The Lard Newbie

[LunaSkye]

I'm fixin to render some lard soon. I wanted to try something different and I didn't want to blow my funds on tallow. So I bought some fat back and am going to render it as soon as I get a chance.

At the mean time, I decided to make up a recipe for the lard:

canola-20%
CO- 20%
SO-20%
PO-20%
lard-20%

I would have used 40% OO instead of the canola and sunflower, but I ran out making my last soap. For anyone who has used lard before, how does this recipe sound?

 

[Susie]

I would avoid the palm altogether. You need to try the lard without palm to know exactly what it brings to the soap. Because sometimes you just can't go by the numbers. I would also bring that lard up to 30% ish.

Maybe use almond oil rather than canola? I think canola has a short shelf life, IIRC.

And you are a braver person than I! I have been present when lard was rendered twice. That was enough for me to know that I do not want to be rendering lard in my house any time soon. I would do it outside on some sort of cooker, though. I just know that the smell permeates hair and clothing if done indoors.

 

[Hazel]

Interesting. I've never used canola so I can't comment on it. The values look all right except for being a little high on the iodine. Not terribly high - 73. I try to keep iodine at 70 or below and I've only had one incident of DOS. But it was a sample piece I had sitting out to see how it would hold up over time being exposed to varied temps and humidity. The DOS was only a little dot and it developed at well over a year so I didn't think this was bad at all.

I want to mention you don't have to use palm since you're using lard. They have practically the same properties and I use lard as a replacement for palm.

The only thing I can say is make it and see how it turns out. Values are only a guideline. I've mentioned it before but I believe in the synergistic effect of oils. Separately they may be good; but combined together can produce something awesome. You don't know until you try.

I've used lard from 30% up to 60% and I've been happy with all the recipes.

I'm probably not much help, am I?

eta: I saw you got a response while I was typing. From what I've read on different sites, canola and almond have the same shelf life. (Sunflower also has the same shelf life.) The important thing is how old the bottle is and if it has been open for awhile. If you want to experiment, canola is a good one to use since it's inexpensive compared to some other oils. Even organic canola and non GMO canola are cheaper than some other oils.

Just my opinion - if you're going to increase the lard by 10%, then I'd lower either the canola by 10% or lower canola and sunflower by 5% each. I've read not to use canola at over 15% but as I said, I haven't used it so I can't comment on it based upon experience. Also, I've found using lard to replace palm makes the soap more conditioning than it actually appears according to the values. I can use coconut at a slightly higher percentage and use a smaller lye discount when I use lard.

 

[LunaSkye]

Thank you for he input. I will design another recipe in the morning and make a run for some OO (though I have a thought that soft oils generally will have the higher iodine counts). I know I would rather make soap more like:

CO-20%
Lard-30%
OO-35%
SO-15%

 

[jules92207]

I have made a bar entirely of lard and canola and I have to say its really moisturizing and cheap. I think its somewhere around 60% lard, 40% canola. I know logically its not the best recipe now that I have studied about oils better, and it could go bad, but it is a nice bar for now.

 

[Hazel]

If you like lard & canola, I say keep making it. Moisturizing and cheap sounds like my kind of soap.

The concern with canola is the possibility of rancidity over time. As long as you use the soap before it gets bad, then this wouldn't be an issue. Also, rancidity isn't really an issue. You can still use soap which is slightly rancid. It may not smell all that great but it will still get you clean. Now if the soap is badly rancid and stinks; then you wouldn't want to use it.

Thank you for he input. I will design another recipe in the morning and make a run for some OO (though I have a thought that soft oils generally will have the higher iodine counts). I know I would rather make soap more like:

CO-20%
Lard-30%
OO-35%
SO-15%

They do. That's why it's better to have a more balanced recipe to offset the softer oils. However, the iodine value is a little flexible. For example, olive is an 85 and lots of people make castile or batches with a high olive percentage and the soap is fine over a long period of time. I've used 100% olive and buttermilk with a 7% superfat and really didn't start using it until it was 18 months old. This is just personal preference. I know most people don't cure OO soap that long. The main reason olive is used is because it's hard after a long cure. The other conditioning oils don't cure as hard.

The first tenet of soapmaking - it's what you like.

You're the only one who can decide what is a good soap for you. Everyone bases suggestions on preferences and experience. For example, I love sunflower oil. For some reason, it's better for my skin than olive. That's why I use a lower amount of olive or none at all in my recipes. BTW, I started with regular sunflower but switched to high oleic sunflower since it has a longer shelf life. But SO naturally has a high vitamin E content which helps to slow rancidity. Other people hate sunflower or had a bad experience with it. Perhaps someone used it and the batch became rancid in a couple of months. It could happen. People who don't like SO are going to advise against it. I've read a lot of comments where people state canola or soybean isn't good to use in soap. It's stated they have short shelf lives, will cause DOS, etc and so on. Yet, I constantly see both oils recommended by others and I see recipes posted with these oils in them. Personal preference and I'm sure some of it is availability and price.

