Lard Soapmaking workshop
In this introduction to soap making, you will learn how to make a pure lard soap from scratch. We will explain how to render the fat into lard, touching on the aspects of the many uses of lard for both the home and body. You will learn about the equipment used to make soap, safety gear and precautions to take, as well as tips and tricks for making inexpensive, locally-sourced soap for you and your family.
We will then demonstrate the lye process, which can be the most intimidating part of soap making for beginners and is often what prevents people from trying to make soap in the first place! And after that, we’re onto the races for mixing the lye water with our melted lard and making soap. We will then demo how to pour the batter into a mold, as well as different methods to cut the loaf of soap when it's ready. And although the soap that we will make during the workshop will not be ready to take home as it requires a couple of weeks of cure time to be safe to use, we will send you home with six bars of soap and the recipe for the pure lard soap.
This workshop will focus on making a basic pure lard soap, which once you master a basic recipe, you can then go on to add different ingredients to your soap, including infusing various botanicals and delving into trickier recipes like milk soap and honey soap. Due to extreme sensitivities to fragrance, we do not add essential oils or synthetic fragrance to our soaps, therefore, we will not be discussing those ingredients in our workshop. However, we will send you home with some great online resources to explore those topics if you’re interested.
We also do not add any imported oils or butters to our soap, just pure local lard - just like great grandmother used to make it - but with some added twists and a slightly more accurate way of measuring the lye to ensure you make a nice, soothing bar of soap instead of a lye heavy skin remover!
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We are also offering a workshop on Goat Milk Soapmaking … click here for more information!
About your instructor
Terry is co-owner and operator here at Twisted Roots Farm and she has a deep passion for making handcrafted creations using materials and ingredients sourced from our farm and forest or from other local farms. She loves rekindling old traditions, utilizing simple and raw ingredients to create special, one-of-a-kind offerings that have a story and connection to place. Terry also finds great joy in sharing these skills with others, knowing that as we gather together to engage in creativity and make offerings with our hands, we are also building resilient communities and reconnecting with what it truly means to be human. Her spare time (what is that when you farm?!?) is spent writing, crafting, and creating, as well as cuddling our adorable goats, dogs, and cats.
Date and Cost
Sunday, November 9th from 1:00 to 3:00 pm
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Cost $95 / person
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Includes six bars of lard soap as well as coffee, tea (herbal & black), mineral water and a charcuterie board of tasty appetizers.
Registration
To register for this workshop, please send an email to: info@twistedrootsfarm.ca. We will confirm your seat and send an invoice for the cost of the workshop payable by credit card or e-transfer. Please note that space is limited and payment is required to hold your seat.
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For cancellations, we must receive a cancellation request 7 days prior to the workshop date. We will refund the cost of the workshop, minus a 10% administrative fee. You may also transfer your seat to someone else, just inform us of the change.
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If we have to cancel the workshop, participants will receive a full refund.