Old canola oil reuse?

lengel

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DH found some really old canola oil in the back of the cupboard and seems to remember that old cooking oil can be turned into some kind of soap or wood treatment. Does anyone have any idea of how this oil could be used? It smells bad so I don't want to cook with it.
 

hoosier

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I know that I have read about using rancid fat/oil to make soap. My soapmaking book is downstairs, but I can look and see if that is where I read it if you would like.
 

lengel

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Thank you. If you have the time I would appreciate it. What's the name of the book?
 

hoosier

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It turns out it is in a very old book called "Make Your Own Soap! Plain and Fancy" by Dorothy Richter. It is a paperback published in 1974 and is falling apart. I picked it up used several years ago. (I also have "The Complete Soapmaker" by Norma Coney.)

To Remove Strong Odors:

1. Melt the fat and cook it with sour milk (1c to 1# grease)
2. Another method is to cook potatoes in the grease (a medium-size potato for
every 3# grease)


To Sweeten Rancid or Sour Fat:

Boil the fat in a mixture of 1 part vinegar to 5 parts water. Set aside to cool.

I guess that once it cools, the fat and water will separate.
 

Helena

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I'd toss it. Rancid anything, ingested, or taken in through the skin cells, is not healthy.
 

freemotion

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Helena said:
I'd toss it. Rancid anything, ingested, or taken in through the skin cells, is not healthy.
I have to agree, even breathing it in as candles might not be so good. Sometimes you just gotta toss it.
 

Beekissed

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Mix it in with pet food for a fat boost! Dogs and chickens don't mind if its rancid and it won't hurt them to have the extra oils. Especially in the winter time.
 

freemotion

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Sorry, Beekissed, gotta disagree....rancid oils have health risks to them, including major free-radicals. I'll give my hens something that has been on the counter overnight by mistake, but not very old, rancid veg oil, which is already a health risk by the manufacturing process when it was fresh.

Our animals have the same risks we have, and if we want them to live a long and healthy life, we have to feed them as properly as we feed ourselves. Also goes for the animals we will be eating.

If one is so desperate that the chickens are barely being fed, then I might concede to a little rancid oil to get one through a tough time, if there is light at the end of the tunnel.
 

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