Question about soap containing lard

Soapmaking Forum

Help Support Soapmaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
Mar 27, 2018
Messages
1,866
Reaction score
4,487
Location
Farmland
I started using lard on my last three HP soap batches and I am noticing the takes longer to trace, separates easily and stays fluid longer (which would be good if it was after the cook was done)

Im wondering if that is normal behavior for lard? I have done 3 different recipes but here are my amounts this last batch

Castor Oil 15.0 %
Coconut Oil (76 degrees) 30.0 %
Lard 40.0 %
Olive Oil 15.0 %
 
I'm not any kind of HP expert so take my tiny bit of experience with a grain of salt.

I recently did 3 small HP batches with 60% lard for the April Challenge. It's a fat blend I use a lot in CP soapmaking, so I have a fair bit of experience with it. The HP batter behaved a lot like the CP version -- it emulsified in about 5 seconds of stick blending, came to full trace in about 15 minutes, and went on to saponify and fully gel in 30-60 minutes (less time if I didn't fiddle with the soap).

It didn't get chunky or separate or have any other unusual issues. I used well-behaved FOs, only water for the liquid. As far as other additives, I used sodium lactate and a bit of yogurt in the first batch, yogurt only in the second, and neither in the third.
 
Last edited:
I'm not any kind of HP expert so take my tiny bit of experience with a grain of salt.

I recently did 3 small HP batches with 60% lard for the April Challenge. It's a fat blend I use a lot in CP soapmaking, so I have a fair bit of experience with it. The HP batter behaved a lot like the CP version -- it emulsified in about 5 seconds of stick blending, came to full trace in about 15 minutes of cooking, and went on to saponify and fully gel in 30-60 minutes (less time if I didn't fiddle with the soap).

It didn't get chunky or separate or have any other unusual issues. I used well-behaved FOs, only water for the liquid. As far as other additives, I used sodium lactate and a bit of yogurt in the first batch, yogurt only in the second, and neither in the third.
Thank you. Maybe i need to up the lard amount. I was able to recombine and the cook finished around 70 minutes although it was fluid enough i didn't need yogurt this time.
 
On the plus side, the colors came out brighter. Might need a little longer cure time then the others though.

I have a lot of issues using a high amount of lard in HP. It likes to separate badly and takes forever to get it back together. I've gotten better luck using the low setting, just enough heat to encourage gel.
Yeah I had to stick blend mine a couple of times in order to get the oils back in. It did eventually come back together it was just a little stressful during because I was worried it wouldn't
 

Attachments

  • 20180423_085528.jpg
    20180423_085528.jpg
    34.7 KB · Views: 15
Last edited by a moderator:
msunnerstood, to learn more about how specific oils affect trace, here are some links that address that. BTW, the same holds true for HP, except that the heat of HP does speed it up more than in CP. But the properties of the oils that affect trace remain the same. A slow-to-trace oil will be slower-to-trace in any method than a fast-to-trace oil would be in the same method.

https://www.modernsoapmaking.com/controlling-trace-in-cold-process-soapmaking/

https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/trace/

http://summerbeemeadow.com/content/properties-soapmaking-oils
 
msunnerstood, to learn more about how specific oils affect trace, here are some links that address that. BTW, the same holds true for HP, except that the heat of HP does speed it up more than in CP. But the properties of the oils that affect trace remain the same. A slow-to-trace oil will be slower-to-trace in any method than a fast-to-trace oil would be in the same method.

https://www.modernsoapmaking.com/controlling-trace-in-cold-process-soapmaking/

https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/trace/

http://summerbeemeadow.com/content/properties-soapmaking-oils
Thank you! I've seen some articles that address oils and hardness but I've not seen these.
 
I have a lot of issues using a high amount of lard in HP. It likes to separate badly and takes forever to get it back together. I've gotten better luck using the low setting, just enough heat to encourage gel.

The only HPing I've ever done has been lard soap (45%) and this is how I do it. I keep it on low for about 20-30 minutes, and I give it a blast with the stick blender ever 5-10 minutes. This is not precise, it just depends on how impatient I am feeling. After 30 minutes on low, I turn it to high, which bumps it into Vaseline stage. In the past, I would have it on high the whole time, and it would have overcooked bits before it reached Vaseline stage.
 
Just sharing my limited experience but in my last couple HP batches I used 25% lard, 25%coconut oil, 48% Crisco New, 2% bees wax with 1/10 honey to water ratio for liquid.

Mine came to trace in 15 minutes on the first batch using a fork to whisk only and closer to like 7 minutes using a stick blender. When using a higher heat it did seem to separate a little and need more attention. Keeping the temps lower seemed to help with that.
 
Thank you, ill try reducing the heat a bit. The bars did turn out. They took a little longer to be hard enough to unmold but they had a more tralucent like color which was interesting.
 
Thank you, ill try reducing the heat a bit. The bars did turn out. They took a little longer to be hard enough to unmold but they had a more tralucent like color which was interesting.

On mine where the heat was too high I think. It turned out as well. But was lumpy and not as pretty when unmolded. I just trimmed off the edges and it all looked good.
 
Back
Top