Soap Making
- · Lye was made from ashes when trees were burned down around the homestead and were placed in a barrel, called a leach, which was put on top of a board.
- · The board was raised at one end, the bottom of the barrel had a narrow slit which allowed water to seep through, a bucket was placed under the slit and as the water passed through the ashes, it trickled out as lye. Lye was very dangerous; it could burn the skin badly and the throat if the fumes were breathed in.
- · Animal fat and water were boiled in a kettle and became tallow.
- · The lye was added to the tallow and they were boiled together over a fire, usually outdoors. Tallow took the strength away from the lye.
- · Bayberry tallow was added to the grease and lye for bath soap.
- · Ammonia and borax for laundry soap.
- ·
The liquid
soap was poured into a pan or box and allowed to harden overnight and was cut
into bars the next day.
No comments:
Post a Comment