General Notes On Soapmaking
(Page 5 of 5)
January/February 1972
By the Mother Earth News editors
HARD WATER SOAP FROM CRACKLINGS: Combine 2 gallons of water and 3 cans of lye. Allow the mixture to cool an hour or more, then place it on a stove and add 15 pounds of fat scraps. Boil until every scrap is dissolved. Add a total of 2 gallons more water, a little at a time (to keep the mixture from boiling over). Set the batch aside to cool for a day, skim the solids from its surface, place the mixture in a clean kettle and boil for 2 hours. Add boiling water until the soap becomes the consistency of honey when dropped from a stirring stick. If too much is added, boiling will need to be prolonged. Pour the soap into molds and cover it while it cools.
RELATED CONTENT
Recipes for low-fat, part-skim ricotta cheese and tangy yogurt cheese; including herbed ricotta spr...
Washing well with oil-busting dish soap, immediately after exposure, will remove the poison ivy oil...
BLOW MORNING GLORY SOAP BUBBLES July/August 1981 by Ananda Hartzell Here's a seven-year-old reader'...
Liquid soap helps screws penetrate wood smoothly....
ROSIN SOAP: Rosin added to soap makes the soap darker, softer and increases its lathering properties. Add 8 ounces of crushed rosin to 5-1/2 pounds of clean fat and raise the temperature until the rosin has melted or dissolved into the fat. Cool the mixture to 100° F and add the lye solution made by dissolving one can of lye in 2-1/2 pints of water and cooling the solution to 90° F. If you prefer a heavier concentration of rosin, decrease the amount of fat in the recipe by 8 ounces for every additional 8 ounces of rosin which is added. The total weight of rosin and fat should be 6 pounds for each can of lye.
HARD SOAP BY THE BOILING PROCESS: Prepare the soap in the usual manner but do not pour it into your molds. Instead, keep it covered and in a warm place overnight. Cut the soap into fine shavings the next day, add 7 pints of water and melt the mixture with gentle heat and occasional stirring. When all the lumps are dissolved, raise the heat and continue boiling the soap until it is syrupy when dropped off a spoon or paddle. Pour the mixture into molds at that point. Soaps made by the boiling process require more aging than those made by the cold process. Perfumes, colors and other special materials are added to boiling process soap after it has cooled somewhat, but while it is still fluid enough for pouring.
Page:
<< Previous 1 |
2 |
3 |
4 | 5 |
