Special Event on the Farm
Chew the Fat What can you do with fat? Many things! Come help the farm family make soap, candles and dubbin, all of which use lard (pig fat) or tallow (beef fat). For the current year's event schedule, please see our calendar of events. Events may be cancelled due to weather conditions.

Information about Animal Fat

Lard & Tallow
Candles
Soap
Dubbin

Lard & Tallow

For fat to be useful it must be rendered. This means chopping the fat into small pieces and heating it until it slowly melts.

Lard is rendered pig fat. It is very soft, and can be used for soap and dubbin but not candles. It can also be used to make ointments for medicines.

Tallow is rendered beef fat. It is harder than lard, and can be used for candles.

Candles

Candles are an important source of light after dark. Remember, in the 18th century there is no electricity! Most people went to bed soon after the sun went down, but if you needed to see in the dark, you could use the hearth fire, candles, or a grease lamp. (This type of lamp has a wick, like a candle, but uses liquid fat or oil.)

Candles could only be made in cool weather. They are made by dipping a wick into hot wax, and have to cool off in between each dip. Wicks could be made out of cotton or flax.

The best candles are 100% wax. Our farm family uses beeswax that they collect from wild bees, but they don't always get enough for their candles. You can also make candles out of 100% tallow, but they are very soft and burn quickly. One solution is to mix the two ingredients together. The candles are not quite as good as if they were all wax, but you are able to make more of them.

Soap

Soap is made from 2 ingredients (even modern soap!): lye and oil or fat.

Lye is a chemical, sodium hydroxide. In the 18th century, lye was obtained from hardwood ashes. The ashes were placed in a barrel with a hole in the bottom; water was poured through the ashes, and as it dripped out the bottom, it carried the lye with it. The strength of the lye varies widely when you use this method. You have to be very careful with lye; it can give you severe chemical burns!

You can use nearly any kind of oil or fat for soap. The farm family uses lard, their most plentiful type of fat.

Soap was an inexact science at the time. The lard was gently heated, and the lye added. If you add just the right amount of each ingredient, and stir constantly, they combine to form soap.

Modern soapmaking is easier because you can use commercial lye, and measure all the ingredients out exactly. If you want to try making it at home, you can find many books that will tell you how. We recommend this book: The Art of Soapmaking, by Merilyn Mohr. Unfortunately, it is no longer in print, so finding a copy might be difficult. Here is another good one, which is still in print: The Natural Soap Book, by Susan Miller Cavitch. You can find it at www.betterworld.com.

Dubbin

Dubbin is a mixture of lard, wax, and fish oil that is used to waterproof leather. The farm family rubs it into their shoes to help keep their feet dry. It is smelly, but it works!