I've been experimenting with using sunflower at a higher percentage than normally is recommended. It's too soon to say if it will work as well as olive or if I've made a really bad decision. Only time will tell.

Susie mentioned almond oil which is a lovely oil. However, I don't use it anymore because of paranoia. My youngest sister is allergic to nuts. I've read nut allergies are only caused by ingestion. But I'm not willing to take the chance especially since there are other oils with similar properties which will work as well as almond. Because of my sister's allergy, I don't even think to mention almond as an alternative oil. It's not because I consider it a "bad" oil. I just don't use it and discuss the oils I'm used to using.

The last recipe you posted is very close to one of my favorites. :grin:

 

[Susie]

Susie mentioned almond oil which is a lovely oil. However, I don't use it anymore because of paranoia. My youngest sister is allergic to nuts. I've read nut allergies are only caused by ingestion. But I'm not willing to take the chance especially since there are other oils with similar properties which will work as well as almond. Because of my sister's allergy, I don't even think to mention almond as an alternative oil. It's not because I consider it a "bad" oil. I just don't use it and discuss the oils I'm used to using.

I would not use it either if someone was allergic to the nuts. I know good and well that it is the protein people react to, and the oil "should" not contain any. However, since nut allergies are some of the most prone to cause anaphylaxis, I would NOT take that chance with anyone. I have seen too many people come to the ED with reactions to too many things that "should" have been safe, but weren't.

 

[LunaSkye]

Thank you susie & Hazel for your input and advice. I finished rendering the lard and came to my own conclusions:

1. fat back stinks
2. I should have cut it the day I bought it (way easier than trying to cut a thawing product).
3. rendering strips will have you cooking for 4 hours (and I only had a pound's worth).

hopefully, it will yield some good results.

 

[Carty812]

Yeah that sounds like way too much work! You can buy it here in 25 pound buckets for 29$, worth every dollar. I found mine at Save-A-Lot store but you could probably get it at any store like that.

 

[Obsidian]

If you render fat again, chop it into chunks then through a food processor. The smaller the pieces, that faster it renders and the more finished lard you end up with.

 

[Hazel]

You're welcome! I've never rendered lard but I have rendered tallow. I was glad I did it for the experience but I won't do it again. Not when it actually works out cheaper to buy.

 

[LunaSkye]

If you render fat again, chop it into chunks then through a food processor. The smaller the pieces, that faster it renders and the more finished lard you end up with.

Truth be told, I was aiming to cut them into 1/2" pieces, but the fat back was too frozen to make it easy. It was almost like cutting through an ice pop that was attatched to wood (not that it could happen). I didn't want to render it while my niece was around, so I decided to use strips.

@ carty812: I wanted to use pure lard and the only other one I found had glycerides in it. I'm still rather new to soap making so I decided to try to get the purest lard possible while learning a new technique that may come in handy in the future.

@ Hazel: I'll definitely keep that in mind. Did you order your tallow from essential depot or soaper's choice?

 

[Seawolfe]

Luna, i have been finding beautiful pure white lard at a local grocery store that caters to Hispanics. Huge piles of inexpensive, gleaming cubes of Manteca. It gives off no scent when melted and makes lovely white soap, perhaps that's an option for you? Save the fatback for making bacon

 

[LunaSkye]

Luna, i have been finding beautiful pure white lard at a local grocery store that caters to Hispanics. Huge piles of inexpensive, gleaming cubes of Manteca. It gives off no scent when melted and makes lovely white soap, perhaps that's an option for you? Save the fatback for making bacon

You brought to mind a few stores that I should try out in the future. Thanks for the heads up. :smile:

 

[Susie]

Luna, i have been finding beautiful pure white lard at a local grocery store that caters to Hispanics. Huge piles of inexpensive, gleaming cubes of Manteca. It gives off no scent when melted and makes lovely white soap, perhaps that's an option for you? Save the fatback for making bacon

Thank you! I now know just the place to go, and it is closer than the grocery store!

 

[Hazel]

Did you order your tallow from essential depot or soaper's choice?

Soaper's Choice. But I'm in zone 3 and it might not be a good price for someone farther away from them. The downside is they don't add preservatives so I have to make a lot of soap to use them up. I guess not using preservatives isn't really a negative but I don't have space in my frig to store all of my oils.

Luna, i have been finding beautiful pure white lard at a local grocery store that caters to Hispanics.

You're lucky to live near one. It's too far for me to drive anywhere to buy supplies.