It is necessary to sift the ashes. This process will remove any bits of charcoal or rocks, leaving nothing more than a fine powder. Sift the ashes into a non-reactive bucket with whatever you would use to sift flour. The point is to remove any foreign objects (charcoal, rocks, etc.).
This is the junk that is sifted out of the ash. Toss it in the compost pile.
Punch a nail hole one inch from the bottom of a plastic five gallon bucket. Leave the nail in place to stop up the hole. Elevate the bucket to facilitate draining of the bucket through the nail hole into a clean empty bucket.
Fill the bucket with the nail hole roughly two thirds full of sifted ash.
Pour boiling water over the ashes until the water level is a couple inches from the top of the bucket. Add more boiling water as the water level sinks into the ashes, maintaining the original water level of a couple inches from the top of the bucket. Cover and let sit for a few days.
After a few days have passed, pull the nail out of the hole & allow the water to drain into the empty bucket below. This will take quite some time (hours).
Test the specific gravity of the liquid with a hydrometer. A hydrometer can be purchased from an auto parts store (glass hydrometers are used to test the specific gravity of lead acid battery electrolyte).
Alternatively, a hydrometer can be made at home. Making a hydrometer at home is a fun technical project to introduce in a homeschool setting!
If you are a homesteader you might have a refractometer for testing diesel exhaust fluid, battery acid, or even moisture content of honey from you beehives. If you do, it can be used to test the specific gravity of the lye water as well.
Pour the hot soap into a mold (hard soap). Fashion a mold from wood, or use a plastic container. Individual molds can be used for each bar, or one large bar can be made & later cut with a wire into the desired sizes.
When the soap hardens (a few hours to a couple days), remove it from the mold & place it on a curing rack. A curing rack is anything that will allow the soap bars to drain as they are curing. Curing time varies, but usually takes a few weeks. The reason for some of the vagueness here is that the quality of the fat & lye vary from batch to batch. Added ingredients also play a part in either reducing or lengthening cure times.
Your imagination is the limit when it comes to additives.
We like to mix in chopped up green cedar leaves before pouring into the mold as an abrasive as well as a fragrance. This doubles as a soap used for bathing before a hunt.
Sassafras root can be infused into the lye water as a fragrance before adding the fat. Cinnamon can be used the same way.
One particularly interesting option is that of the loofa sponge bar. Simply cut a loofa sponge to a size that will fit inside the mold. Place it in the mold before you pour the soap in and you have an abrasive bar of soap! Loofa gourds can be grown and harvested for sponges almost anywhere in the United States (we sell seeds on this site).
Fruits, citrus, milk, honey, you name it. In different regions there are different variations of abrasives and fragrances available. Be creative.
Learn how to make delicious, healthy acorn flour just as many early cultures did long ago. All you need is an oak tree of any variety to collect acorns from. Acorn flour imparts an earthy, organic flavor to bread, pastries, or any dish that regular flour is normally used for. From acorn dumplings to pie crust & loafs of bread, baking with acorn flour sets the stage for a truly natural, superb culinary experience. This is an activity for the whole family to do around the camp fire, or by yourself for a fun adventure.
$2.99
Get a comprehensive lesson in biology that will open doors to countless other areas of scientific study. Learn all about the complex chemistry that allows both plants & fish to thrive in a shared environment. Aquaponics is a hybrid farming technique that combines hydroponic growing of edible plants, with aquaculture by raising fish in a symbiotic condition. Produce your own health conscience meat & vegetables in an area as small as a big city apartment balcony!
$9.99
If you enjoy beer for more than just the buzz, making your own is quite a fulfilling hobby. If your interest is all about the buzz, you can have fun playing with the alcohol content while still maintaining an acceptable flavor. Grow your own hops (available on this site), & make beer with a unique "homebrew" flavor that can come only from something you did all by yourself. From connoisseur to novice, brewing your own beer is bound to spark a feeling of joy unrivaled by commercial products.
Physics & chemistry come together in an explosive way. This tutorial will introduce you to pyrotechnics in a truly backwoods manner. Learn to make black powder for use in muzzleloaders & fireworks. Build a simple model rocket engine from every day materials, or a road flare for emergency situations. The amount of information provided in this tutorial will blow your mind. We sure had a blast!
Whip up a batch of fresh butter in a jiffy. Multiple methods of producing butter at home are described in detail. With fresh milk, butter can be made in a vessel as simple as a canning or pickle jar. From churns to mixers, anyone can make fresh homemade butter with items you likely have at home already. This tutorial is a must for anyone who plans to milk a cow or goat.
$2.99
Roast, ground meat, fish, sausage links, bacon, chorizo, pepperoni & many more cuts of meat can be preserved for years by pressure canning, while still retaining all flavor & nutrients. This tutorial provides safe methods for pressure canning meats of all kinds. Canned meats are highly convenient for a quick, nutrient packed meal with no need for refrigeration (thus saving a lot of energy). Fill your pantry with more than just canned vegetables by learning the dying art of canning freshly harvested meat.
