Your Only Limit is Your Soul
Friday November 7, 2008
At first read, I loved this article about Bob McElwee and his soap. I can imagine him in his impeccably neat soap kitchen, with perfectly measured batches and bars that look exactly the same. I'm sure glad Bob isn't watching over my shoulder while I make my own soap though. I'd be afraid to make an error! As it relates in the article about Bob and the Loveland Soap Company, he takes careful measuring and consistency from batch to batch very seriously! (The article says his scale measures to a thousandth of an ounce. Yikes!) "A lot of people who try to make soap are merely cooks," he says. "They think it's a pinch of this and a pinch of that. It's not like that at all." Well...I'm not so sure about that. I bet a lot of readers here would disagree. Yes, careful measuring, especially with lye, which is far more dangerous than flour, sugar and eggs, is vitally important, but I don't think he gives cooks enough credit. I doubt Peggy Trowbridge Filippone, the Guide to Home Cooking at About.com would say she just throws in a pinch of this and that without any attention to accuracy. And neither do I. Hmmpf.
As I think about it some more, I don't love this article so much anymore. The problem with this article is that it makes soap making sound difficult and dangerous...something that you can only do if your kitchen "looks like a computer lab" or you own "laboratory glassware" or you pay "$30 an ounce" for essential oils. It makes it sound like something that can't be done by any of us "mere cooks" (male or female!) Yes...you have to be careful and measure correctly. No...you can't just whistle your way through a batch of soap not paying attention to what goes into it. But with a little bit of information, a little bit of patience, a little bit of creativity, and a few cheap pieces of cookware from the dollar store, anyone CAN make soap. I have soap makers from all over the world write me and relate how much they love making soap. Male and female, old and young. Educated, not educated, disabled, poor, rich. Talking to these soap makers, I often feel like Chef Gusteau in the movie Ratatouille when he says, "You must be imaginative, strong-hearted. You must try things that may not work, and you must not let anyone define your limits because of where you come from. Your only limit is your soul. What I say is true - anyone can cook... but only the fearless can be great." So what do you say? Yes, put your darn goggles and gloves on when you're mixing your lye. And after that, whether your soap kitchen looks like a science lab or a artist's studio...let's be fearless and make some great soap! (Or candles - I don't mean to leave you candle folks out - but Bob doesn't make candles!)
Illustration: Paul Gilligan / Getty Images
Comments
Good article - thank you for encouraging novice and wannabe soapmakers! Love the Chef Gusteau quote.
AMEN !!! I think people try to make it sound totally complicated so that you won’t try it, you mere mortal, and therefore, they sell tons of soap and you just sigh. Ran across one soap maker set up next to me at a craft fair. She was all up in the air, not friendly at all. Her soap looked nice and she sold a lot, but never once said hello to me, 2 feet away. Then ran into her at the state fair, and she was not only selling her soap, but making it on site - in a building that was dedicated to how the “old timers” made things. It was spinning wool, old time machinery being demonstrated and basically how people did things in the 1800’s in New York. Heating up melt and pour was totally out of what the intent of the building theme was. I noticed this year she was not there. Thank God. Not that melt and pour doesn’t have its place, but give me a break. I have learned so much from your site, I just love it, and have tried many of the soaps. They don’t always come out perfect, but they are mine. Keep up the good work.
well, this guy is the typical chemist, yes sir ree! however, i only took high school chem., and college chem., and that was enough for me. i didnt need those classes to help me make soap either. homemade soap is one of the easiet things a handcrafter can make. already getting soap ready for rented space in a store for christmas. i mostly do Cp, but every now and then will do a M&P.
i learned most of my info on making soap right here at about.com from david then at the yahoo group the magic apple. i can’t give david enough credit though. this is where my soapmaking adventures began, and i find myself returning again and again.
How do I get the magazine “Create a Dream”.
Everytime I click on the link, it gives me an error.
Thanks.
Create the Dream isn’t being published anymore. for a great soap making magazine, try The Saponifier.