Lard, My New Best Friend

[MorpheusPA]

My lard got here today (thank you, Soaper's Choice...but did you HAVE to put seven pounds of lye in a thin-necked bottle?!?)

I have a new friend. White even just post-trace, trace was slow but not ridiculously slow--I would have had time to do multiple-color swirls if I wanted. The scent is not more than very slightly piggy and only if you really, really work at detecting it.

The sandalwood vanilla I used covered it beautifully--and I don't care if the soap turns brown. It's just for home use.

I used 65% lard, with a bit of coconut for bubbles, castor for sustained lather, and a touch of olive to round it out.

 

[grumpy_owl]

Sigh. Lard is like the funny but heavyset guy with dancefloor moves everyone ignores until they try. Coupla songs, coupla drinks, and whoa! I had no idea he could work such magic!
Yes to lard. Glad you had such a good experience with it, Morpheus! Nice recipe, too.

 

[MorpheusPA]

Sigh. Lard is like the funny but heavyset guy with dancefloor moves everyone ignores until they try. Coupla songs, coupla drinks, and whoa! I had no idea he could work such magic!
Yes to lard. Glad you had such a good experience with it, Morpheus! Nice recipe, too.

Tell me about it. I mean, lard. Even the word is unattractive. I can't imagine this being a selling point for soap. "What's in it?" "Lard."

I knew as soon as I started mixing that this experience was going to be magical. The soap is currently setting up downstairs, perfect smooth tops and all.

 

[grumpy_owl]

Heh. I found a lady selling soaps at the French Market yesterday, and her long, wordy brochure was full of bullpucky about how her soaps fight acne, excema, tighten skin, erase wrinkles, etc. I asked which fats she used and she just about passed out. She went on and on about "essential oils' like shea butter. (!!!) I told her I make soap (translation: cut the bull) but she didn't stop obfuscating and finally admitted that a couple of her (12 dollar) soaps were made with lard.
Like it was a dirty word.
I wanted to tell her, girl, aside from showering with Colin Firth there is no more sensual experience than washing my hands with lard soap, so stop being ashamed. I guess it's a real dealbreaker with customers, which is too bad.
Anyway...pics, please!

 

[Nikko]

OP, congrats on a great soap.

@grumpy_owl, well done for setting that vendor straight. I was perusing some boutique soaps today for ingredient ideas was somewhat annoyed to find that they had proudly labelled them as having NO NASTIES - which they stated as parabens, petrochemical by products ....but then also animal fats! Which I felt is rather subjective and perhaps overly simplistic - if not completely incorrect!

Just a quick side question, tallow vs lard - all other things being equal is there much or any real, tangible difference between these two when used as part of a CP soap mixture (assuming ~25-50% of the overall soap + say CO/OO/other misc etc)

I've used tallow in many soaps and made 2 batches with it - but unsure how lard compares in the finished product.

Thank you in advance.

 

[MorpheusPA]

Not that it's really anything to look at, but you can see the perfectly smooth top. The color was white until I added the vanilla.

In the background and sides, you can see the granite soap and a random guest bar leftover from a lavender batch.

 

[jules92207]

Ohhh so lovely and creamy! Beautiful soaps!

 

[not_ally]

"I wanted to tell her, girl, aside from showering with Colin Firth there is no more sensual experience than washing my hands with lard soap."

Grumpy Owl, thank you for making me laugh tonight. Definitely needed it.

 

[Susie]

Heh. I found a lady selling soaps at the French Market yesterday, and her long, wordy brochure was full of bullpucky about how her soaps fight acne, excema, tighten skin, erase wrinkles, etc. I asked which fats she used and she just about passed out. She went on and on about "essential oils' like shea butter. (!!!) I told her I make soap (translation: cut the bull) but she didn't stop obfuscating and finally admitted that a couple of her (12 dollar) soaps were made with lard.
Like it was a dirty word.
I wanted to tell her, girl, aside from showering with Colin Firth there is no more sensual experience than washing my hands with lard soap, so stop being ashamed. I guess it's a real dealbreaker with customers, which is too bad.
Anyway...pics, please!

^Yup.

MorpheusPA-you're a goner. You haven't even used a well cured bar of lard soap yet...Welcome to the dark side.

 

[MorpheusPA]

I know, I'm disappointed I have to wait a month to use these!

