Home Science Service

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 18990, 15 April 1936, Page 11

Home Science Service

by SHEILA PORTEO US

SOAP AND HOW TO MAKE IT “It is the little conveniences that make the real comfort of life.’’ Take soap, for example. It is one of those little conveniences ot which we think little or nothing at all —wc are so used to having it that, to us, it has become a necessity. imagine what life would be like without A. Imagine what housekeeping would bo like ! Dishes to wash, floors to scrub, clothes to launder, our own bodies to bathe—with no soap lo help ! Yet there were days when there was no soap. Two hundred years ago the. making of soap was carried on mostly in the home. It was one of the common household duties, just as spinning and weaving were. The soap was made'in a big iron pot suspended over a fire out. of doors. To-day, soap-making at home is not nearly such an arduous process, and although we can buy soap cheaply in the shops, still it is sometimes . a problem to know just what to do with the many scraps of fat wo collect m the kitchen. Having collected enough fat, find a good standard recipe, and then follow it to the letter. HOME-MADE HOUSEHOLD SOAP. Caustic, soda .. .. lib. Water .. .. U qts. Clarified fat .. .. fiMb. Note:—lt is much the wisest plan lo use a benzine tin for the soap pot., for caustic soda will soon ruin any tin or iron household saucepan. Clarify the fat by melting it; and letting it cook slowly with the water. Let. it cool and the clear fat will solidify, on top of the water, leaving behind any«salt. and dirt. Lift off the fat arid remelt it, allowing it to cook slowly until it. no longer “crackles.” This means that any water left in the fat has evaporated, carrying with it much of the fatty odour. Then strain the fat through fine muslin to make sure that it is clean.

Dissolve the caustic soda in the water. The liquid will become quite hot. Let it cool down until it is just warm. Then take the 6Mb. of warm liquid fat and pour it slowly into the warm caustic solution, stirring with a wooden spoon or stick until it is the consistency of honey. Line an enamel pan with greased paper or damp calic-o and pour the soup mixture into it. Cover and leave in a warm place for 24 hours, when it will be ready to cut up and be stored away to dry. After about a month il will )>e ready for use.

WAYS OF USING FT’ SCRAPS OF SOAP. Here are two ways of using up scraps of soap which.are always being left over in the kitchen and bath' room:—1. Get an empty treacle tin (71b. size) with a wire handle. Put in all the soap scraps. Fill with water and set at the back of the stove, or on a very gentle heat. This makes an excellent soap jelly for use when dishwashing. If the scraps ,of soap arc added from time to tune and the water in the tin replenished as the soap jelly is used up, there will always be a ready supply. 2. Scraps of toilet soap, which are always being found in the bathroom, can be tied in a piece of open weave material and used in the back porch or kitchen for washing hands.