Milkfat

[RotaryVirus]

I made my first batch of soap to use up leftover cooking fats. It was a blend of animal fats and olive oil. No idea quantities of individual fats. Added co i had on hand. Turned out better than expected. I use a fair amount of milkfat to cook with. After reading a few threads about some using ghee and butter and the bad smell i thought mine had no smell. I get my milkfat from separated whey. And was wondering if the cheese making process might alter the fat at all to possibly prevent whatever reaction that causes the bad odors ??

 

[Nona'sFarm]

I am not familiar with milk fat from separated whey. When someone says "whey" I think of the liquid byproduct from making cheese which has about 1 gram of fat in one cup of liquid whey. So is there an additional process that pulls the fat from the whey?

For comparison, one cup of butter has 192 grams of fat.

 

[RotaryVirus]

I am not familiar with milk fat from separated whey. When someone says "whey" I think of the liquid byproduct from making cheese which has about 1 gram of fat in one cup of liquid whey. So is there an additional process that pulls the fat from the whey?

For comparison, one cup of butter has 192 grams of fat.

Leftover protein and fat content varies with style of cheese. And yes all commercial cheese factories either sell the whey for further processing into protien powder or butter or do it on site.

 

[AliOop]

@RotaryVirus it sounds like the percentage of milkfat in your mix of oils and fats was low enough to avoid the stink that butyric acid usually creates in soap. Good thing because if you get enough of it, it stinks like vomit.

 

[RotaryVirus]

@RotaryVirus it sounds like the percentage of milkfat in your mix of oils and fats was low enough to avoid the stink that butyric acid usually creates in soap. Good thing because if you get enough of it, it stinks like vomit.

The milkfat i get has been separated from the whey so it almost pure milkfat. And i use a 50/50 blend of that and OO for cooking. It was 70 ounces before the CO . Cant know for certain %s but i doubt it was less then 25.

 

[AliOop]

The milkfat i get has been separated from the whey so it almost pure milkfat. And i use a 50/50 blend of that and OO for cooking. It was 70 ounces before the CO . Cant know for certain %s but i doubt it was less then 25.

I'm at a loss then. I've tried as little as 10% butter in a recipe and the smell was unbearable.

 

[Nona'sFarm]

This is definitely a question for someone with a chemistry and nutrition background. Your theory is probably correct, that there may be a difference in the chemical composition between butter and milkfat reclaimed from whey.

 

[Jarrett Clay]

We raise dairy goats and the milkfat that is separated is what is used to make the butter. The milkfat does go through a mechanical process (think a butter churn) to make it solidify so it definitely undergoes a change. The smell from butter or ghee could be from using too much or it could be that it got too hot. It could also be that it started to go rancid. I do not process soap and I add my milk in the end so that it has less of a chance to burn. However, if we went through the work of separating the milkfat, I would prefer to use it to make butter than soap. We also feed the whey to our chickens/dogs.

 

[AliOop]

We raise dairy goats and the milkfat that is separated is what is used to make the butter. The milkfat does go through a mechanical process (think a butter churn) to make it solidify so it definitely undergoes a change. The smell from butter or ghee could be from using too much or it could be that it got too hot. It could also be that it started to go rancid. I do not process soap and I add my milk in the end so that it has less of a chance to burn. However, if we went through the work of separating the milkfat, I would prefer to use it to make butter than soap. We also feed the whey to our chickens/dogs.

Agree 100% - save that butter for cooking!

My understanding is that the smell is caused by the highly concentrated butyric acid in the butter/ghee, which isn't present to that extent in milk. It doesn't matter if it's fresh, or if you soap cool. Still smells like vomit.

 

[DeeAnna]

Bear in mind that noses differ. While I did not like the odd aroma from the milkfat I used in soap, it wasn't horrid either. The odor was a cheesy, beery, sweaty-gym-bag smell.

I could see how a carefully chosen fragrance could be used to blend with this odor to make it more acceptable to my nose. But then I'm okay with neem or pine tar in soap, ingredients with an odor that other people can't stand.

Butyric acid is an integral part of a molecule of milkfat. It's not a separate molecule that could be selectively removed from the overall fat portion of the milk. So I strongly doubt the butyric acid content of the milkfat would be affected by the cheesemaking process.

 

[AliOop]

That's so true about noses differing. I don't mind the smell of neem, and am not found of - but able stand - the smell of pine tar. But the smell of butter is soap is unbearable to me.