tallow vs. lard

[true blue]

I read the other post about using these two together, and some were saying that they like lard better than tallow. I personally seem to like tallow better - but maybe it's just because I would rather work with tallow than with lard.

So - which do you like better ... and more importantly, why?

 

[new12soap]

I love them both, but if pushed I would also give the slight edge to tallow. Tallow is a teensy bit more bubbly and cleansing, lard is more creamy and conditioning. Which is probably why some people love them together, a best of the best of both worlds sort of thing.

 

[xraygrl]

Lard is my favorite. All the conditioning of a luxury oil without the luxury price LOL!

 

[biarine]

I like lard but I never try tallow yet, lard is very creamy and moisturising but the downside I don't like piggy smell. I will give tallow a try.

 

[nebetmiw]

Ok since we have both cows and pigs I can do both. But I prefer lard since it is easier to process. I.E. I do not have to process it my hubby and BIL do it when they do the butchering.

 

[Dahila]

My hubby processes my tallow :evil: I love the combination of both, 35% tallow 30% lard, I love that the most. Bubbly, creamy and incredibly mild on my sensitive (too sensitive) skin

 

[true blue]

OK ... very interesting ... for those of you who use lard, I noticed most of you either render it yourself, or have someone close to you who does it. Does anyone like the results from store purchased lard?

The weird thing is that the only lard I can find in the store says it's been partially hydrogenated. I just figured lard would be somewhat hard like tallow (I do render that) - why would they want to hydrogenate it?

 

[new12soap]

I have never rendered lard, I use store bought and love it. It is partially hydrogenated because it is somewhat softer than beef tallow and also because it has to be shelf and temperature stable enough to ship across the country, at least that's my guess.

 

[newbie]

I buy lard off the shelf but it isn't as hard as you might think. At room temp, I would not really call it hard but it is firm. It will definitely dent and squash if you drop it out of the box. I prefer tallow because of the price- way cheaper than lard for me and I overheated lard a couple times and the smell put me off. I have combined the two but I guess I am not a discerning washer; it seemed just as nice as my regular all tallow bar.

 

[Dahila]

I buy lard too, only tallow we render, I mean he does )

 

[Obsidian]

I also buy lard and render my own tallow. I prefer lard in bath soap, its creamier and more conditioning. Tallow soap seems to lack body so I pretty much save it for shaving soap.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I didn't notice a difference between the two in my shaving soap. While I can buy lard quite easily, tallow is like tryng to find hen's teeth so I much prefer lard - for the performance difference, I don't find it worth the trouble.

 

[saurian]

Coming from a different angle on this:
Many people associate lard with unhealthy food, and surprisingly few people recognise tallow as being a fat. Instead it's what expensive candles are made from. So tallow has 'label appeal' over lard.

A soap of olive oil, tallow, cocoa butter and essential oils sounds so much more luxury than if you have lard in that list.

 

[true blue]

... I am not a discerning washer ...

lol - that's totally me!

Good point, saurian ... I'd have not thought of that.

 

[Dahila]

how the sodium lardate looks on label?
If you choose to use INCI names it sounds very nice Lard-Adeps Suillus
Tallow-Sodium Tallowate Adeps Bovis

 

[coffeetime]

I render and use lard from a local farmer. I love to use local ingredients so it works for me. I render it over 24 hours on low in my crockpot and it comes out beautiful. The smell while rendering is very much like baking pork chops in the oven. Not offensive at all to me.

As for label appeal, I think it depends on your locale. I am in Canada in a small town where the vast majority of people either came from a farm originally or live on a farm now. So they appreciate the lard soaps because they remember their grandmas soap (which may or may not have been we-made), so there is a nostalgia point for some people. I think in the last year and a half, I've had 3 people ask for vegetarian recipes.

 

[nebetmiw]

I started with store bought. It works great. Just a bit of information, store soaps are made with ao.

 

[Dorymae]

I use both and like both. Sometimes together sometimes by themselves. Lard tends to trace slower so I use it a lot for swirling. Tallow traces quicker but gives me a slightly harder and whiter( but not by much) bar. Both of them have a lot to bring to soap and to tell the truth I wouldn't want to give up either of them.

I render when I can get it and buy off the shelf when I can't.

 

[ClaraSuds]

So - which do you like better ... and more importantly, why?

When I was into it, I preferred tallow, it was whiter and less stinky to render. I'm not a fan of pork smells. But I eventually switched to castile because it's cheaper for me to make (lard and tallow are surprisingly expensive per kg here) and I prefer the feel of castile.

 

[sososo]

I'm not a fan of pork smells.

After 1 month cure, no pork smell even for a 90% lard soap.