Loads 'o Lard?

[Sister Kya]

I'm currently doing some FO testing and am looking for a cheap recipe to play with.

I gave soapcalc a recipe with:

Lard - 72%

CO - 18%

Castor - 5%

Sunflower - 5%

and got:

Hardness - 45

Cleansing - 13

Conditioning - 49

Bubbly - 17

Creamy - 37

Iodine - 51

INS - 157

The numbers make it look like a reasonable recipe, not perfect, but not too shabby.

Anyone have any experience with using almost 3/4 Lard in a soap bar and want to tell me why I shouldn't bother before I attempt it?

[topofmurrayhill]

There's nothing wrong with that whatsoever. In fact it looks like a nifty recipe I wish I had time to try out myself.

Just watch your temps. This isn't a room temperature recipe. Since it's the first time you're making it, you might want to let the oils cool off (stirring occasionally) and note the temperature at which they start to cloud up. Then warm them until they're clear again and soap 5 or 10 degrees above the cloud point with lye roughly the same temperature. Pre-warm your mold so you don't have problems with the texture around the edges and so the soap doesn't stick. Insulate and let it gel.

I think the sunflower oil is a nice touch but try to make sure you're using regular linoleic sunflower oil rather than the high-oleic stuff. Lard already has plenty of oleic acid and you don't need to add more.

Have fun.

[Abbiepql]

Almost all the soap I make is based on 40% Lard and 25% CO & 10% Castor, then I tweak the rest of the oils/butters from there. The bars are hard, creamy and bubbly. I soap at room temp ingredients without problems. I have heard lard in high levels can make for a slimy bar, but don't have any experience with it.

[anabanana's candles]

I made a 90% lard 10% pko bar the other day. Which is a stain stick and it is so nice and hard and white. It is also conditioning on my hands. I love working with lard.

[sudsnwicks]

Yours should be a good recipe. I made something similar (only it had 10% castor instead of 5% castor 5% sunflower) and was happy with the result. Have you used lard before? If not, you might like to know it's a slow tracing oil. Which can be helpful if you're soaping a difficult fragrance.

[dabbledoya]

My first lard recipe had 60% in it~~turned out hard as a brick bat with a nice, creamy lather And yep, it took a while to trace. With a combo of pulse SB'ing and stirring, it took almost 20 minutes.

[Sister Kya]

Thanks everyone!

I've played with lard in soap before and love it. I tend to prefer slow tracing recipes to ones like the last one I made with 9 oils that didn't need the SB at all to turn to virtual pudding on me. Not what I need when testing FOs.

I'll run out and get myself a hefty bucket 'o lard and post my results when I've seen what this recipe can do!

[cottoncandy]

I have a couple of recipes that are mostly lard and I love them. The bars are so white and hard. I don't seem to have any problem with room temp. so far. All of my soaps are made at room temp.

[ladysj]

I have really been wanting to use lard in my soaps but was curious as to whether you have problems with customers since it's made with animal fat. I found a recipe that is all lard & goat milk that I've been thinking of trying.

[thesoapbox]

My recipe using lard, coconut and sweet almond oil uses 75% lard and I soaped at room temp with no problem at all. It is very white! I was worried at the beginning because all I smelled was the lard and not the fo, but now the fo has shone through beautifully and no other smell coming through. I made this on 5/7 so it is curing nicely.

Angi

[kidsngarden]

I have a lot of recipes with lard in them and have had few customers who care. I get more questions about it online than at markets - I think maybe one person all last season asked at my farmer's market!

[Sister Kya]

I bought a 25# pail of lard at Wal-Mart for $20 this week.

Time to start soapin'!!