alchemy

fat's got a bad rap..housewives used to collect it from cooking meat and poultry and made soap or they sold it to tallow merchants who used it to make candles and soap often to be sold back to the housewives..the commercialisation of soap making though put an end to these practices..

in my grandmother's time and even as recently as when i was a child it was common practice for women to keep cooking fats stored in dripping tins and to use the 'dripping' in pastry making, roasting or as a spread for bread..for instance, i clearly remember the delicious flavour of beef or bacon dripping spread on a fresh slice of bread and sprinkled with salt and pepper..however, advances in our understanding of the effect of saturated fats on our health has meant these fats are largely discarded by most contemporary cooks..

years ago i stopped throwing fat out..now before i use fatty meat scraps and bones for stock i roast them all and i collect the fat that collects at the bottom of the pan..i then strain it through muslin, clarify it by boiling it with water and then it gets refrigerated until there's enough tallow to add to a batch of soap..most of the meat and poultry i buy is free range and organic so i'm reasonably confident that my tallow is pesticide and chemical free..and the soap is really cheap..

marigold petal cold processed soap
tea with hazel

ingredients

1325 gms tallow

500 gms copha

675 gms olive oil

345 gms sodium hydroxide

750 mls filtered water
1 cup dried home grown marigold petals

utensils

large stainless steel saucepan

plastic, glass or stainless steel container large enough to hold the water

2 thermometers

stainless steel mixing spoon

stick blender

mould/s of choice (i use a lidded plastic tub that i oil and line with baking paper)

blanket or old towels

protective clothing, eye ware and gloves

newspaper or other protective material for covering work surfaces

vinegar for neutralising any accidental splashes/spills

iced water bath

method

warning: make sure there are no children or animals around when working with sodium hydroxide

~ prepare the work area by covering with chosen protective covering

~ prepare mould/s

~ place tallow and copha in a large saucepan and melt over low heat

~ add olive oil and place thermometer in melted fat/oils

~ wearing protective clothing, eye ware and gloves pour the sodium hydroxide into the water, stir and add second thermometer 

warnings: 

~ the fumes given off during the initial reaction when the sodium hydroxide is added to the water are potentially damaging to the respiratory system and mucous membranes so this is best done in a well ventilated room or outside  

~ do not add the water to the sodium hydroxide because it can be explosive

~ once the sodium hydroxide is added the solution is very hot

~ the aim is to now get the two mixtures to about 50-52 degrees centigrade at the same time..i find the best way to do this is to place the container of lye (sodium hydroxide and water) in an ice bath once the fat/oil mix has cooled to about 65 degrees centigrade..a close watch is required so that one of the mixtures doesn't cool too much..if this happens it needs to be heated in a bain marie..

~ once the two mixes are at the required temperature slowly add the lye to the fat/oils while mixing

~ mix either with a spoon or a stick blender until trace..trace is seen to have occurred when a drizzle of the mix leaves an impression on the top of the main mixture..trace time varies considerably but mixing with a stick blender tends to shorten trace time..i stirred this batch constantly for the first 10 minutes, then briefly every 10 minutes for 40 minutes and then because it was taking so long i opted for using the stick blender..it then traced within 2 or so minutes

~ once trace has been achieved add marigold petals (this is the time when essential oils and other additives such as ground oats, clay and so on are also added)

~ pour the soap into the mould, place the lid on and insulate well for 24 hours by which time it should have set firm

~ tip the soap out of the container and, wearing gloves, cut into usable sized pieces

~ store on a lined cake rack for 3-4 weeks, covered, and turn regularly by which time it will have matured and be ready to use

warning: 

