Odorless Lard PSA

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rdc1978

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Hi everyone,

This post is nothing more than information sharing and if someone else has said it before please forgive me.

I have avoided using lard in my soap because I can always smell it. It bums me out because so many soapers rave about lard.

I had been wanting to make a face soap and heard that lard was great, so I purchased some "leaf lard" on Etsy.

Thus far, it has been absolutely odorless, and I've had my nose all up in it like a dog on a first date. No porky odor, like nothing, nada, zip, zilch, zero.

I did melt it under a low heat, but even right out of the package it didn't smell. I'm sure its more expensive than regular lard and if I didn't have this sensitive nose, I wouldn't have spend the money

I have no affiliation or connection to this company, but in reading this forum, it seems like its not just me, so I'm putting the link here if anyone wants to try it, or is looking for such a product

https://www.etsy.com/listing/252221...sYUsPXk5g7kRbhJACRjuAlAAWEqqf72RoCKDMQAvD_BwE
 
Lard doesn’t normally smell to me, but I have always rendered my own and definitely can smell it during the rendering process. It doesn’t bother me, but I still put the roaster pan outside bc I don’t want the smell to permeate my house.

Then last year, I got unrendered ground leaf fat from a local custom hog butcher. Was the easiest rendering ever - melted clear and clean on the first round, with no porky smell whatsoever. The snow white lard was gorgeous! I guess the pure color and neutral taste and smell are why leaf lard is so prized for making pie crusts and biscuits.

A year later, I’m down to my last package of the ground leaf fat to render, and vacillating between buying a 48lb container of non-leaf lard from a local restaurant supply store, or going back for more of the good stuff. Rendering is so messy and time-consuming, but the leaf lard is so superior in looks and feel to the store-bought stuff, and the cost savings over buying rendered leaf is phenomenal. Still, I was thinking it might not be worth the trouble, but reading how some of you smell the lard in soap makes me reconsider.

ETA: I got the ground leaf fat for $2/lb (pre-rendering weight). After rendering, it came out to about $3/lb. Pre-rendered leaf lard goes for $10/lb in stores around here.
 
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