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How to Make Lye With Hickory Ashes

Lye is a corrosive alkaline solution with an extremely basic pH, comprised mostly of sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide. It is used for curing certain types of food, like olives, as well as making cleaning detergents, bar soap and drain and oven cleaners. It can be produced through chemical reactions in a laboratory, but the traditional way of producing it is with hardwood ashes.

Things You'll Need

Barrel or non-reactive plastic container, one large and one small
Cinder blocks
Distilled or filtered water
River rocks
Straw (sometimes sold as bedding)

Instructions

- 1
  Drill a hole in the center of the bottom of your barrel, then fit the cork into the hole. Arrange four cinder blocks in square configuration. Place a plastic container or non-reactive metal pan under the barrel, between the blocks.
- 2
  Pack clean straw into the bottom of the barrel, then weigh this down with clean river rocks. Put more straw on top of the rocks, then scoop the ashes on top of the straw. Pour distilled or filtered water on top of the lye, then allow this to sit for a few days, covered with a lid that is weighed down by bricks or rocks.
- 3
  Remove the cork from the hole with pliers or tongs, then leave the lye water to filter out. This could take hours or as long as a few days. In order to strengthen the lye, you can either boil it in a heavy, non-reactive vessel or run it through the filtering process again for a few more days.

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