It's amazing all the things you can do with a big blob of beef fat. Once you render it into tallow, soap, candles, and the best french fries you've ever put in your mouth all become very real possibilities. It's really quite magical. I've been threatening to share a tallow soap recipe for a while now, and the day has finally arrived, my friends. Why Make Tallow Soap? Tallow has had a bad reputation for years, which is rather ...Continue Reading
Showing all results for: tallow soap
How to Make Tallow Body Butter
My favorite skincare ingredient is animal fat. Yeah, us homesteaders are an odd bunch... As homesteaders, we brave the elements to pursue our passion and at times those conditions can be a bit unforgiving on our bodies. We care for animals in the dead of winter and tend our gardens under the scorching summer sun. In time, these things can take a toll on the body, and they can leave us with dry skin and cracked, callused hardworking ...Continue Reading
Homemade Hot Process Soap Recipe in a Crock Pot
The million dollar question: Do REAL homesteaders use crock pots and stick blenders? Well, I'm still not exactly sure what qualifies a "real" homesteader, but I'm gonna answer that question with a resounding YES. I have a deep appreciation for my stick blender. And my dishwasher. And my washing machine. And I'm pretty sure Ma Ingalls would have loved them, too, if she could have fit them into her covered wagon. So, why I am ...Continue Reading
Homemade Liquid Dish Soap Recipe
This little homemade dish soap recipe just about got the best of me... What originally was meant to be an "Oh, I'm out of dish soap, I'll just mix a homemade version up real quick," turned into a 3-week long ordeal that resulted in jar after jar of failed liquid dish soap experiments sitting on my kitchen counter. We had the thin-as-water variety, the gloppy variety, the so-thick-you-have-to-dig-it-out-of-the-jar-with-a-knife ...Continue Reading
How to Render Tallow
Need an entertaining conversation starter with your non-homesteading friends? Try mentioning that you rendered beef tallow last week....The reactions will likely range from shock, to disgust, to confusion, to blank stares because they have no idea what the heck you are talking about. What is Beef Tallow? Tallow is simply beef fat that has been rendered (cooked down) to remove impurities. Rendered beef or sheep fat is called ...Continue Reading