Page 291 - The Lost Ways

Rendering fats involves slowly heating the fat for about 30 minutes, adding about 50%
water, then boiling for around four hours. After this time, you strain the fat through a
muslin (or similar material) sieve into a bowl. You then leave the fat to harden in a cool
place. Once hardened, you invert the bowl and remove the top layer of gelatinous and

grainy material to leave the yellow “tallow” ready for soap making.

Cooking the Soap: The Cold Process Method

There are a number of methods to make soap, but I’ve chosen the cold process method
here as it is a fairly simple one. You can experiment with your own methods once you
understand the principles.

The only down side to the cold process method is that although it is quick to make the
soap, the “cure” process can be lengthy; the longer you leave the soap, the better the
soap becomes.

Preparation

Before we start, just a safety notice. Remember, lye water is caustic, so it will burn if you
get it on your skin and especially if you get it in your eyes. Always take care when using,
and wash away any splashes immediately with lots of water.

Firstly, prepare some sort of vessel that the soap will be poured into as a setting mold. A

bread tin or something similar will do. Traditionally, soap molds were made of wood, but
you can use anything. Ideally, line the mold with greaseproof paper.

Recipe

The ratio of lye water to fat should be around one-third lye water to fat, e.g., 1 cup of lye

water to 3 cups of fat.

❖ Take your fat/oil. Warm the fat or oil on a stove until either melted or gently
warmed. Remember, you can mix oils and fats too.

❖ Take your lye water.

❖ You must make sure the melted fats and lye water are both around the same
temperature. If you have a thermometer, they should ideally be between 80–
130°F).

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