Tallow soap smell

[pure&simple]

I made a batch of Tallow & coconut soap last week. I used one today and it's great. But, it has a 'fatty' smell to it, even on my hands after washing. Does this smell go away after a while or will it stay with the soap?

 

[honor435]

how old is it? I know a lot of people on here use lard, so it must. I tried lard and didnt like it, i use oo, po, co, castor.

 

[pure&simple]

The soaps are about 1 week. Lathers well and no zaps.

 

[agriffin]

I've noticed when working with animal fats that overheating them can cause the soap to have the "pig" or "fatty" smell.

So next time melt the coconut oil then add the tallow to the hot coconut oil. Stir to melt the tallow. If you need to add a little heat to completely melt the tallow...do so. But don't overheat.

 

[IrishLass]

I'm a big believer of the view that the degree of sensitivity of one's own particularly active or inactive/oversaturated nasal scent receptors is a big culprit in all of this. For instance, I have heated lard and tallow much higher than would be necessary for soapmaking (160 degreesF, yet still far below their smoking points), and although I could smell the fats as they were heating, I could not smell any piggy or fatty smell in my finished bars at all. Neither did anyone else of whom I asked opinions. I didn't heat them that high on purpose, btw- I got temporarily sidetracked by a forum post. :wink: (I like to read the forum intermittently as I'm waiting for my oils to melt.)

I've also made lard lotion (which sounds gross, but is quite lovely, actually) where I applied the heat and hold method (heating, then holding the temp at 176 degreesF for 20 minutes), and I can't smell the oink in that either, whether scented or left unscented.

Having said all that, though, I know of soapers who can detect lard and/or tallow in soap a mile away no matter how warm or cool they soap, and others who can detect it only if they soap it warmer instead of cooler.

I think Toucan Sam was onto something. :wink:


IrishLass

 

[pure&simple]

This batch was made 50/50 tallow and coconut at low temp. I melted both oils and I let it sit until almost solid again. Then I added the lye. The soap came out a beautiful white but it does smell a 'little' fatty. I made another batch with 30% tallow and I couldn't smell anything, but my SIS law and her friend it smelled like leather. Hubby, the minute he hears that animal fat is in a soap, he'll tell me it smells like fat (even if it doesn't!) He's a Castile soap type.

I really like to have tallow/lard better than palm in my soaps BUT if I walk around smelling like 'leather' then ... I guess that I have to use EOs! I guess that I can make an exception.

 

[judymoody]

I generally use only veggie oils as I don't eat mammals. To be consistent, I don't soap with them either. However, my husband hunts, and as a concession to him, I did render tallow from an elk he shot. I rendered it three times with fresh mint and rosemary from our garden to make it as pleasant smelling as possible. Despite that, the soap smelled like meat to me.

I still have a couple of bars left that are now almost a year old. The meat smell is gone - the EO blend is still there - not as intense - but there.

Edited to add that it made a beautiful rock hard white bar.

 

[Lindy]

I absolutely love tallow soap and make it often. I have yet to have a beefy or leather scent to it. I wonder if it could have something to do with how well it was rendered? I'm buying the large boxes meant for use for frying french fries etc and it is rendered multiple times so there is absolutely no meat or other things in it.

From everything I've read on rendering you have to do more than once to get it truly clean.

Just thinking out loud.....

 

[adoptapitbull]

I've never noticed the fatty smell either. Then again, all mine are milk soaps so maybe the milk smell is stronger.

 

[pure&simple]

Thanks Everyone for the feed backs and tips.

I normally render the fat once, but I don rinse well to get the yuck that clings to the tallow once it has been rendered. Maybe I have to do it again but with some rosemary. Sounds like a good idea. I think my hubby might like that more than the 'oink' (Irishlass, love that term) or the 'moo' in my animal fatty soaps.

 

[Lindy]

Most people I know of render it three times using salt and water cleaning the bottom of it each time after solidification and there is no scent left.

I've not done it, but this is what family members have told me from when they were kids and I think a couple of soapers told me the same.

 

[Stinkydancer]

I always smell meat when I use meat soaps...it does make nice soap but I can't get over the smell.

I have tried other people's meat soap thinking it was just mine but I could smell it with those too.

I even eat meat. I think some people's sniffers are more sensitive than others?

 

[Cuckoo Bananas]

I think it is people's sniffers too....

I rendered my own once and I loved the bars, they had a slight odour but I wouldn't even say it was strong or meaty, just 'distinctive'. Same as vegetable oil soaps just get their own distinctive soapy smell.

Unless you have bought deodorised tallow commercially I think it is going to have that slight smell. My bars didn't last long enough to tell you if the smelt went away

 

[Bubbles Galore]

I can use lard soap and not smell the lard. I can use tallow soap and not smell the tallow (mixed fats - called Supafry here). I made soap with Beef Dripping (from the supermarket) and hated the smell of the fat that never went away so I binned them. :wink:

 

[Maythorn]

"There's the beef," is something I thought of crestfallenly when I soaped some tallow I got a hold of a long time ago. I thought, oh it won't smell like that after CP, lard doesn't. But it did anyway. What I like and can easily get is lard-tallow shortening from Walmart. I did price it and it's not cheaper than plain lard but some soapers really like tallow because it makes such firm bars.

 

[pure&simple]

I just rendered my tallow again with a couple of rosemary sprigs. I can't really smell any rosemary but the tallow is a pale green. I'm really tempted to make another batch of 50/50 tallow and coconut. I just love it. It lathers so well. Maybe I'll just give it to the butchers that gave me the suet to make tallow. I'm sure they won't be able to smell any fat from the soaps. :wink:

So you guys think I should try a blend of tallow and lard. I get my tallow for free so it's practical to have it in my soaps. Believe it or not, lard costs more than EVOO here.