With all the chemicals, additives, and colorizers that are  pumped to everything these days, its hard to find a good old-fashioned farmstead soap. At the Greene Grape, we’ve been handmaking bars of soap all spring, and the first batch is up for sale! We start with the precious fat of our grass-fed, free range pigs, steer and lamb, and render it until it is pure.

The addition of lye (sodium hydroxide, derived from ash) turns the fat into a cleaning agent in an amazing chemical reaction called saponification. (Ask the soapmakers for a science lesson on how this occurs!) Scented with rosemary essential oil and left to harden for 4 weeks, this soap cleans, lathers, and moisturizes unlike anything else! Pick some up and try for yourself.