KeepItSimpleSoap
Well-Known Member
This may end up being very wordy as I intend to explain how this all started, and it may as well serve as an introduction to people who have joined the group after me as well as an introduction to those veterans that don't "study" the other user's info and posts here. Also I will be posting my past and future results.
It was in the fall of 2019 after I got out of the Hospital to have a stint installed in my left Carotid Artery that was clogged and earlier in the year had caused a mild stroke. I am ok.
I was recuperating at home and had spent about a day watching TV and I knew that I couldn't do that for 2 weeks. I had been saving bacon grease for about 2 years in a small refrigerator in the garage. I started searching high and low on the internet for a bare bones, lol, basic, simple soap recipe near exactly as our ancestors would have used. I was coming up with all kinds of recipes using other oils, swirls of color and other artistic designs, but nothing basic until one day I found a basic recipe. This was before I started finding soap calculators. It was this, My soap process is CP:
amount of oil multiplied by .1388 to get the amount of LYE for the recipe.
multiply results by 2.3 for the amount of water.
Some of you may be fine with this recipe. Others may not be and use a lower LYE/water ratio. I've tried it both ways using a 2:1 ratio. For my application I need a thin fluid batter. I am pouring into molds to make single color bars of soap.
From my experience and seeing what many fellow forum users are doing to manipulate their batter, I can see why you would want a batter thick like instant pudding that is not quite set up yet.
I was well into my 3rd batch, early Dec 2019, when I finally discovered Soapmaking Forum. I have learned a lot from all of you here at soapmaking.com and by way of my own studying and experience. One time I found a wiki link about LARD. I learned a lot from the encyclopedia results and thought that I would share it so if there was anyone else looking that they might benefit from the info. Many forum users gave me a positive response. A few, not so much.
LARD
EVERYONE should make at least one batch of LARD soap.
After about rendering enough of "earth's pig oil" for 3 batches I made this handy tool for rendering bacon grease.
Those are old pics. I forgot what the kitchen looked like before renovation.
I hope that someone has copied this device.
From the middle of Nov 2019 to the middle of Jan 2020 I made seven batches. I remember now and back then that I was starting to "veer" from my original objective. The objective was to take a "byproduct" from the "homestead" and turn it in to something useful. Bars of soap. Her is a picture from when I was starting to veer.
Don't take that I'm implying that this soap is useless. I was trying something artistic and I was hoping that family members of mine that have decorative soap in a basket on top of there toilet would want to put my "decorative" soap in the basket too.
I've been relying on this soap for the past few weeks as I wait for the done date on the first batch of the 2nd effort.
Here is a picture from the past of the first 3 batches two and a half years ago
I even made one batch with cold coffee in place of water and added an oz of dry coffee as a scrubbing agent. This is a great gardening soap. It removes red clay easily.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This is where I am at now.
On April 2nd 2022 I made the first batch of soap that I have made in over 2 years. The first batch gelled up in 5 minutes. It caught me by surprise however I was able to get it in the molds. I had an issue with either the quality of the FO or a problem because I stirred it into the oil early on. Most of the next several batches the grease was too warm and the LYE/water was too. Thick batter but usable soap. Here is a picture of 7 batches as I was re-boxing them to get the oldest on top.
Below are batches 8 through 11. I finally have my process worked out. Batches 8 and up have 18 bars. I purchased more cavity molds to be able to pour 18 or 36 bars at a time.
more a little later...
It was in the fall of 2019 after I got out of the Hospital to have a stint installed in my left Carotid Artery that was clogged and earlier in the year had caused a mild stroke. I am ok.
I was recuperating at home and had spent about a day watching TV and I knew that I couldn't do that for 2 weeks. I had been saving bacon grease for about 2 years in a small refrigerator in the garage. I started searching high and low on the internet for a bare bones, lol, basic, simple soap recipe near exactly as our ancestors would have used. I was coming up with all kinds of recipes using other oils, swirls of color and other artistic designs, but nothing basic until one day I found a basic recipe. This was before I started finding soap calculators. It was this, My soap process is CP:
amount of oil multiplied by .1388 to get the amount of LYE for the recipe.
multiply results by 2.3 for the amount of water.
Some of you may be fine with this recipe. Others may not be and use a lower LYE/water ratio. I've tried it both ways using a 2:1 ratio. For my application I need a thin fluid batter. I am pouring into molds to make single color bars of soap.
From my experience and seeing what many fellow forum users are doing to manipulate their batter, I can see why you would want a batter thick like instant pudding that is not quite set up yet.
I was well into my 3rd batch, early Dec 2019, when I finally discovered Soapmaking Forum. I have learned a lot from all of you here at soapmaking.com and by way of my own studying and experience. One time I found a wiki link about LARD. I learned a lot from the encyclopedia results and thought that I would share it so if there was anyone else looking that they might benefit from the info. Many forum users gave me a positive response. A few, not so much.
LARD
EVERYONE should make at least one batch of LARD soap.
After about rendering enough of "earth's pig oil" for 3 batches I made this handy tool for rendering bacon grease.
Those are old pics. I forgot what the kitchen looked like before renovation.
I hope that someone has copied this device.
From the middle of Nov 2019 to the middle of Jan 2020 I made seven batches. I remember now and back then that I was starting to "veer" from my original objective. The objective was to take a "byproduct" from the "homestead" and turn it in to something useful. Bars of soap. Her is a picture from when I was starting to veer.
Don't take that I'm implying that this soap is useless. I was trying something artistic and I was hoping that family members of mine that have decorative soap in a basket on top of there toilet would want to put my "decorative" soap in the basket too.
I've been relying on this soap for the past few weeks as I wait for the done date on the first batch of the 2nd effort.
Here is a picture from the past of the first 3 batches two and a half years ago
I even made one batch with cold coffee in place of water and added an oz of dry coffee as a scrubbing agent. This is a great gardening soap. It removes red clay easily.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This is where I am at now.
On April 2nd 2022 I made the first batch of soap that I have made in over 2 years. The first batch gelled up in 5 minutes. It caught me by surprise however I was able to get it in the molds. I had an issue with either the quality of the FO or a problem because I stirred it into the oil early on. Most of the next several batches the grease was too warm and the LYE/water was too. Thick batter but usable soap. Here is a picture of 7 batches as I was re-boxing them to get the oldest on top.
Below are batches 8 through 11. I finally have my process worked out. Batches 8 and up have 18 bars. I purchased more cavity molds to be able to pour 18 or 36 bars at a time.
more a little later...
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