Lard

by Nicole
(Colorado)

When a recipe calls for lard, is that just regular cooking lard like Crisco?


ANSWER:

Hi Nicole,

Thank you for your question!

Lard is a hard oil. It's pure rendered pork fat. Hard oils are considered the oils that are solid at room temperature and that does include shortening.

Yes, you can make soap with shortening BUT you must read the ingredients on the shortening can! A lot of shortenings are mixed oils. You won't know how much of the shortening is cottonseed oil or soybean oil,... You need a SINGLE OIL, in your shortening, for making soap. Crisco is a combination of oils, except for the occasional batch that is all soybean oil, which is kind of rare.

Lard makes a hard bar of soap. It does not make a lot of lather, but it makes your soap bars smooth and long lasting. It is sold in boxes or buckets often labeled Manteca, (which is Spanish for Lard).

See the "Soap Making Oil" page for further information.

I wish you the best in your soap making endeavors!

Happy Soaping, :-)
Susan Katchur