 

[grumpy_owl]

Just a quick side question, tallow vs lard - all other things being equal is there much or any real, tangible difference between these two when used as part of a CP soap mixture (assuming ~25-50% of the overall soap + say CO/OO/other misc etc)

Nikko, I've found tallow harder and whiter. It hardens up very quickly and stays white-white unless your FO messes with. It's very reliable.

And Morpheus, those are beautiful! How satisfying is a smooth, creamy, plain bar of soap!

 

[MorpheusPA]

Update--I unmolded last night and these are already hard, beautiful off-white bars (slowly turning a browner color as the vanilla changes them). I used a 5% super fat.

I could have cut them if it were a log, but boy, were these nice and solid. Cleaning the pot produced tons of creamy and bubbly lather that just sat on top of the water, cheerfully shifting around. And that pot is spotless.

 

[not_ally]

I have to say, that is the worst thing about soapmaking for me, the dishes. I can get the glass oil measuring cups and the stainless steel things clean, but the plastic mixing ones *always* seem to be a little filmy, no matter how much I wash them.

 

[MorpheusPA]

I have to say, that is the worst thing about soapmaking for me, the dishes. I can get the glass oil measuring cups and the stainless steel things clean, but the plastic mixing ones *always* seem to be a little filmy, no matter how much I wash them.

Ditto. I use once and throw in the dishwasher. In a pinch, a little Dawn liquid cuts right through the scuzz on the plastic. Or I use my pot-scrubber soap (equivalent recipe to most laundry soaps around here) and that takes it off in nothing flat.

 

[Cindy2428]

Ally I put mine in the dishwasher and run a load of soapy stuff only. Regular white vinegar cleans everything right up. I put it in at the start of the load and all clean,

 

[not_ally]

Morpheus, I might need your recipe for that pot-scrubbing soap. I don't have a dishwasher, and although I have tried every degreaser dishwashing liquid I can find, it does not seem to work with hand washing and soap oils.

Cindy, do you think spraying the plastic things w/vinegar and letting them sit would work? I actually did that for a while with the 91% alcohol spray I use for ash prevention, but it was getting expensive, you have to spray a lot of it.

 

[MorpheusPA]

Morpheus, I might need your recipe for that pot-scrubbing soap. I don't have a dishwasher, and although I have tried every degreaser dishwashing liquid I can find, it does not seem to work with hand washing and soap oils.

Cindy, do you think spraying the plastic things w/vinegar and letting them sit would work? I actually did that for a while with the 91% alcohol spray I use for ash prevention, but it was getting expensive, you have to spray a lot of it.

Easy-peasy. 50-100% coconut oil with 0-50% filler oil (palm, lard, whatever's cheap and a solid oil). 0-1% super fat (I use 0.5% and give it a long cure to make sure the lye reacted out completely with the air if there's an excess). Mine are usually 50% CO, 50% palm, but I've tossed in soy wax in a pinch and it works fine.

Hard as a rock, cuts grease, cleans windows beautifully, removes gardening dirt from underneath nails without excessive scrubbing.

 

[Cindy2428]

I do think it would work - I would suggest after washing, fill your sink with clean rinse water and add 1/2-1 cup of vinegar. I don't really measure; just splash it in the bottom of dw.

 

[not_ally]

Thank you guys, if these work, you will my heros. I actually sometimes put off making soap because I don't want to wash the plastic things!

 

[IrishLass]

I love lard in soap. I remember one of the first times I soaped with it- I was comparing a recipe by soaping one batch with lard and the other batch of the same recipe with palm. Needless to say- the lard soap won hands down, no doubt about it. It made such a lovely, creamy/oomphy difference in comparison to the palm that I've been a lard fan ever since.

Just a quick side question, tallow vs lard - all other things being equal is there much or any real, tangible difference between these two when used as part of a CP soap mixture (assuming ~25-50% of the overall soap + say CO/OO/other misc etc)

I've used tallow in many soaps and made 2 batches with it - but unsure how lard compares in the finished product.

Thank you in advance.

Yes- there is a tangible difference in a mixed soap- at least to me there is. I find tallow to be harder, slightly bubblier, but less 'oomphy' than lard, for lack of a better term. Or, to put it another way, I find that lard lends a really nice creamy 'body' to my soap that I find lacking when using just tallow in the mix.

However, if you use both (as I am fond of doing on a regular basis), you get what I think is the best of both worlds.


IrishLass