Soap Makers Help!

[Lil_Chickadee]

I would love to learn this someday, wish we had classes in our area.

 

[ametauss]

Who needs a real class when you have all of us for reference...

This site inspired me to take up soaping and I LOVE it... I got a couple of books and asked question after question and this group of folks is FANTASTIC!!!

 

[MullersLaneFarm]

Quote:
Any rendered fat is tallow. Fat from pigs is also called lard. This goes back to the days when a chandler would pick up fat from butchers and families to render into candles and soap.

Since beef tallow sets up much harder than pig tallow, the chandlers wanted them kept separate so the rendered beef tallow could be made into candles and the rendered pig tallow made into soap..... so they gave rendered pig tallow the name lard.

To further complicate things with rendering, the very best fat to render is the organ fat, called suet (or leaf fat in pigs). You can render the muscle fat, but the tallow/lard doesn't render as clean and doesn't get quite as hard as tallow/lard made from the suet/leaf fat.

Morgaine - help yourself adding it to the references. There is also a pictorial page on milk CP soap and milk CPHP soap.

 

[MullersLaneFarm]

Quote:
Would an online class help?

check out my online soapmaking tutorial complete with recipes, instructions, pictures and suppliers.

Then come back here and ask any questions that pop up.

 

[Morgaine]

Quote:
MLF's site is great and so is millersoaps.com Both are in the reference thread in my siggy.

 

[Morgaine]

If it every dries up enough I need to post pictures of some of the soaps I've made. I have lavender and cedar I did last week, Earth Child I did 2 weeks ago. I think those are the only new ones, everything else was restock. I didn't do the eucalyptus spearmint last night. I was about 300 grams short on OO so I have to pick more up today. I'll cut the DSM soap later today.

 

[lurky]

Quote:
Ummm...... apparently i did

I read so many warnings about how dangerous lye can be, i thought a class was a responsible choice for my daughter and I to learn.

 

[Morgaine]

I think it is great that Lurky took a class. I would have loved that when I first started out. It took me a while to get over my fears of lye too.

 

[ametauss]

There's nothing wrong with a class.... Just saying don't let not having a class in your area keep you from starting this adiction....

I found someone near by (FlowerPot) from BYC to come do my first batch with me....

I would love an in-person class as it does tend to bring up all sorts of questions and give you a different perspective on techniques....

I just wouldn't let not having one stop me from trying something new....

 

[Morgaine]

Quote:
Good point. I know you didn't mean anything with your comment. Tone is hard to come across online sometimes.