What is lard?

[Newbie89]

Sorry complete newbie here

 

[dxw]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lard probably covers it pretty well.
For soap-making purposes lard is one of the many sources of oils / fats that can be 'saponified' by chemical reaction with a strong alkali, to make soap. Some fats or oils derive from animals, lard included, while some come from vegetable sources (e.g. olive oil).

 

[Newbie89]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lard probably covers it pretty well.
For soap-making purposes lard is one of the many sources of oils / fats that can be 'saponified' by chemical reaction with a strong alkali, to make soap. Some fats or oils derive from animals, lard included, while some come from vegetable sources (e.g. olive oil).

Oh thats intresting Iv seen olive oil coconut ect! So it is the same stuff you buy from the supermarket in the fridge that looks like butter?

 

[earlene]

Yes, you can buy it the supermarket, but it doesn't look like butter to me. It's white and softer than butter. Also softer than shortening, but it looks more like shortening to me than butter. Also I have never seen it in a refrigerated area in a supermarket. I always see it with the other oils.

 

[Newbie89]

Yes, you can buy it the supermarket, but it doesn't look like butter to me. It's white and softer than butter. Also softer than shortening, but it looks more like shortening to me than butter. Also I have never seen it in a refrigerated area in a supermarket. I always see it with the other oils.

Is it the same stuff that can be used as baking or frying? When I say butter I mean a block wrapped in foil but yeh the one I'm thinking of is white looks like coconut oil?

 

[earlene]

Yes, it is the very same stuff. Back when I first learned to make tortillas, we used the very same lard that I can now use for soap. It comes in tubs, too. Some Wal-Mart's even carry huge containers of the stuff, but mostly I see it 1 pound blocks or 4 pound tubs.

 

[Newbie89]

Yes, it is the very same stuff. Back when I first learned to make tortillas, we used the very same lard that I can now use for soap. It comes in tubs, too. Some Wal-Mart's even carry huge containers of the stuff, but mostly I see it 1 pound blocks or 4 pound tubs.

Oh thays great thank you I'm in the UK so will try and find somewhere for big tubs! Would you recommend this as a base over olive oil? Imnlooking at a cheaper way to do it with just to start Iv never made any soap before

 

[dxw]

I am a beginner also. My first couple of attempts were olive and coconut oil mainly. I've just found small 400g tubs of lard and other animal shortening and have given them a try. Each fat and oil has different properties that get imparted into the soap ... some make it harder, some softer, some bubblier etc etc etc. There are calculator programs that let you balance and adjust the proportions depending on what you wish to achieve, and expert soapers seem to also have their own favourite recipes.

 

[Newbie89]

I am a beginner also. My first couple of attempts were olive and coconut oil mainly. I've just found small 400g tubs of lard and other animal shortening and have given them a try. Each fat and oil has different properties that get imparted into the soap ... some make it harder, some softer, some bubblier etc etc etc. There are calculator programs that let you balance and adjust the proportions depending on what you wish to achieve, and expert soapers seem to also have their own favourite recipes.

Is there anywhere that just has the recipes wrote down that you could follow? Iv had a look at the caculater onlime but its so confusing even after reading the tutorial I don't understand it Iv seen some recipes but nowhere the specifically days the measurements ECT?

 

[dxw]

Yeah, there are recipes all over the place ... and I would not be surprised if there is a recipe repository on this forum site somewhere. I daresay some more expert folk will be able to help you more on that. I just google search and tweak what I find ... with varied results.

 

[earlene]

There are loads of recipes all over the internet as well as in tons of books (try your local library, too), but beware that no matter what, always run any new-to-you recipe through a lye calculator. Typographical errors occur ALL the time, so don't rely on a printed or published recipe to be error-free.

From Nature With Love has a recipe database. I have searched it, but I cannot vouch for any of the recipes as I have not tried any. You can search this link for recipes.

To address you question about lard as a base oil over olive. I am not the best person to ask, as I only use lard to make soap for my family who eat meat. As a vegetarian, I am not fond of using lard in soap. But many here love it in soap, so I expect you will get some responses from the lard fans in a few hours. It's the middle of the night here right now and if it wasn't for the fact that I can't sleep tonight, I wouldn't be replying myself either.

I don't know the costs of oils in the UK, but OO is fairly expensive here as well, and there are some folks who really don't like OO in soap.

There is a fairly nice video on making Dollar Store soap (I don't know if the UK has Dollar Stores, but basically they are known for selling things for a dollar here in the US). The goal is to show that you can still make soap without buying expensive oils. Of course, that's a lot of soy oil in that recipe, but it's only an example. Soy oil at such high amounts has a reputation for producing a soap prone to DOS.



And this one for additional equipment (including some things to avoid using in soap):

 

[shunt2011]

You will also find good recipes here on this forum that many of us have shared. 40-50% lard, 15-20%. coconut, the rest Olive. If you have access to castor use 5% and subtract that from the olive. Makes a great soap.

 

[artemis]

Iv had a look at the caculater onlime but its so confusing even after reading the tutorial I don't understand it

Anything can be confusing until you work with it a little. As noted, even with a recipe you still need to know how to use a lye calculator to check it for errors. If the one you tried is too confusing, try a different one. They are all different. As a new soaper, the one at bramble berry was easy to work with. Now, though, I want more flexibility and use the one at soapee.com

 

[Newbie89]

There are loads of recipes all over the internet as well as in tons of books (try your local library, too), but beware that no matter what, always run any new-to-you recipe through a lye calculator. Typographical errors occur ALL the time, so don't rely on a printed or published recipe to be error-free.

From Nature With Love has a recipe database. I have searched it, but I cannot vouch for any of the recipes as I have not tried any. You can search this link for recipes.

To address you question about lard as a base oil over olive. I am not the best person to ask, as I only use lard to make soap for my family who eat meat. As a vegetarian, I am not fond of using lard in soap. But many here love it in soap, so I expect you will get some responses from the lard fans in a few hours. It's the middle of the night here right now and if it wasn't for the fact that I can't sleep tonight, I wouldn't be replying myself either.

I don't know the costs of oils in the UK, but OO is fairly expensive here as well, and there are some folks who really don't like OO in soap.

There is a fairly nice video on making Dollar Store soap (I don't know if the UK has Dollar Stores, but basically they are known for selling things for a dollar here in the US). The goal is to show that you can still make soap without buying expensive oils. Of course, that's a lot of soy oil in that recipe, but it's only an example. Soy oil at such high amounts has a reputation for producing a soap prone to DOS.



And this one for additional equipment (including some things to avoid using in soap):

Thank you so much

 

[dixiedragon]

We tend to post our recipes in percentages here, vs weights, so that way you can decide how much you want to make.