My first batch of rendered lard.
If the picture doesn’t make sense to you, then let me tell you what the pitcher contains. (Yes, that is a pitcher as it was the only heat stable container I had available at the moment.) The pitcher contains … drum roll please … my first batch of rendered lard!
Right now I am putting together a blog post about the process, but I thought I would share this little teaser with you to make you think about it during your preparations for the holiday!
Do you have any questions you would like answered about lard, rendering or soaping with lard? I would love to hear them!
Hmmm, My first thought about lard is blobs of artery clogging fat. Rationally, I know it makes good soap and amazing fried pigskin (a childhood memory! of my mom and aunts butchering a hog and frying up the skin.) Waiting to see what’s next!
Love it! When it comes down to it, living here in the hills of Tennessee, lard is one of the most easily accessible and readily available fats and it would be amazing to use as a base for everything, from soap to lotion bars to salves. Wouldn’t ever have to import any of the fancy oils from overseas if all we need is right here. The trouble is that people are so conditioned to only wanting fancy stuff that they wouldn’t buy a lotion bar if it said lard instead of shea butter.
I love lard in my soaps! It really does have moisturizing abilities for the skin. It lathers and cleans really well. But I never heard of rendering lard. I have rendered beef fat to make Tallow though.I hate to sound ignorant, but isn’t lard rendered pig fat? Thanks for the blog!
This is going to be interesting. After the rendering, are you going to soap with it?
When using lard during cold process or even whipped method, I cannot get rid of the smell. The longer the soap ages the more potent it becomes. I’ve been soaping for 10 years and love the finished bar using lard but I no longer use it because of the issue I have with the smell. Any suggestions?
Denise,
What type of lard are you using? Depending on where the fat comes from, it can have a stronger odor. The fat from around the kidney doesn’t have as much of an odor.
I purchased the lard from the supermarket. There surely must be something that we can add to a batch in progress to neutralize the smell.
Denise,
Hmmm. Now I have a few questions about your soap.
1. What is the percentage of lard in your soap?
2. What is the percentage of superfat for this recipe?
These two questions will help me figure out more about the smell.
I’m new to soap making, what benefit does it have over not using animal fat? Is the soap better in some way? Any skin benefits? Also just want to say I have learned a lot from your blog..thank you.
Melinda,
It is simply a matter of preference. Some people like using lard or tallow in soap and others prefer to not use it. I enjoy soaps of both types. As soap isn’t a leave-on-product, I’m not sure if there are any skin benefits.
My hubby rendered some tallow a couple of years ago and said it was quite a process. He did it when I was at work so it wouldn’t be too stinky by the time I got home! Some of it is still in the freezer waiting to be made into soap.
I love soap made with Lard, and where I live it is easy to find. I have also rendered my own lard and tallow. I love a plain lard soap with 5-Fold Orange Essential Oil (3%) as a laundry bar. It takes out every stain and is especially good for baby stains. I also use those bars to make my own liquid laundry soap.
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