Milk and honey soap

24 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
2 tablespoons Scented oil (no alcohol)
24 ounces Coconut oil
12 ounces Tallow (rendered beef fat)

Directions

STEP 1: HEAT THE FOLLOWING T

Step 2: Heat the following to 100 deg F: 6¾ oz lye 20 oz milk (goat - plain water can be used) Step 3: 1 T honey Add the lye to the milk and allow to cool to 100 deg F. Melt the oils and fats to 115.

Combine the ingredients by pouring the lye-milk into the fat solution while slowly stirring. The soap should "trace" (be ready to pour) in about 5 minutes. Stir in the honey with an electric mixer. Don't over-beat or the mixture will separate. Pour into molds. Allow to set two or three hours. Place in a freezer two to three hours to harden.

Remove soap from mold and place on unprinted cardboard to age at least two weeks. OATMEAL soap: Same recipe. Beat in one ounce of baby oatmeal when the honey is added. GENERAL SOAP MAKING TIPS: Molds: Lye reacts with most metals. Use ONLY heat-proof stone, glass, enamel, stainless steel or plastic. Precautions with lye: Lye burns your skin, removes paint and generates heat. Wear goggles and rubber gloves when making soap. If lye gets on your skin, rinse it off with vinegar. Add lye to the liquid while stirring to prevent the lye from hardening in the bottom of the container. NEVER reheat lye-water in the microwave. Set the container in a sink of hot water. Coconut oil is sold in grocery stores with the cooking oils. I buy mine from restaurants by the 5 gallon bucket. A mail order source in "Vinton Popcorn Co.," phone # (319)-472-5235. Hardening and aging soap: The soap is semi-liquid when poured. Time must be allowed for the soap to harden and for the lye to react with the fats. Test soap by sticking it to your tongue. If you feel a burning sensation, something went wrong with the temperatures, measurements or the amount of stirring.

Further aging may allow the soap to become milder. Large bars of soap can be mild on the outside while still being harsh inside. They require longer aging than smaller bars. If a white coating forms on your soap, wash it off before using or testing the soap. Freezing the soap allows it to easily be removed from any mold - even glass. Soap from lard smells like rancid bacon in a few months. Homemade soap without coconut oil simply doesn't lather. SOURCES: "Soap: Making It, Enjoying It" by Ann Bramson. A $2¼ booklet of good recipes: "Soapreme: Your Own Handmade Soap with Custom Molds," available from Pourette Mfg. Co., PO Box 15220, Seattle, WA 98115. Request Pourette's Soap Making Catalog of molds, scents, and coloring. From Countryside & Small Stock Journal, Elaine White, Starkville, Miss.

Submitted By SHARON STEVENS On 10-07-94

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