OCEAN CITY, Md. - In a creative twist on sustainability and cost-saving measures, Sunrise Diner in Ocean City has been crafting homemade soap from their surplus bacon grease. This offers a practical alternative for personal hygiene, suitable for hands, body, and even the face.
For over two years, Sunrise Diner owner Sam Delauter has been transforming bacon grease into soap bars, effectively slashing his bacon expenses. "So pretty much 80% of the bacon cost is just cut out. Now, I barely pay for bacon. So with the price increases of like 30%, I kind of just got done. When people buy the soap, it offsets that," Delauter explained.
Delauter credits his grandparents for the inspiration behind this innovative approach, recalling how they used a similar recipe to save money during the Great Depression. Beyond financial benefits, Delauter emphasizes the environmental advantages of his bacon grease soap.
"Every year, we save about 1,000 pounds of it from going into the landfills. So there's a sustainability aspect as well." Delauter noted.
Michelle Jackson, an Ocean City vacationer, sees the bacon grease soap as a unique gift option for her husband's family. "He's from a very big family and they're very hard to buy for because they have everything. So I bet you this is one thing they wouldn't have," Jackson remarked.
The soap-making process at Sunrise Diner involves a series of steps. Delauter begins by mixing the bacon grease with water, allowing the grease to rise to the top while other impurities settle at the bottom. After refrigerating the mixture overnight, Delauter extracts the lard layer, adding lye to initiate the soap-making process. Kaolin clay is incorporated to thicken and stabilize the mixture, ensuring a high-quality product. Once poured into molds, the soap is left to harden for two days before being cut into bars, resulting in a total of 10 bars per batch.
The Sunrise Diner plans to produce and sell all 3,000 bars of soap they anticipate making during the summer season.