Smelly Lard

[lsbennis]

I decided to try some lard in my soap today but jeez, is it suppose to smell nasty?

I hope this smell goes away because its really disgusting! I got the Armour Lard from Walmart, I'm assuming its ok and will dissapate once cook otherwise its going in the trash! lol

[LuminousBoutique]

I've only ever used snocap (comes in 16oz bricks) and never noticed a smell.. but I have heard of this come up before and everyone says it goes away once its gone through sap, I think.

[CBE]

Are you sure it's still good and not rancid? I've used that brand before in the past, with no problems. I heart lard.

Some people have a more sensitive nose than others, and can smell lard, even in the finished product. Maybe you have a sensitive nose?

ETA: Overheating lard makes it smelly to me!

Edited July 31, 2010 by CBE

[LovelyLathers]

It does get smelly if you over heat it. I always melt other hard oils and then mix it in. If it doesn't melt all the way, I heat it on low heat until it does.. If it had a strong smell before you melted it then it was rancid.

[lsbennis]

Thanks everyone, sounds like I may have overheated it. Smelled fine until I put it in the microwave. Put it on 30 second blast until it was melted and thats when I noticed the smell. I'll try another batch without melting it in the microwave and see how that does.:rolleyes2

[sudsnwicks]

I've used Armour Lard from Walmart before. This brand works fine. You just have to melt it very gently and wait patiently. I put it on the stove on the lowest setting until just melted.

[CareBear]

Thanks everyone, sounds like I may have overheated it. Smelled fine until I put it in the microwave. Put it on 30 second blast until it was melted and thats when I noticed the smell. I'll try another batch without melting it in the microwave and see how that does.:rolleyes2

That's how I melt mine, and it's fine. Perhaps the lard is a bit too old.

[Scented]

Overheated lard will stink, but mine gets melted in the wave too and at bursts of 3 to 4 minutes depending on batch size. I seldom get a whiff of stink from the stuff, but if my nose is close to unscented oils, different story. I have overheated lard before and the stink has cured out, just like the stench of hot pink mica has done.

Edited August 1, 2010 by Scented

[lsbennis]

I did another batch this morning and I melted it in the crock pot and didn't notice the smell as bad, still noticed a little bit of smell but not as nasty as yesterday...lol

I just got it yesterday at Walmart, the date says to use before 1/14/2012 so I think it is fine, must just be me, never experienced lard before..lol

I must say the soap cooks totally different in the crock with the lard, much lighter and more fluffy, as opposed to when I just use olive oil based recipes. I'm going to try using Crisco next in place of Lard!

[Steph in tx]

When I first started making soaps, I used the brand of Lard you are speaking of. .. I love lard in my soaps!!

[candlemama]

I used the same brand and melted it the exact same way in my first CP batch a couple of months ago. I noticed the same smell and also asked on the board if this was normal. I think I probably overheated it, too. I can still smell a faint hint of lard now, but I didn't scent the batch. The good news is the smell has faded a lot in the 2+ months since I made it. I think if I had used some FO, I wouldn't be able to smell it at all. Lard makes a nice bar of soap, though!!

[Scented]

Just going to say that since the 25lb pails weren't available in my area ... I do love Soaper's Choice lard and I don't pick up additional stinky, barely any stinky.