October 6, 2014
Have you ever
heard of jewel weed? It is a wild plant
that grows in damp areas such as on the banks of rivers or in moist areas on
the side of the road. Jewel weed just happens
to be nature’s antidote to poison ivy.
Jewel weed has a
type of liquid/juice on the inside of its stems that resembles the consistency
of the liquid in the aloe plant. If you
happen to catch poison ivy, you can simply break off the stems of the plant and
rub it on your skin. Since most people
don’t have the time or the inclination to go searching the river banks or
roadsides when they’re busy scratching their poison ivy, jewel weed soap is a
good thing to keep on hand.
I made a batch of
jewel weed soap about a month ago. I
drove the back roads in our county and found a patch growing along the river
banks. It was conveniently located at a
spot where the river crossed under the road via a culvert so I didn’t even have
to trespass on anyone’s land. (Be
careful if you decide to go looking for jewel weed during the summer months…it
is often located right next to patches of poison ivy. There are also snakes to worry about as well
as road traffic, so be safe as you’re collecting your plants from the roadside.) I stood by the side of the road and pulled a
bunch of the stuff out by the roots…about a trash bag full…and took it
home. Jewel weed is propagated by seeds
that pop open when they are mature, so there is no need to be concerned that
pulling it out by the weeds will make it disappear from the landscape. The plant drops its seeds and they easily
root the following year.
In our back yard,
I used the garden hose to hose off the roots and remove the debris that
naturally gets stuck in the plants. I
then cut the plants up into pieces big enough to fit into the stainless steel
cooking pot that I have dedicated to cooking up batches of “Swamp Witch Hattie
potions,” as Charming calls them. I covered
the plants with distilled water and brought the pot up to temperature. I let the plants simmer for about twenty
minutes until the water turned an orange/brown color…sort of like tea, but not
as dark.
When making soap,
I always wear latex gloves and eye protection as lye is used in the process. I also keep a spray bottle of vinegar on hand
in case the soap does splash on me.
Vinegar is supposed to cool the burn, although I have not yet had to put
this to the test. While there’s nothing
to fear, if you are extremely careful, you must continually remind yourself not
to let the stuff splash on you or the lye can burn your skin. I use the following basic method to make the
soap, but there are many different methods and ingredients that can be used. Read over the instructions before you assemble
your utensils and ingredients. Then read
your instructions again several times and visualize yourself performing each
step. This will make the process go much
smoother and you won’t be so stressed about dealing with the lye/possible
injury
Utensils that you will find
useful: a hand-held immersion blender
(unless you’re fond of stirring for hours), a food scale, a wooden spoon, a (dedicated
to soap-making) candy thermometer, a high-sided container to mix the soap in
such as the removable crock from an old slow cooker, a bowl to mix the lye with
the jewel weed tea, some sort of soap mold, towels or a blanket, a knife or
some other type of blade to cut the soap with, a plastic mesh screen or something
similar to rest the soap on after it has been cut. Remember to weigh all ingredients on your
food scale, subtracting the weight of the container that holds the ingredient
or your soap may not turn out right!
Distilled Water 13.5 ounces
(or jewelweed tea) – again, remember to subtract the weight of the container
when you’re measuring.
Lard 40 ounces
Lye 5.4 ounces (be sure to measure in plastic
container & wear gloves)
Essential oil or fragrance
drops such as lavender or citrus, optional
I make soap outside where I
don’t have to worry about ventilation. I
heat the lard to room temperature before going outside and pour it into the
crock pot container. Also, while the
lard is heating up, I assemble my utensils in a box and then take everything
outside to make the soap. Using the
glass bowl, add lye crystals to the jewel weed tea. (Always add the lye to the liquid…NOT the
liquid to the lye or you may suffer injuries. The water will smoke & be hot, so do
not touch the bowl until it has cooled down.) Stir with a wooden spoon until
clear. Cool to 100 degrees. Slowly add jewel weed tea/lye mixture into
lard bowl. Mix with spoon and then with
stick blender until trace. (Trace is
when the mixture starts to make “traces” when stirred with the spoon. At this point, it will resemble the
consistency of pudding. Do not over stir.)
Mix in essential/fragrance
oil with the spoon.
Pour soap into molds. Cover top with cardboard. Then cover with towels and/or blanket.
Let sit in place for 24 hours
(in a dry and warm place…like a craft room).
Next day, remove soap from
mold onto cutting mat and cut into bars.
Can trim edges with vegetable peeler to make uniform.
All of this sounds a bit
complicated until you actually do it.
Although it is probably cheaper to buy soap from the store, everyone
should be aware of how soap is made…even if you never HAVE to make it, at least
you’ll know HOW to make it.
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Jewel Weed...I pulled this plant from the river banks and then
transplanted it into a planter. It will grow in a planter if you keep
it moist and sitting in a shady place. |
 |
This is jewel weed "tea"...I simmered the plants in distilled
water then strained the liquid into a plastic jug.
|
 |
Cutting the bars of soap with a vegetable cutter after the soap
had set and hardened for 24 hours. |
 |
Lovely bars of jewel weed soap after they had been cut. They
need at least three weeks of drying time before they can be used.
(It takes that long for the lye to de-activate.) |
