Mattie's Homemade Lye Soap

By Kevin Willias

Since Gloria's column this week touched upon homemade soap, I thought I'd share an Amish recipe for this special soap.  Even if you don't try it at home, the recipe is still interesting to read.

These are instructions on how to make bars of homemade lye bar soap from Mattie Stutzman, an Amish homemaker in Sinking Spring, Ohio  It's a long, involved process, but worthwhile if you can stick with it!

Cautions:

Lye is caustic until it is cured and fumes should not be inhaled. Protective gloves and

safety goggles should be worn when working with lye or lye solutions as chemical burns

can occur on the skin, mucous membranes, and even the throat and lungs. The work area

must be very well ventilated. Lye soap should be made outside, but if it is to be made

inside, a fan and open window are highly desirable.

Vinegar should be kept handy during lye soap-making to neutralize any splashes or spills

of lye, lye water, or uncured soap, which are extremely alkaline.

No copper, tin, or aluminum materials can be used for this process as a dangerous

chemical reaction can occur. Materials used to make lye soap should only be used for

making soap and should never be reused for food preparation or other uses. Items should

be clearly marked for soap-making only and kept stored safely when not in use. Anything

the lye or lye water or uncured soap touches are then caustic.

Ingredients should be measured carefully, as mistakes can cause the saponification

process to fail and the soap may be unusable.

Ingredients

1 quart water

12 ounces lye (100% sodium hydroxide), containing no dark spots, which are undesirable

heavy metals

2 ½ quarts clean lard or tallow, melted

Materials

2-quart or larger crock, Pyrex measuring cup (must be Pyrex as non-tempered glass will

break), or heavy plastic pitcher

Wooden stirring spoon or heat-resistant rubber or silicone spatula

Container to hold stirring utensils that have touched lye

2 candy thermometers

Clean a dish pan or other plastic storage container that is about 12 quarts capacity. Clear

works best so you can see if there are spots where the lye has failed to combine properly

with the fat.

Lid for the container, which does not have to be tight-fitting

Towels or blanket to keep the soap warm for a few days

Essential oil or soap-making scent, if desired

Knife to cut the soap after it has set up, before it has cured

Put 1 quart of water in the crock, Pyrex cup, or plastic pitcher. Add 12 ounces of lye and

stir gently, being careful not to cause any splashes, until the lye is dissolved.

IMPORTANT: The lye must be poured into the water, and never the other way around.

Let the lye water stand until lukewarm, 90 to 95 degrees F. Let the melted fat stand until

lukewarm or no more than 100 degrees F. These temperatures must be reached

simultaneously. If the fat is not cooling quickly enough, it can be placed in a sink of cold

or iced water. If the fat cools too much before the lye water is ready, it can be rewarmed

on the stove. Once both substances are the correct temperature, pour the lard or tallow in

the large dishpan or plastic storage container. Pour the lye water slowly into the fat while

stirring and continue stirring constantly for about 15 minutes to 1 hour. When the soap is

ready to set up, it will “trace” and the track of the spoon will stay evident in the mixture.

At this point, a few drops of essential oil or soap fragrance can be stirred in if desired.

Once the soap traces, the container should be covered and wrapped in a towel, blanket, or

even old pillows to slow the cooling process so the soap won't separate. The container

should not be disturbed for at least 24 hours. The soap can be checked about every half-

hour after the stirring has stopped to see if it is ready to be cut. To be cut, the soap should

have attained a firm, butter-like consistency. A sharp knife should be used to cut the soap

into bars. The soap is still caustic at this time, so avoid contact with skin.

All equipment should be washed immediately. The containers should be rinsed well in

warm water to remove all traces of soap, lye, and fat, and then washed in warm soapy

water.

After 24 hours, look through the sides of the container. All surfaces of the soap should

appear solid. The bars should be hard and easily removed from the plastic container, but

in some cases this process may take up to 3 days. Many factors affect the length of time

the soap takes to harden. The bars are ready to be turned out of the container when they

do not accept finger indentations (use gloves to test). In a cool place on white freezer

paper, white plastic mesh, or other clean white surface, stack or space the bars with open

spaces in between to allow good airflow. The bars should be allowed 2 to 3 weeks to cure

before use. The longer the curing period, the harder the soap. If the soap is allowed to

cure for 3 to 4 weeks, the bars are safe to be wrapped in paper if desired.