Soap from fat waste

How to make it

1. 1

   Put the water over the fire in an iron pot and, when it boils, add the ash; boil for 1/4 hour, stirring now and then with a long wooden paddle.

2. 2

   Now put out the fire, add the lime to the pot, let it stand for 2 hours, then ladle it up into a wooden tub, keeping the lowest, least clear lye separate.

3. 3

   Next morning measure the clear lye by the bucketful into the pot, holding a couple of buckets back.

4. 4

   When it has boiled until it thickens or is reduced by about half, add the fat; then pour in the reserved lye little by little and boil until the soap becomes suitably thick; test it by cooling some of the soap.

5. 5

   When the soap is done boiling, ladle it up and stir it until it goes cold.

6. 6

   NB. If the soap is too thin, it can be thickened with up to 1/4 kg rye flour, stirred out in a little water.