Preserve the gardens bounty, make delicious jam without the use of preservatives, & save the seasons fruit harvest by following the easy instructions in this tutorial.
12.99
Learn to make all types of cheese from fresh milk. From cottage cheese to hard cheese, this tutorial will guide you down the path to perfection. Make cheese that can't melt for use in stir fry & baked or smoked foods. Build a hard cheese press from scratch, & much more.
Making your own condiments is kind of the apex of self sufficiency, especially if you grow & produce your own ingredients. Learn to make mustard from home grown mustard seeds, turn your extra tomatoes into delectable ketchup & barbeque sauce, or delight your taste buds with mayonnaise made from your own eggs.
Cure meat the old fashioned way, without the use (or need for) artificial preservatives. From wet brine to dry curing & smoking, this tutorial contains many years of acquired knowledge in one condensed, easy to read document.
$9.99
Come along on a trip to Missouri to learn the art of distilling high quality alcohol. Made from grains, berries, fruits, honey, potatoes or many other fermentable things found in nature, alcohol is a commodity that has far more uses than simply consuming. Power your garden tiller from distilled corn mash, fuel a cook stove, extract essential oils, or just get drunk. Just about everyone has a significant use for distilled alcohol even if they don't realize it.
Hominy made the real old fashioned way. All you need is hardwood ashes, corn, & this tutorial. Make a large batch of hominy & pressure can it for future consumption. Homemade hominy is just plain unbeatable when it comes to flavor & consistency. WARNING: You will never eat store bought hominy again.
$2.99
Commercial cleansing products sold today which we call soap, are actually detergents. Detergents are harsh & may be harmful to the skin, especially if your skin is sensitive. Learn to make real soap by the process of saponification. All that is needed is some hardwood ashes, & meat fat or vegetable oil. This is a detailed instruction on the process of extracting lye from hardwood ash, as well as making naturally scented bar soap.
$3.99
Over the years, draft power (animal driven) has all but disappeared in the public eye, but can actually be a viable alternative to tractor power for the homesteader. Follow one families adventure into ox power. Learn to fabricate a yoke & other necessary gear from easy to come by materials, & train a weanling steer to pull a plow, cart, or any other implement.
If you live in an area where you can grow peanuts or purchase raw peanuts, you are in for a treat. Making peanut butter at home will provide you with an entirely unique, divine culinary experience. Commercial peanut butter is kind of generic & bland, but the real thing is a far cry from that. The smooth yet grainy texture just screams natural, & the flavor is like an explosion of earthy goodness. All tools necessary are likely in your kitchen already.
$1.99
Pickling made easy. Just about any vegetable can be pickled. Minimal standard household kitchen utensils are necessary to transform your garden produce into tasty pickles that will last until the next harvest season.
$1.99
Meat, cheese, or even vegetables can be used to make excellent Mexican tamales. A basic kitchen (indoor or outdoor) has everything necessary. Unless you live in Mexico, "real" tamales are impossible to come by. By making your own, you can make them as authentic as you want, or get wild & experiment with different ingredients. Learn to steam tamales on a camp fire, or in an indoor kitchen.
Grow your own "mother of vinegar", which will provide a source of vinegar for as long as it is maintained by feeding alcohol. Vinegar is used in so many ways. From food, to cleaner & even a natural herbicide, vinegar has been used by man for eons. For health conscience folks & connoisseurs of fine food alike, making your own vinegar is definitely a venture worth the minimal effort. Give it a try.
$1.99
Become an amateur vintner in no time. Winemaking is an art that has captured the hearts of individuals from every continent, every race, every background, & in every era recorded in history. Learn all about the chemistry involved (it might even spark a new interest in chemistry), & embark upon an incredible adventure that is certain to be fulfilling.
$10.99
An introduction to backyard beekeeping, & an adventure into the wonderful world of entomology. Set up your own apiary & harvest fresh, clean, healthy, super local honey. Beekeeping is an excellent hobby to involve the kids in. Learn everything from the complex behavioral patterns of bees, to the rapid seasonal changes of the flowering plants from which bees harvest nectar & pollen.
Using common materials, learn to make superior quality charcoal at home. If you make black powder, this is a must due to the necessity for extreme high quality. Turn red wine vinegar clear with a pinch of bone charcoal, or make "bone black", the worlds darkest black artist paint. Discover the incredible science & art involved in the manufacture of something most would take for granted.
Build a wood fired hot water heater/boiler that requires no electricity. Hot showers & dish water are extremely important commodities in a remote location, & this heater design fits the bill just perfectly. Also use as a boiler for hydronic radiant heating in a home or greenhouse. Detailed instruction as well as a conceptual tutorial on the dynamics of thermosiphons.
Cast your own fishing weights, jig & spinner bodies, & bullets with minimal equipment. Embark upon a journey into metallurgy. Use foam to sculpt any object you wish to cast, & cast it in sifted ashes from the fire. Recycle used wheel weights or battery cores & turn them into new, useful products.
Build a cold smokehouse to preserve the seasons bounty. Learn the "old" art of smoke curing & the design concepts of a cold smokehouse.
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