one question on recipe

[stepibarra]

Ok so I want to do a 100% CO mixed with milk....
Recipe says 2.8oz. lye/6.1oz liquid..
Question is do I need to freeze my milk?

 

[Guest]

Well that's one method, freeze all or part of your milk. Another involves adding the lye to the milk very gradually, monitor the temperature and don't let the lye mixture go over 100 F.

Then there's the one I like splitting the liquid half of it mixed with your lye and the other half separately milk + powdered milk. In effect never mixing the two liquids until you add them to the fats/oils.

I like the idea of never mixing the lye and milk until added to the fats/oils and it worked for me, but I'm intrigued with reports of just adding the lye to the milk much more slowly than usual. You put your milk container in a ice & water bath and add lye slowly. In "Milk Based Soaps" by Casey Makela the author says the lye mixing should take no less time than 15 minutes. I'm inclined to think it should be even slower.

Anyway if you just add the lye to the milk and stir it up you'll get orange soap or something like that, or worse. The high temperature caramelizes the sugar and the lye reacts with the amino acids and releases ammonia (which they say goes away).

 

[Soapmaker Man]

I have not used frozen milk in 2 years now. I RTCP everything, including my pre made 50% lye solution. I stir in 1/2 of my lye solution, then add 1/2 my goat milk, the rest of my lye solution, then the rest of my GM.

Just did this batch Wednesday using this method;

This is my own scent blend.

Paul

 

[Guest]

In my experience, the finished soap is lighter in color when I freeze the milk first.

 

[stepibarra]

Thanks everyone for your help and advice... I will soap tonight and hopefully tommorrow have pictures....

 

[Guest]

I have not used frozen milk in 2 years now. I RTCP everything, including my pre made 50% lye solution. I stir in 1/2 of my lye solution, then add 1/2 my goat milk, the rest of my lye solution, then the rest of my GM.

Sounds like another good method!

Thanks everyone for your help and advice... I will soap tonight and hopefully tommorrow have pictures....

I'll just love seeing your GM batch pictures! Good luck! I'm gonna hit my "got goat?" again soon too, pick a better FO this time.

Let us know what method you're using.

 

[stepibarra]

I believe I will try the frozen milk.... Cross my fingers and pray everything comes out ok...

 

[IanT]

I have not used frozen milk in 2 years now. I RTCP everything, including my pre made 50% lye solution. I stir in 1/2 of my lye solution, then add 1/2 my goat milk, the rest of my lye solution, then the rest of my GM.

Just did this batch Wednesday using this method;

This is my own scent blend.

Paul

dude thats a sick pic!!

 

[Guest]

I believe I will try the frozen milk.... Cross my fingers and pray everything comes out ok...

I suggest you keep an eye on the thermometer, stop adding lye when it goes over 100, wait until it cools off before adding more. As I said earlier, Casey Makela's "Milk Based Soaps" says the lye mixing should take no less time than 15 minutes. It looks like good advice and I'm going to try it soon. It should prevent heat damage to your milk. The only question is what amount of chemical damage is caused by the lye, if any. It's an experiment I intend to try next time I make goat.