Q&A for How to Make Glycerin

Dissolve 1/3 bar grated Fels Naptha with 6 cups of very hot water. Stir in 1/2 cup Borax laundry booster and 1/2 cup Arm & Hammer washing soda. Stir until it thickens (about 15 minutes). In a large pot, combine the solution with 5 1/2 quarts of very hot water. The mixture should be thick. If your soap separates, just shake it up. Use 1/2 cup per wash load; there will be no suds, but don't worry, your clothes will be super clean and smell nice and fresh. Vinegar makes a good fabric softener. For spray starch, just put a few tablespoons of cornstarch in cold water. Fill a spray bottle, and shake well before using.

You have to keep checking up on it to see when it feels nice and soapy, then it is OK to use. Usually, it takes two to four-and-a-half days.

Tallow can be purchased at many butchers or co-op markets, or ordered online.

I would recommend using websites like Howcast, YouTube, etc. to get more information about making and using glycerin.

In food and beverages, glycerol serves as a solvent and sweetener, and may help preserve foods. It is also used as filler in commercially prepared low-fat foods, and as a thickening agent in liqueurs.

Absolutely! Store-bought beef dripping, lard, tallow, duck fat or schmaltz would all work for making glycerin.

You can make glycerin and soap by using vegetable oils, following most of the similar methods outlined here. Check out our article on How To Make Vegetable Glycerin for more information.

Glycerin is basically a sugar alcohol that's made from animal products, plants, or petroleum. It can be made with a variety of products. For instance, vegetable glycerin is made by heating vegetable fats such as palm, soy, or coconut oil. Under intense pressure and with a strong alkali, usually, lye, glycerin is formed. Glycerin can be used for many different things such as in the food, cosmetics, and even in the pharmaceutical industries. For example, it's often added to foods to help mix together oil and water-based ingredients, which can sweeten or moisten the final product. In fact, glycerin is used in a bunch of different things that you probably didn't even realize!

It's actually not as difficult as you may think to render fat. Start by buying about around 1 lb (450 g) of animal fat. Any form of animal fat will work excellently for making glycerin, but pork or beef fat is usually the most common or easy to get. Use a sharp knife to cut your animal fat into rough cubes, no bigger than 1 in (2.5 cm) so it's easier to render. Transfer the fat to a large stock pot so that it creates a thin layer across the bottom. Measure out around 1⁄4 cup (59 ml) of cold water and pour it over the fat. The water should just cover the bottom of the pot. Then, cover the pot and let it cook over low heat for 30 minutes. After that, increase the heat to medium and stir the fat every few minutes until the fat is melted and completely rendered. Then, remove the rendered fat from the heat and leave it to cool slightly. Line a fine-mesh sieve with 1 to 2 layers of cheesecloth and position it over a bowl or jar. Pour the fat into the sieve to strain away any meat, gristle or bone shards, leaving you with pure and rendered fat!

It's all about blending them together correctly. Add 1 lb (450 g) of rendered fat into a large pot. In a separate bowl, measure out 5 fluid ounces (150 ml) of room temperature water and then slowly add in 2 ounces (57 g) of lye, stirring constantly as you do so to incorporate it fully. Leave the lye and water mixture to react and cool down. While you're waiting, start heating up the rendered fat until it reaches 113 °F (45 °C). Remove it from the heat and place it on a safe surface. Pour the lye solution into the melted fat slowly, stirring constantly. Be careful not to splash the lye or get any on your skin. Once the lye solution has been completely mixed into the fat, keep stirring in slow, regular motions. After around 15 minutes, the path of the spoon should remain visible in the soap mixture for a few seconds. It's called "tracing' and it means the mixture is ready!