Old Fashioned Soap Made On The Wood Stove
I made a batch of old fashioned homemade soap on the wood stove in a cast iron pot. This homemade soap is easy to make and a lot less work than other processes.
I made a triple batch of soap using my tried and true recipe which you can find here: How to make soap at home using all natural ingredients
Then I put the ingredients into a cast iron dutch oven on top of the wood stove to cook down. From time to time I stirred the ingredients to mix them up well.
Making old fashioned homemade soap on the wood stove
The process took most of the day but it was not much work really. The heat from the wood stove did most of the work for me. You could see the various stages of soap making from getting thicker, to the gel stage and finally the oatmeal look when it is ready to pour into the molds.
Since I made a triple batch of soap I had to use two 2 lb soap forms. This will give me 15 bars of soap later when I cut them.
Homemade soap is all natural with no harmful chemicals or added ingredients. Our homemade soap lathers up well and is moisturizing and good for your skin due to the natural glycerin content.
Cooking the soap in a cast iron pot also gives the soap a bit of a brown color from the iron oxide in the pan. This is all natural and harmless for you. Actually most soap makers use some sort of metal or mineral oxide to color their soap. Ours just happens naturally.
Commercial soap manufacturers remove most of the glycerin to sell for a profit and add chemicals in its place. These chemicals are not good for you.
The pioneers cooked their soap using lye made by pouring water through wood ash. The process was repeated until you could float an egg in it. The oil was from rendered animal fat and was smelly. The soap was cooked over a wood fire until it was finished. The resulting soap was funny smelling and a bit runny.
Our homestead homemade soap turns our to be firm and long lasting once it cures for a while. After I poured it into the mold I let it sit for a few days to firm up before cutting it into bars. After that it is beneficial to let the soap cure a week or so to firm up some more. This makes the bar of soap last longer.
You could use the soap immediately though and I usually take the scrapings out of the pot I cooked it in to make a round ball of soap for immediate use.
Making your own soap is healthier and can be good family fun.
You can watch today's video here: 
Making Old Fashioned Soap On The Wood Stove
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About the Author
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Troy Reid |
