To add lard or notl

[newbie]

I melt lard in the microwave and try to get it out before it's completely melted, then stir it until it's all liquid. Then I add the palm or coconut to melt using that heat. I've never melted it over a direct heat source. It smells very slightly but I've never had a soap smell porky. Make sure your lard/tallow is fresh, stored in a cool place and doesn't smell before you start. Maybe it's not rendered properly? Or maybe mutton tallow is just strong smelling. Does anyone else use it?

 

[igbabygirl]

Wow, I am glad to see all of you who use lard. I had started out making my soap with lard and then my friend who also makes soap turned her nose up at mine for not making "vegan" soap. I like the way lard soap is creamy and produces a almost white color in my soap, Thank you all for your input, you have helped me decide to make my lard soap as well. I do agree about the word lard, I wish I could use another word for it that sounded more appealing.

 

[Maria]

Lard doesn't seem to have label appeal to my customers. My first year at the green market I had 1 or 2 recipes made with lard and they were not good sellers. I found the smell unpleasant while the soap was cooking and was pretty sure our pot bellied pig knew what it was too. Wilbur was crouched in the closet during the soap making.

 

[Half Caper Farm]

[/quote] my friend who also makes soap turned her nose up at mine for not making "vegan" soap

Vegetarian - old Indian word for "bad hunter"
Vegan - old Indian word for "really, really bad hunter"



I have a goat out in my barn who is destined for our freezer - I might have a go at goat tallow soap, if there's much fat on him. I don't believe in waste.

 

[Maria]

People are funny. One of the customers who looked down on the soaps made with lard, mentioned she used Dove.

 

[tespring]

All of my recipes have lard in them except one and that is bastille, all of my friends and family love lard soaps. I live in Indiana, so this is all farming area, I do not even know a Vegan in this area.

 

[Adema]

It sounds as if some of you might be able to answer a question from a newbie.
I made soap using clean, rendered mutton tallow. It is still curing but I don't like the smell of it. It isn't as bad as it was initially, but it still smells of lamb fat. A second batch I made scented with thyme and lavender oil isn't a lot better.....more like roast lamb with thyme.
Is there any way to make animal fats odourless or will it disappear as the soap cures? It is only two wks old at the moment, by the way.

I have to render the fat from lamb 2 times with pebbles, baking soda and vinegar for the sheep smell not to shine trough. I get my fat straight from the slaughterhouse.. And while I'm cooking the fat my house doesn't smell that nice but it quickly goes away.
I made a couple of batches that had a bit of sheep smell but I was the only one that could smell it, my family loved and used that soap and thought it only smelled of the EO's I put in it

 

[Half Caper Farm]

Pebbles? What do the pebbles do? :?

 

[punkflash54]

so far i make veggie soaps and some goat's milk but i have lard that im still waiting to make soap out of. i have used lard soaps and i really like them

 

[Adema]

Pebbles? What do the pebbles do? :?

My grandmother told me it was good for deodorizing the fats butr I haven't found out the reason why,, I have also used potatoes but I didn't think they helped much..

Kveðja
María

 

[dcornett]

I love using lard/tallow in my soaps also because of the creaminess. I've made a few all vegetable soaps, but I didn't particularly care for them. I'm like tespring, I don't believe I know a single vegan, so people around here don’t seem to mind that odious "lard" word...good thing too because I love the qualities it adds to my soaps.

 

[Midnightstorm]

I Want to Try Lard In My CP Soap

I am new to CP soapmaking and I'm already finding that shipping coconut oil and palm oil by mail is too expensive for me. Since it appears from this thread that many people like lard soap, I would like to try a few batches of soap using lard.

I only have two recipes that I've used so far. These are:

My Recipe #1
12 oz Olive Oil
6 oz Coconut Oil
6 oz Palm Oil
3.2 oz Lye
7.9 Distilled Water

My Recipe #2
8 oz Olive Oil
8 oz Coconut Oil
8 oz Palm Oil
3.4 oz Lye
7.9 oz Distilled Water

I prefer a more moisturizing bar of soap than My Recipe #2. The bars I tried from that recipe seemed a little drying to me. That's why I switched to My Recipe #1. Those bars haven't cured yet so I don't know how they'll be - hopefully more moisturizing though.

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but does anyone have any recommendations on how to change up one of my recipes above to include lard? Or do you have a better recipe you'd be willing to share with a new soaper?

Thanks!

 

[hervor]

Pebbles? What do the pebbles do? :?

My grandmother told me it was good for deodorizing the fats butr I haven't found out the reason why,, I have also used potatoes but I didn't think they helped much..

Kveðja
María

I'm willing to persevere with the mutton tallow as it is supposed to make excellent soap, and the pebbles are intriguing. Is there any particular kind of stone to use - I know some are more porous than others?

I will try rendering it in a water bath next time too, thankyou for all the advice everyone

 

[turnedlight]

I have tried tallow but not lard yet, I don't mind using animal fats at all but I'm finding I prefer using the soaps made with all vegetable fats.

 

[Adema]

Pebbles? What do the pebbles do? :?

My grandmother told me it was good for deodorizing the fats butr I haven't found out the reason why,, I have also used potatoes but I didn't think they helped much..

Kveðja
María

I'm willing to persevere with the mutton tallow as it is supposed to make excellent soap, and the pebbles are intriguing. Is there any particular kind of stone to use - I know some are more porous than others?

I will try rendering it in a water bath next time too, thankyou for all the advice everyone

I think any pebbles work, I found some on the playground outside my house. I boiled it 2 times for about 2 hours and I used a lot of water and stirred often.. Good luck
I used the tallow for about 35-40 % of my recipe.

Kveðja
María

 

[hervor]

I washed the remainder of my tallow last night using vinegar and baking soda twice (cooling in a sink of cold water each time), then just baking soda, then finally just clean water.
The smell is barely there now, so I'm going to give it another try.
Do you think the first batch of smelly soap might improve as it cures?

 

[agriffin]

Re: I Want to Try Lard In My CP Soap

I am new to CP soapmaking and I'm already finding that shipping coconut oil and palm oil by mail is too expensive for me. Since it appears from this thread that many people like lard soap, I would like to try a few batches of soap using lard.

I only have two recipes that I've used so far. These are:

My Recipe #1
12 oz Olive Oil
6 oz Coconut Oil
6 oz Palm Oil
3.2 oz Lye
7.9 Distilled Water

My Recipe #2
8 oz Olive Oil
8 oz Coconut Oil
8 oz Palm Oil
3.4 oz Lye
7.9 oz Distilled Water

I prefer a more moisturizing bar of soap than My Recipe #2. The bars I tried from that recipe seemed a little drying to me. That's why I switched to My Recipe #1. Those bars haven't cured yet so I don't know how they'll be - hopefully more moisturizing though.

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but does anyone have any recommendations on how to change up one of my recipes above to include lard? Or do you have a better recipe you'd be willing to share with a new soaper?

Thanks!

You can simply sub the palm with lard. Palm, lard and tallow are all pretty much interchangable. Just run it through a lye calc as they all have different sap values. Your recipe looks good. If you had a bit of castor oil, that would make it even better. 5% or so.

 

[Midnightstorm]

Excellent! I'll do just that. Thanks!

 

[kbn]

Interesting to see this thread, somehow I had missed it before! I just made my first lard soap yesterday after shopping at a different supermarket and seeing it prominently displayed next to the butter. All I can say is "wow!". I haven't tried the soap yet, but love the look - much whiter and creamier appearing. I may be a convert after years of saying "i'd never use lard in my soap". Guess the "never say never" adage really IS true!!!