Rendering

Rendering fat is the process of converting fat into a liquified state.

Rendering produces a "crude oil", whereas the next step, refining, converts the "crude oil" into "finished oil". Crude oil is fine for soap making, but for cosmetics you require finished oil.

Here are some basic steps for rendering your fat into oil

• Wash the fat thoroughly to remove excess meat, skin, blood and dirt
• Cut the fat into small chunks to help speed the process
• Heat oven to about 160 degrees Farenheit (70 degrees Celcius) - note that excess heat can kill the properties of the oil
• Once in a liquified state, remove from the heat
• Filter oil through cloth, such as cheese cloth, or muslin
• Repeat this filtering process several times
• Filter again through a finer filter such as a coffee filter

The oil needs to be kept warm to filter properly.

To store fat you can freeze in small manageable chucks in your freezer.