It smells like Lye Soap, but not meat greases. I save all of the following greases and oils: Bacon Grease Hamburger drippings from my grill pan Ground Beef grease Shortening and/or oils used for frying meats. Oils used for any kind of fast frying (donuts, french fries, etc). Meat greases rendered from roasts (beef, pork, etc) and so forth. I don't fry very often, but I still save the oils and grease. It adds up faster than you might think! NEVER dump grease and oils down drains. Not only does this stop up sewer lines and septic systems, but it is a major cost to the public in city sewage systems repairs and maintenance and sewage processing plants. It pollutes the land and water systems...kills fish and other wildlife, creates algae in water ways, and more. Awful stuff. The chemical action in the soap making process removes the smelly odors of meat greases. Make sure you strain it well to remove all the bits and pieces. I just use my kitchen sieve. The soap will not LOOK like commercial stuff. Those are mostly detergents. This soap is wonderful. Leaves your skin soft. Gentle on clothes. The two commercial soaps that I know that are REAL SOAP are Castile and Ivory (or Ivory used to be real soap anyway). For JUST hand soap, you can add a little glycerin (found at all RX drug store counters), and omit the Kerosene. OPT. - Kerosene is not necessary for the recipe to work, but it makes the laundry soap better. Boosts the cleaning power. As mentioned above, you can add coconut oil (and/or other fancy oils) to make it more sudsy and feel softer. But, the purpose of this topic is HOW TO USE old MEAT GREASE that you should not put in your compost. There are all kinds of soap recipes on the internet. I've tried a few. The thing I object to in these NEW recipes is the cost and waste. Those fancy oils are EXPENSIVE. Cheaper to buy commercial soap and be done with it. Hope this explains my purpose in posting this topic: ***Recycling old meat grease rather than throwing it into the garbage that will go into land fills*** We can greatly reduce the amount of trash and garbage that goes into land fills (millions of tons of garbage dumped on the land and in the ocean )just in America) just by practicing the three "R's" of waste management for good conservation - REDUCE -> REUSE -> RECYCLE -> Don't waste food! Use those leftovers and compost your kitchen garbage. Many household items that most Americans tend to just toss in the garbage daily can be REDUCED, REUSED, and RECYCLED, including clothing, buttons, zippers, snaps, hook and eyes, and other items just in our households alone. Good conservation practices not only saves the Earth by preventing pollution and conserves our natural resources, but it will save each of us MONEY, not only collectively as a society, but in each household! There is an old Mormon saying: "A woman can throw it out the window with a teaspoon faster than a man can pitch it in the front door with a shovel." - Brigham Young, 1860. This is so true. ~Annie

I think Octagon bars were discontinued a few years ago. They are great as stain sticks on clothing. I'd never use it on my body. I received a few bars from a friend in the LF and they are terrific as a stain stick. Wet fabric and rub the bar on it.

Not all coconut oil products taste like coconut. LouAna brand (I get it at Wal-Mart and Dillons - a Kroger-associated store) doesn't have any coconut flavor. The Grain & Salt Society sold a brand (they called it Coconut BUTTER, and then had to change it to oil) that didn't taste like coconut (it was the first brand I ever tried). Carrington Farms Coconut Cooking Oil and NOW MCT Oil is also tasteless, so a good choice for salad dressing, which is one of the more difficult things to make with regular coconut oil because it solidifies so easily. But don't discount the flavor of coconut oil that does have a mild coconut flavor. It's my "secret" ingredient in brownies, without being over-powering, and works well with cocoa/chocolate. It's also a good choice in other baked goods and power/protein bars. I mix coconut oil with raw honey and use it as a spread like you would use honey-butter. Coconut oil by itself is used by vegans for a bread-spread instead of butter and margarine. Coconut oil aids in homemade breads keeping fresh a little longer than those made with butter or shortening. I found homemade bread made with coconut oil AND chia seeds stayed fresh for at least a week - soft enough to be used for a peanut butter sandwich after a week. Coconut oil has a long history in food and was commonly used in commercial baked goods pre-1960's because the commercial foods had a longer shelf-life when made with coconut oil. I often find recipes in older books calling for copra oil, which is coconut oil. If was often added to frosting in order to help it "set" in cool temperatures. Coconut oil was used for popping corn at stadiums because they could pop huge amounts ahead of time and the coconut oil kept it "fresh". Just stay clear of partially-hydrogenated or hydrogenated coconut oil. This process damages the oil and it doesn't have the same healthful effects on the body as unrefined coconut oil. -Grainlady

A- you are very welcome..I too can not use coconut oil on my eyes..I break out in tiny little bumps on the top of my cheek bone.. But I love to use it for owies, extra rough spots and internally. I pop popcorn and fry potatoes in refined coconut oil. I use Virgin for "ointment, moisturizer, and in my tea". As to the fancy oils and vinegars Renee, just use them,..but they are likely to be used as a drizzle or dressing..I wouldn't destroy the flavor in cooking. Alot of folks love balsamic as a dessert topping. So that is a great uses. Also try it on a spinach salad with strawberries..I bet it would be devine! The cranberry pear would be wonderful over a salad with grilled chicken. If there is a fair amount and you really are stuck the blood orange would be good in brownies or chocolate cake...orange might not come through to much..but it would be a way to use it before it went bad.