How to Make Soap From Campfire Ashes
- 1). Pour 10 cups of campfire ashes into a terracotta pot with a drain hole in the bottom. Add one cup at a time and pack down each layer very firmly. The ashes should not be able to move when you tilt the pot; they should be dense and rock solid.
- 2). Place a cooling rack over the mouth of one of your stewpots. Set the flower pot on top. Heat 2 quarts of distilled water to boiling and pour it into the flower pot. As the water drizzles out the bottom, heat another 2 quarts and pour those through as well. When all the water drains through, toss out the ashes and set the resulting brown lye aside. Be careful; it's caustic and can burn your skin.
- 3). Chop up about 2 lb. of animal lard into 1-inch cubes. Pour about 1/8 inch of water into your second stew pot and heat it over low heat. Add about half of your lard cubes and let them melt, stirring them occasionally with a wooden spoon. Turn the heat down if the mixture starts to smoke. Once melted, add the rest of the lard. A pound of lard should yield about 2 cups of rendered fat.
- 4). Put on rubber gloves and measure ¾ cup of brown lye into your glass measuring cup. Either scoop it out of the pot with the cup or pour it in with your spoon; don't let it get on your skin. Pour the lye into warm, melted fat and stir until the two are completely combined.
- 5). Heat the soap mixture over very low heat for 30 minutes to 3 hours. Watch for the soap to thicken and look like brown gravy. To test for doneness, trace a line on the top of the soap with your spoon. If the line remains for several seconds, the soap is done.
- 6). Pour the soap into your soap molds slowly to avoid bubbles. Let the soap cure in the molds for about a week, covering them right away with a towel for 24 hours.
- 7). Flip the molds over onto a clean surface, pressing on the bottoms of the molds to release the soap. Let the soap cure in a cool, dry place for about 3 weeks.
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