~ until the soap has matured it is still alkaline and potentially caustic

~ if the soap has any liquid pockets it should be discarded..the liquid will be caustic and the soap cannot be salvaged

costings:

ingredients            cost $
tallow                                0
copha                                5
olive oil                            3
sodium hydroxide       3
marigold petals            0
total                                  11/32 = $0.34 per bar

further reading: i have only covered the basics in this post..following are a few links that might be of use:

http://www.soap-making-essentials.com/homemade-soap-recipes.html (a few soap recipes)

https://www.thesage.com/calcs/entercalc.html (i find this my most useful link because the calculator works out the amount of liquid and sodium hydroxide after the fats/oils are keyed in)
http://www.netplaces.com/soapmaking/herbs/other-additives.htm (a bit of information on additives)
http://www.onlineconversion.com/temperature.htm (useful for converting centigrade to fahrenheit and vice versa)
http://www.millersoap.com/trouble.html (troubleshooting)

every time i make cold processed soap it never ceases to amaze me how a caustic substance like sodium hydroxide and greasy tallow and/or oils combine to create a sudsy, cleansing and lovely gentle on my skin substance..it almost seems like alchemy..

this week..

i picked my crabapples which was a bit late in the
season and many had rotted on the tree and
so i only had enough for one jar of jelly

i bought these tulips for $5 from a roadside stall
in the dandenongs on the way home from a very
muddy bushwalk 

i picked these violets which are growing profusely
along my drive..they smell divine 

i picked lavender

i decided to pick all of my chillies and i will now dry them

i made a new soap with oats and lemon myrtle

i bought  a t2 teacup at the op shop for $1

i hope your week was a happy and productive one too..x

pastel natural soap

i now have about 60 bars of soap that i've made..it's enough to keep me, my family and friends clean for quite a while..and it will also keep our skin in good condition too which is good in winter when the atmosphere is very drying particularly for those like me who have sensitive skin..

the pink soap is made with pink french clay, dried rose petals from my garden and olive, coconut, castor, grapeseed and walnut oils..i made a mistake with my calculation so that i had to rebatch it and add it to a second mix..that's what caused the 'salami' look..and the rose petals were initially on the top of the soap but of course when i rebatched it they were mixed through the soap..but happily it's matured nicely and it produces a good lather which makes it a lovely soap to use.. 

the green soap is another rescue mission..the recipe i used for the initial lemon verbena soap i made must have been faulty because i don't think..really and truly..that i made a mistake with this one..but i'm starting to wonder..it set up well but it has continued to 'leak' oil..so i cut up 3/4 of the bars into dice and i added the dice at trace to another batch of soap that i made with olive, coconut and almond oil to which i also added crushed dried lemon verbena leaves that were from my garden..i made this soap about two weeks ago and so it isn't quite ready to use but it is already quite firm..it also has a lovely scent from the lemon verbena leaves..

i kept a few of the initial lemon verbena bars of soap because it is such a lovely emollient soap and for that reason i am using it to wash my face..i've never used soap on my face before but it is so moisturising that i am confident that it won't contribute to my wrinkles.. :)

happy weekend petals..x

lemon verbena soap

my cold processed soap making is a bit like my cooking..

'now what do i have..ah..a nugget of beeswax, some grape seed oil that's been around for a while, some castor oil i bought the last time i made soap..gosh is it really four years ago?..oh well..that's renovating for you..and some olive oil..now all i need is some coconut oil and some sodium hydroxide (caustic soda)..oops..nearly forgot..what about scent?..it's expensive to buy the good stuff and i've found it often doesn't survive the saponification process anyway..i know..i'll use that lemon verbena i have growing out the front and see how that goes..'

i can't give you a recipe because i really don't remember what the proportions that i used were but what i did went something like this..

i processed a whole lot of lemon verbena leaves with some warm grapeseed oil and left the mix to steep for 2 days..i then sieved it and put the resulting highly fragrant oil on to heat in a saucepan with the beeswax and olive, castor and coconut oils..in a separate container i added the sodium hydroxide to water (when sodium hydroxide and water are combined the chemical reaction produces a very hot and caustic substance known as lye)..when the oils and beeswax and the lye were at the same desired temperature i combined the two and stirred the mix 'til trace ..i then poured the soap into a greased mould, covered it, and left it for 24 hours..the next day i removed the soap from it's container and cut it into bathing manageable sized blocks..

the soap only has a faint lemon verbena scent and as you can see it is a light brown/green colour.. it's still quite soft but i'm hoping it will firm up a bit more before i use it after the five or six week maturation period..i think i might have discounted the lye or superfatted the soap a bit too much which, if it does firm up, will make a lovely emollient soap that will be beautifully moisturising for my winter sensitive skin..

wishing you a happy week..x