Substitute for Tallow?

[49.bussey]

Palm Oil & Lard

I agree with soap lady on Lard. To make a less expensive soap lard in these parts of the world is necessary. On the other hand, palm oil, is hard to obtain in Argentina, plus I believe in sustainable oils and not just Vegetarian or Organic for the sake of it...I stumbled upon an article online that damages the Palm Oil reputation by stating that it is wrecking havoc on the Orangutan habitat. Something to think about. This website suggests not to boycott Palm but rather buy Palm with consciousness: http://www.greenpalm.org/en/faqs/consumers.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

It is an issue with palm, to be fair. I love lard soaps, too.

There is a subset of the market that I think I will just never understand nor try to woo - those that don't want animal fats OR palm, with out really knowing why other than what they read on a link floating on facebook. All things can be produced in an unethical way, but that doesn't mean that all palm oil is killing the great apes.

If I was selling a soap and the customer saw it had palm and asked for a palm-free soap, the only alternatives would be Castile, Salt Bar or Lard.

 

[FlybyStardancer]

What if you're dealing with a more educated vegetarian? There are those who have done their research and still feel that they don't want to use palm that isn't sustainably harvested, or don't want to spend their time vetting every potential seller. When they're vegetarians who can't use animal oils at all...

That's a bit of the bind I'm in. Palm oil that I can feel comfortable using is a bit beyond what I can get right now, and if I want to be able to give my soaps away to all of my friends they have to be animal oil-free. (I have nothing against lard in soaps--I have some lard in the fridge to play with. It just cuts my already-small pool of testers even smaller.)

 

[soapballs]

Is lard and tallow used interchangeable? I mean is one better than the other? I decided to make myself animal oil based soaps and my first go to was lard but have flipped to tallow.

Can someone tell me the difference between lard and tallow besides the animal fat is came from? If you had a 100% lard and 100% tallow bar could you tell which was which?

Sorry I ask so many questions and post jack but I got so many questions and money is tight so I want to make sure when I order my supplies I get all I need and nothing extra.

Thank you!
Misty

 

[FlybyStardancer]

According to this page, tallow is higher in stearic acid and has a low level of myristic acid, which lard does not have. That would theoretically make it slightly harder and a bit more cleansing than lard soap. I can't speak from experience, though.

 

[Kansas Farm Girl]

I use both lard and tallow in my soaps, depending on quantities I have on hand. While they are very similar to me, I prefer the tallow soap because to me the feel is smoother/silkier, not sure if that is the best way to describe it, but I can't really find the right words to describe the feel of the soap. My friends who have tried various batches of my soap, without knowing the oils I used, have preferred the tallow/lard based soaps. I use either between 40-60% of my oils and normally SF about 7%.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

What if you're dealing with a more educated vegetarian? There are those who have done their research and still feel that they don't want to use palm that isn't sustainably harvested, or don't want to spend their time vetting every potential seller. When they're vegetarians who can't use animal oils at all.................

I'd still have very little to offer them - soaps with palm or animal fats, outside of that it's Castile or Salt bars, which doesn't give them much choice.

But it IS their choice - and I respect that. But I won't change my recipes to suit them*.




* - unless everyone wants to use soaps with no animal fats or palm, in which case I'll change faster than Clark Kent in a phone booth.........

 

[FlybyStardancer]

But it IS their choice - and I respect that. But I won't change my recipes to suit them*.

It just seemed like you were implying that there could be no thought-out reason for rejecting both palm and animal fats. Palm is unlikely to be one of my staples, and if I want to be able to widely distribute any soaps I make*, then they can't have animal fats either. It's not a reactionary thing.

*As of right now that means gifting to friends and family. I have a vague notion of maybe selling someday, but that has all of the strength as my non-existent indie dyed yarn store.

 

[Saponista]

A lady I have bought cold process soaps off in the uk used to use palm oil, then suddenly overnight changed all her recipes to not include it and she has never used animal fats. I don't think she would have made that decision on a whim without pressure from customers as it would have meant a lot of work and expense for her.

 

[Dahila]

I use Manteca lard I buy from Walmart. The citric acid is used as a preservative which doesn't bother me in the least as I want my beloved lard to last as long as possible! You should have no problems with your store bought lard.

You can use it in varying amounts in your recipe. I typically use it at 25-30% of my oils. Just remember that lard slows trace so the more you use the slower your trace. I find it starts to effect my trace beginning at 30%. It will also depend on your other oils too. I use olive oil with lard. A good recipe trinity for lard is olive oil, lard, and coconut oil. If you throw in a little castor oil it rocks!

You rock, thank you so much, I got my question answered in way I wanted. This forum is a treasured place..
Regular nice people who never ignore newbies. Thank you!!!

 

[judymoody]

I played around in soap calc and found that you could mimic the fatty acid profile of lard or palm by mixing avocado oil and cocoa butter in varying proportions. Ups the cost considerably but if that's what your conscience dictates, it's a possibility. Personally, I use sustainable palm oil from Central or South America.