a substance that's a known allergen for me or those I'd be making the soap for. Cross-contamination is a problem.

If I don't know exactly what's in a soap, I don't use it, and yeah, that means there's one commercial soap I buy. There are a few crafters I know here who know details of what's in their soap, down to whether the sodium lactate came from corn or beets, so I've bought from them when they had something very plain to offer, but that doesn't happen often.

If I could find the plain pork fat, I'd be happy to render it.

Unfortunately the butchers near me are either Latino and sell flavored manteca, or they're halal or kosher, in which case lol yeah no pork fat there. And grocers, well it's amazing they even know which cuts of meat are which anymore.

I may have to look out of town in a more rural area for a butcher. I just hate to make the drive if I don't have to.

 

[neeners]

have you ever asked to buy pork belly? b/c the fat I got was from the belly. made a really white lard. I have no idea what Manteca is so I can't help you there.

can you buy beef fat in your halal butcher?

and in supermarkets, there's shortening and there's lard. I've had multiple people tell me shortening is lard as they don't get the difference. I can buy lard in the supermarket, but there's additives in it, so I decided to make my own (and I can get the fat for cheap).

 

[reinbeau]

I thought manteca was just Spanish for lard. Lard is lard and yes, I agree, the stuff they sell in supermarkets is not truly lard (I think I said that).

 

[Susie]

From: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lard

lard noun
: a soft white substance that is made from the fat of pigs and used in cooking
Full Definition of LARD

: a soft white solid or semisolid fat obtained by rendering fatty pork

Hydrogenation does not change whether it is rendered fat of pigs/pork. It is simply adding hydrogen. Which is present in every drop of water you drink. You don't absorb trans fats from soap.

 

[neeners]

I agree, the stuff they sell in supermarkets is not truly lard (I think I said that).

I was trying to say that there's shortening (hydrogenated vegetable oils) and lard (rendered pig fat). many people think they're the same thing as I've had had supermarket clerks point at shortening and tell me its lard, and friends ask me why they're different. so, maybe go back to your supermarket, look for lard, and read the ingredients? because the lard I found there listed lard as the ingredient (plus preservatives and additives).

 

[Susie]

The Armour lard in my store is labelled Manteca. It is what I use for every batch of bar soap. It contains the following: lard and hydrogenated lard, BHA, Propyl Gallate, and Citric Acid.

We are going to need a chemistry intervention here, so any of you science types can help? Here is what I can find on the internet about BHA:

What are BHA and BHT?
Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and the related compound butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) are phenolic compounds that are often added to foods to preserve fats.

BHA Characteristics:

BHA is a mixture of the isomers 3-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole and 2-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole. Also known as BOA, tert-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole, (1,1-dimethylethyl)-4-methoxyphenol, tert-butyl-4-methoxyphenol, antioxyne B, and under various trade names
Molecular formula C11H16O2
White or yellowish waxy solid
Faint characteristic aromatic odor

I am having a hard time finding anything on the internet that is anything not obviously biased about propyl gallate.

 

[Susie]

I was trying to say that there's shortening (hydrogenated vegetable oils) and lard (rendered pig fat). many people think they're the same thing as I've had had supermarket clerks point at shortening and tell me its lard, and friends ask me why they're different. so, maybe go back to your supermarket, look for lard, and read the ingredients? because the lard I found there listed lard as the ingredient (plus preservatives and additives).

Sorry about that. I understand that people call shortening lard all the time. In my grandmother's day, there was a major advertising push to substitute out shortening for lard in baking and cooking. They said it was healthier. We know better now. But, I was sent to the grocery store many times for "lard" when she meant shortening.

 

[reinbeau]

All of which is why I source my lard and render it myself. I don't support industries I don't care for.

 

[Dahila]

All of which is why I source my lard and render it myself. I don't support industries I don't care for.

If i lived in the country and had farm or bees I would not support the industry either. But I am the poor soul who lives in city, I buy beef fat at market and do it myself, as was said before it must be done slow and it takes long.
First i ground it in the machine then render tallow. It has a very light smell of animal fat. Smells different than lard, both smell good. I buy my lard in grocery store it is much cheaper and I get wonderful soap of that.
My hubby render lard with all the goodies and he eats it with bread. I do too. Years ago a lot of people had it always in house, when there was shortage of butter. Most east Europeans use it)

 

[sassanellat]

Susie - proply galleate is a fat antioxidant, so it prevents the lard from going rancid. A 2009 study found that propyl gallate acts as an estrogen antagonist, meaning it interferes with estrogen function. The level is very low even when eaten, and probably has no effect at all in soap (it would be mostly absorbed by dead epithelials and eaten by natural skin microflora). I'm always concerned with BHA and BHT in my food (all three are there only to increase corporate profit and aren't healthy to consume), but again, I doubt you'd absorb a detectable (even at part per billion) amount from soap.
Neeners - You can buy additive-free lard and tallow from places like SopaersChoice inexpensively and they have reasonable shipping (or, of course, render you own). I think you can order 7 pound and 50 pound pre-rendered, no-additive cubes for about a buck a pound in the larger size.

 

[Susie]

Thank you! I hate providing links to places that are obviously biased.

I use the big box store bought stuff for soap. It is cheaper than the plain Manteca I buy at the local Latino store(they increased the price) for cooking.
I don't really worry about the chemicals in the Armour stuff when using it for soap, but the Manteca from the Latino store just tastes much better in cooking.
I had to ask the Latino store for plain Manteca. Seems they hide the good stuff.