# Recipe Help



## homemaid (Apr 26, 2011)

here is recipe we want to try on Mem. weekend. Can you help with Tallow can we use lard? or what should we use?? or where can we get the tallow? Thank you for any help you may have. 

Raw Honey Soap
Ingredients
Oils
8 ounces coconut oil
10 ounces olive oil
6 ounces tallow
3 ounces Shea butter
4 ounces castor oil
Liquids
10 ounces water
4.37 ounces lye (7% excess fat)
Add-Ins
2 ounces raw beeswax
1 ounce jojoba oil
2 tablespoons raw, unfiltered honey


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## unregistered5595 (Mar 3, 2003)

homemaid said:


> here is recipe we want to try on Mem. weekend. Can you help with Tallow can we use lard? or what should we use?? or where can we get the tallow? Thank you for any help you may have.
> 
> Raw Honey Soap
> Ingredients
> ...


You'll need to run it through a lye/soap calculator, here is one example: http://www.brambleberry.com/pages/Lye-Calculator.aspx

A few questions. What kind of olive oil and what kind of coconut oil are you using? I put in pomace for olive oil, and 72Â° F coconut oil. You need that information for the calculator.
You are doing all your measurements by weight correct? 
I set the superfatting at 5%.
The way you have it written the calculator says: 
Oil(s) Selected Amount % Castor Oil 4.00oz 12.90% Coconut Oil (76 Degrees) 8.00oz 25.81% Olive Oil (Pomace) 10.00oz 32.26% Shea Butter (Refined) 3.00oz 9.68% Tallow (Beef) 6.00oz 19.35% 5% Lye (Sodium Hydroxide) Amount 4.322oz 
Ounces of liquid recommended 10.23oz 
Yields 45.55oz
Or you could add in the jojoba and beeswax amounts into the calculations and set your superfatting percentage higher, say 10%.

Tallow and Lard are so similar you can use one for the other, and you can change it in your calculator prior to calculating. To make tallow, melt the fat portions of beef, strain. Ask anyone that buys 1/2 or whole beef or a butcher for the fat you'll need for the tallow.

Your numbers look fine to me.


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## homemaid (Apr 26, 2011)

Thanks Feather in a Breeze for your response. I guess I am not sure what you mean about the Coconut oil and olive oil. The coconut oil is a gallon jug I got from the mennonite bulk food store, It does not say anything about what degree it liquifies, how will i know that information? and the olive oil says may get cloudy from cold of 45* F. Yes we do everything by weight.


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## unregistered5595 (Mar 3, 2003)

Excellent--about weighing everything.

Coconut oil....I buy 92Â°F coconut oil, if I heat it up in a container inside a double boiler and the water reaches 92Â° F and it begins to melt it is 92Â°F coconut oil. Same with 76Â° F coconut oil. There is fractionated oil--melted and separated in layers--I don't know how to identify that.

Olive oil--first press is extra virgin, then next press is virgin, then next is just olive oil (there may be more choices), and when they use a machine to get the last bit of oil out and I believe they also use chemicals to purify it--that is pomace (usually not for eating)(least expensive). I like pomace because it has the least smell (fruity, acidy, etc).

On my personal preference, I don't use shea butter in soaps because it is so expensive and not noticeable. I use it in lotions and lotion bars. About the coconut oil, it is drying at higher percentages, I keep my percentage of coconut oil under 15%. I'd probably replace some coconut oil with lard or tallow and replace the shea butter with lard or tallow. Lard makes a high quality hard bar with nice creamy lather at 15% coconut oil.

I hope that helps.


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## homemaid (Apr 26, 2011)

Thank you for your help..we are camping Memorial weekend with my cousin so we thought we would do couple batches of soap.. we may stick with something easier.. What would you suggest to use for a laundry bar??


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## unregistered5595 (Mar 3, 2003)

Homemaid, oh sorry I missed your response.

For laundry soap I use minimally or non superfatted home made bars.
Non scented, non colored.

I hear many people use zote and fels naptha, and they work depending on your water. I avoid the cost by just making non superfatted plain bars.

Something simple like 10% coconut, 45% lard, 45% vegetable oil.


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## homemaid (Apr 26, 2011)

Thank You...


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Your coconut amount is just fine. Some folks may find coconut oil drying at higher amounts (like over 30%) but that is generally when palm oil is used. The combined high palmitic and lauric fatty acids can really dry out your skin.

Tallow will create a harder bar than lard, but lard is more moisturizing.

If you want to make a soap to turn into laundry soap, I suggest using 100% coconut oil with 0% superfat.


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## homemaid (Apr 26, 2011)

thank you.. Our soap making is just for us or to give away we do not make anything to sell so the cost is really not a factor, so I guess we will be all trial and error here.. My mom wants me to make her some laundry bar soap like her mom used to make. Thank you all for your help.


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