Soap Making 101

[Bubblingbrooks]

I have only made soap once, and it was shall we say "interesting".
Not horrible, but not the best.

I have a five gallon bucket of lye that was given to me that I need to start using.

I also have LOTS of beef fat to render.
Any ideas how to get around the beefy smell if I use it to make soap?

 

[freemotion]

Once rendered, it shouldn't smell too beefy, right? Although I've only rendered suet...

I find that once saponified, it doesn't really smell like the original fat smelled. More like a mild soapy smell.

If you think the rendered fat smells a bit too much, you could try boiling it in a lot of water, then strain it and harden it in the fridge or a cool spot on the porch. That should clean it up a bit.

 

[Farmfresh]

I have only made soap once, and it was shall we say "interesting".
Not horrible, but not the best.

I have a five gallon bucket of lye that was given to me that I need to start using.

I also have LOTS of beef fat to render.
Any ideas how to get around the beefy smell if I use it to make soap?

You will have to render it and then put it through SEVERAL boilings with clear water. You add the fat to the pot of water and boil a few minutes then chill until the fat solidifies, skim the fat all off, dump the water fill with new water and repeat. This takes out the impurities that makes the fat smell.

You can use any beef fat, but you will have better results with your soap if you use only the suet fat, which is found around the kidneys. This fat is harder, smells far less and produces a good tallow when rendered.

 

[freemotion]

I knew someone would know the answer! I was close, probably from something you posted in the past, FF!

 

[Bettacreek]

Yup, the suet really only needs one good rendering. The other fats need a lot of work. Just ask the guys here about that batch I made with bacon grease, lmao. It did work, but, it smelled to high heaven and then went rancid in a few weeks after it was done. It was fun (funny too), but I'll leave the bacon grease to cooking taters from now on. I do plan to use the backside fat from beef and venison for soaps, but nothing that I'll be using in the bath tub. I found a recipe that's olive oil based that I'm pretty well satisfied with for that. The fat soaps I hope to make for when we need to wash dirt or grease from our hands, as well as for homemade soaps.

 

[valmom]

So, I have a question for some of the more experienced soapers.

I love experimenting with my oils combos. I started with what was in my closet and practiced on that- Crisco, canola and olive oil. Then I bought coconut oil and added that in to increase the bubbles in the lather. So, I made several batches with my "CCCO" combo. I bought shea butter to try it, and made 2 batches with it, adding it to my tried and true CCCO, bringing each oil down to 20%. It made the most lovely satiny hard bars! I love them and they aren't even cured to try yet.

So, the question is- is it the shea itself that made the bars harder and more satiny? Or is it because I now have 60% of hard oils (that have to be melted to use)? Do hard oils make harder bars?

I just tried adding peanut oil today to my batch (CCCOP) to see what that does. It is amazing the variety of oils you can find in the food store! They have grape seed oil, almond oil, sesame oil. I want to try them all!

 

[Morgaine]

I use Shea Butter in all my bars. Yes it will add hardness to your bars and it will also make a creamier lather.

If you really want to get into the science of the oils you use in your soap, start studing the fatty acid profiles of each oils. Soapcalc.net is a good place to start. http://soapcalc.net/info/soapqualities.asp

 

[valmom]

Cool- thanks. My SO says she doesn't "like" shea, but I bet she can't tell it is in these bars if I don't tell her. I use FO scents and I don't think it smells like shea in its raw form. I may have to get some more.

 

[Gallina Vecchia]

Ok, here's one for all of you experienced soap makers! I thought I would try a recipe for a lard laundry bar the other day. I normally use fels naptha, borax and washing soda for my wash mix (I use it powdered). Using up a surplus of lard seemed to be a great idea. Well, I made up a recipe using 4 lbs of lard, 8.5 ounces lye and 20 ounces of water. Bars are out and curing. Here is my question: is the 4% excess fat (per the MMS lye calculator) going to make a crummy bar for laundry? After searching around for other laundry bar recipes, it looks like people like 0-1% excess for laundry. Does it really matter if I have a slightly more fatted soap? Thanks!

 

[Farmfresh]

Personally I don't think 4% super fatted will ruin the soap, but it will not be able to clean as well as a low percentage bar.

Super fatting a soap leaves some oil unbound chemically that oil will be left behind after use. A good thing with a body bar not so good where your wash is concerned.